How should child maintenance be approached in cases involving high-income parents? Marta Zavadilová at a Justiční Akademie Seminar

Marta Zavadilová took part in a specialised seminar of the Justiční akademie focused on highly conflictual parental disputes. The discussion centred primarily on the determination of child maintenance in situations where parents have high incomes or substantial assets.

The seminar addressed a number of practical issues that frequently arise in court proceedings: how to correctly determine the obligor’s standard of living, how to draft parental agreements in cases where maintenance may take various forms (such as payment of school fees, extracurricular activities, or investments into property), and how to ensure that the resulting decision is sustainable, comprehensible to all parties, and enforceable.

The programme also included a debate on how improved communication between judges and parents’ legal representatives can assist the process, for example, through a less formal pre-hearing meeting that allows the parties to clarify expectations and preliminary legal views, thereby helping prevent unnecessary conflict and protracted proceedings.

We thank the Justiční akademie for the invitation and all participants for an open and constructive discussion.