The other parent lives in Norway. Can I still go to court in Lithuania?

Usually yes. Lithuanian courts apply the EU rules on maintenance jurisdiction even when the other parent lives outside the EU, so a claim can be brought where the child lives. Enforcing the decision in Norway is a separate step, done under the 2007 Hague Convention, which Norway and the EU have both joined.

How much maintenance will the court order?

There is no fixed table in Lithuania. The court looks at what the child needs and what each parent can afford. Both parents must contribute in proportion to their means, and the parent the child lives with also contributes through daily care.

Can maintenance continue after the child turns 18?

Under Lithuanian law, yes, in some cases: up to age 24 if the young person is in full-time secondary, vocational or first higher education and needs support. The young adult then claims it in their own name.

The other parent earns much more abroad. Does that count?

Yes. The court looks at the paying parent's actual income and assets, wherever they are earned. Proving foreign income can take effort, so gather whatever you can: payslips, employment details, tax documents.

Can the paying parent ask to reduce maintenance in their own country?

Within the EU and between countries that have joined the 2007 Hague Convention, a parent generally cannot start proceedings to change a decision in another country while the child still lives in the country where it was given, with some exceptions. This protects the child from being pulled into a different court.

Not always. For enforcing an existing decision, the Central Authorities do much of the work for free. A lawyer helps most at the start, when the amount is set, and where the other parent hides income or disputes the case.

Child maintenance across borders: Lithuania and abroad

The short version

If your child lives in Lithuania and the other parent lives abroad, you can usually:

go to court in Lithuania;
have the amount decided under Lithuanian law;
enforce the decision in the other parent’s country with the help of the authorities in both countries.

The same works in reverse: a parent and child living in Germany, Ireland or Norway can usually claim there, even if the paying parent lives in Lithuania.

An example

Laura lives in Kaunas with her eight-year-old son. His father works in the Netherlands and stopped paying after he moved. Laura can go to court in Lithuania. The court applies Lithuanian law and takes into account what the father earns in the Netherlands. If he still does not pay, the Lithuanian decision can be enforced in the Netherlands without a new court case there, and Laura can ask for state payments in Lithuania in the meantime.

Where to go to court

The EU Maintenance Regulation lets a maintenance claim be brought either where the person paying lives or where the child lives. The choice belongs to the person claiming, which in practice is usually the parent the child lives with. Neither option has priority over the other.

There are two more options. If a court is already dealing with the divorce or with the child’s residence and contact, the maintenance claim can usually be joined to that case. If the parents agree in writing, they can also choose the court, but not for maintenance of children under 18.

Lithuanian courts apply these rules even when the other parent lives outside the EU.

Which law decides the amount

As a general rule, maintenance is decided under the law of the country where the child habitually lives. A child living in Lithuania gets maintenance under Lithuanian law, wherever the paying parent lives. If the child moves to another country, the applicable law changes with them from that point.

Parents cannot choose a different law for the maintenance of a child under 18.

How a Lithuanian court sets the amount

Lithuanian law has no fixed formula. The court decides how much the child needs and how much each parent can contribute. The amount must be in proportion to the child’s needs and the parents’ means, and must secure the conditions the child needs to develop.

In practice this means:

the child’s needs: food, housing, clothing, school, healthcare, activities, with evidence of real costs;
the parents’ means: income, assets and earning capacity, including income earned abroad;
both parents contribute: but not necessarily equally. The parent the child lives with also contributes through everyday care.

Maintenance can also be ordered for a young adult up to 24 who is in full-time education for a first qualification and needs support.

When the other parent does not pay

Within the EU

A maintenance decision from one EU Member State is recognised and enforceable in the others without any special procedure. You do not need to “convert” a Lithuanian decision into, say, a German one before it can be enforced. Denmark and some special cases follow slightly different rules. See using a foreign court decision in Lithuania for how this works in practice.

Outside the EU

Many non-EU countries, including Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, have joined the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention, as has the EU. It works along similar lines: applications go through Central Authorities and decisions are recognised and enforced with limited checks. For countries outside the Convention, enforcement depends on bilateral treaties or the other country’s national law.

Help from Central Authorities

Each country has a Central Authority for maintenance. It can help find the other parent, establish their income, obtain or enforce a decision and transfer payments. Requests for child maintenance go through these authorities free of charge to the child in most cases.

You apply to the Central Authority in your own country, which passes the case on. The Lithuanian Central Authorities are listed on the European e-Justice Portal (see sources below).

Child maintenance payments from the Lithuanian state

If court-ordered maintenance is not paid, Lithuania can step in. The State Social Insurance Fund Board (Sodra) pays the child the amount set by the court, up to a monthly limit per child, and then recovers the money from the debtor.

This also works where enforcement in Lithuania is not possible because the debtor lives abroad, provided the child has not received maintenance for more than a month and is not getting a similar payment from another country. Children and parents who are not Lithuanian citizens must live permanently in Lithuania and have their residence registered there.

Changing the amount later

Maintenance is not fixed for ever. Either parent can ask the court to change it if circumstances change significantly: a new job abroad, a big drop in income, new needs of the child.

There is one important limit. Where the decision was given in an EU Member State or a Hague Convention country and the child still lives there, the paying parent generally cannot start a case to change it in another country. They have to go back to the courts where the child lives, with limited exceptions.

Practical tips

Keep records

Receipts for the child’s main costs, bank statements showing what was paid and when.

Gather information about the other parent’s income

Employer, job title, country, any property. Even partial information helps the court and the Central Authorities.

Act early

Unpaid maintenance builds up month by month. Starting the process early, including applying for state payments in Lithuania, protects the child’s finances.

Agree if you can

A maintenance agreement approved by a court is enforceable in the same way as a court decision. It is often faster and keeps the conversation between parents calmer, which matters when they also have to agree on contact across borders.

Child maintenance when a parent lives abroad