Laurence Dollimore
A SPANISH man has lost a civil case against his parents in which he tried to force them to pay him financial support some six years after he moved out.
The 24-year-old told a judge in Barcelona that his divorced parents should pay for his upkeep because he had decided to go back to school and did not have the time to work to support himself.
However the court rejected the claim, telling the millennial he ‘must accept the responsibilities that come with his decisions.’
In a ruling, the appellate court said he ceased to be under the unconditional protection of his parents after turning 18 and moving out.
Additionally, his own decision to go back to school should have taken into account ‘his own chances of balancing these studies with the work necessary for his own upkeep.’
According to El Pais, when his parents split up when he was still underage, he lived with both in their respective homes.
At 18 he was not studying anything despite having signed up for a vocational training course.
He was not working either and the money he received from a study scholarship was reportedly spent on a tattoo.
When his father put pressure on him to find work or focus on his studies, the young man decided to move in with his paternal grandparents.
A lower court which first heard his case heard how the man had signed up as a job seeker just a few days before the hearing, and that he was enrolled in a business administration course that included an internship at a company.
He claimed his parents should cover his food expenses because he was studying, and that his grandparents should not be forced to cough up the cash.
But both the lower and the appellate court agreed that no relative can be expected to ‘maintain the illusions or expectations’ of someone who is an adult.
