Receiving a financial contribution from the other parent to contribute to child-related expenses
Even when separated, parents have to continue to contribute to the costs associated with their…
In France, in the event of a separation or divorce, both parents continue to have rights and obligations towards their children, known as “autorité parentale”. It is very rare that these rights are withdrawn from a parent, even in cases involving domestic abuse, unfortunately.
Verified by Maître Elodie Ramos on 18/11/2022
The rights and responsibilities of parents towards their children and the decisions that arise from these are known as parental authority or “autorité parentale”:
In the event of separation or if the parents divorce, a decision must be taken regarding the place of residence of the children, often referred to as child custody or “garde d’enfants”.
In France, by law, parental authority is automatically shared by the parents and known as “autorité parentale conjointe”.
This means that:
In very rare cases, the judge may decide to withdraw parental authority from one of the parents. The other parent then has exclusive parental authority or “autorité parentale exclusive”.
This may occur in the most extreme cases of domestic violence or if the parent shows absolutely no interest in the child, but this is not automatic.
With “résidence alternée”, children spend an equal amount of time living at each parent’s home.
The “résidence alternée” arrangements may vary between families. For example: each parent has the children at their home every other week. This arrangement is preferred by judges in France today, when it is possible.
With “résidence habituelle”, the children live in the home of one of their parents only.
The other parent can generally continue to see their children and have them to stay at their home on a regular or ad hoc basis. They have rights to visits and overnight stays or “droit de visite et d’hébergement”.
The most common arrangement is every other weekend and half of the school holidays.
The time spent with the other parent may be restricted or extended depending on the arrangement decided. For example:
If a parent is deemed abusive by the justice system, the judge may decide to:
If you separate or divorce amicably, you can decide together how to arrange custody of the children. This is referred to as “modalités d’exercice de l’autorité parentale”. This includes, in particular:
It is then recommended to send a joint request or “requête conjointe” to the family court judge or “Juge aux affaires familiales (JAF)” to confirm your agreement. The procedure is generally quick as it doesn't involve court proceedings.
You can write the application yourself or get help from your lawyer.
If the parents do not agree about the child custody arrangements or “modalités d’exercice de l’autorité parentale”, they will be determined by a judge.
The judge will take several criteria into account when deciding on the child custody arrangements to put in place.
There are solutions.
The judge can allocate you a maintenance allowance or “contribution à l’entretien et l’éducation de l’enfant”, commonly known as “pension alimentaire”. This is a sum of money that the other parent will have to pay you every month to contribute to the costs associated with the children.
You can also receive state financial assistance to help you pay for your children’s maintenance and education costs.
Learn more about how to rebuild financially here.
If the family judge, known as the “Juge aux affaires familiales (JAF)”, asks you to participate in a meeting known as family mediation or “médiation familiale“ in the presence of your ex-partner, you can request to attend this meeting alone.
If there has been domestic abuse, “médiation” is prohibited by law.
In the event of separation, the law generally requires each parent to maintain personal relationships with their children.
However, the law sets out solutions in the case of domestic abuse. Unfortunately in practice, the withdrawal of parental authority remains rare in France, even in the case of domestic abuse. You will need to prepare your application carefully with your lawyer.
The solutions may be as follows.
Even if your children live with you, you must notify the other parent of your change of address.
You must observe a period of one month between the time you notify them and your move.
If your move will change how often the other parent can see the children, you will need to have the child custody arrangements or “modalités d’exercice de l’autorité parentale” amended. You can start by trying to agree on new child custody arrangements with the other parent.
If you reach an agreement, it is recommended that you send a joint application known as a “requête conjointe” to the “Juge aux affaires familiales” for approval.
In the event of disagreement, you can send an application to the “Juge aux affaires familiales” via your lawyer so that they can rule on a new “modalités d’exercice de l’autorité parentale”.
You can find more information about this on this page.
In France, there are many services that can support you, give you advice, and assist you with procedures and paperwork. Most of them are free of charge.
The “Centres d'Information sur les Droits des Femmes et des Familles (CIDFF)” helps the general public, especially women, in many areas such as: legal rights, health, employment searches, training, business creation, and even childcare.
“Femmes Informations Juridiques Internationales Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (FIJI)” is an organization specializing in international family law.
A lawyer's role is to defend your rights before, during and after legal proceedings.
While the utmost care has gone into providing you with the most accurate and up to date information, this page is not intended to replace legal or professional advice. Laws and procedures change regularly so it is important to consult qualified professionals.
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