Angela Harlem
Jesus Online
This was in todays paper...
Father to pay child support for son aged 29
April 8 2002
Guardian
Rome: In Italy few things are more sacred than the family. Now the
country's highest court has confirmed the importance of family bonds by
ordering a father to continue maintaining his adult son until he is able
to find a job that satisfies his aspirations.
The loser in the maintenance battle is Giuseppe Andreoli, an anatomy
professor at Naples University and a former MP.
The Court of Cassation has ruled that he must continue to pay his
29-year-old son 775 euros ($1,285) a month until he can find himself
satisfactory employment. The victor is Marco, a law graduate who lives
with his mother and appears to be in no rush to flit the nest.
Mr Andreoli told the court that his son had a law degree, a house on one
of Naples's most elegant streets, and was joint owner of an investment
fund worth more than $A800,000. "How can you justify a decision like
that?"he asked.
The judges said parents' duty of maintenance did not expire when their
children reached adulthood, but continued unchanged until they could
prove either that their children had reached economic independence or
had failed to do so through culpable inertia. An adult son who refused
work that did not reflect his training, abilities and personal interests
could not be held to blame, they said.
But they said such a concession applied only as long as the child had a
realistic chance of achieving his or her career ambitions and the family
could afford it.
Almost one in three Italians in their early 30s live with their parents.
The problem is compounded by low starting salaries and university
degrees that can take years to complete.
"Unfortunately we continue to be the mummy's boys of Europe," said
Simone Baldelli, youth co-ordinator for Forza Italia, the party of the
Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. "The family, instead of being
considered a fundamental cell for children's education and training,
becomes a social safety net."
But not everyone saw the ruling as a loafer's charter. "The verdict is
innovative because of its precision," said Cesare Rimini, a lawyer. "The
time limit must be reasonable, as must the aspirations of the young
person."
------------------
"I think, therefore I um..."
Father to pay child support for son aged 29
April 8 2002
Guardian
Rome: In Italy few things are more sacred than the family. Now the
country's highest court has confirmed the importance of family bonds by
ordering a father to continue maintaining his adult son until he is able
to find a job that satisfies his aspirations.
The loser in the maintenance battle is Giuseppe Andreoli, an anatomy
professor at Naples University and a former MP.
The Court of Cassation has ruled that he must continue to pay his
29-year-old son 775 euros ($1,285) a month until he can find himself
satisfactory employment. The victor is Marco, a law graduate who lives
with his mother and appears to be in no rush to flit the nest.
Mr Andreoli told the court that his son had a law degree, a house on one
of Naples's most elegant streets, and was joint owner of an investment
fund worth more than $A800,000. "How can you justify a decision like
that?"he asked.
The judges said parents' duty of maintenance did not expire when their
children reached adulthood, but continued unchanged until they could
prove either that their children had reached economic independence or
had failed to do so through culpable inertia. An adult son who refused
work that did not reflect his training, abilities and personal interests
could not be held to blame, they said.
But they said such a concession applied only as long as the child had a
realistic chance of achieving his or her career ambitions and the family
could afford it.
Almost one in three Italians in their early 30s live with their parents.
The problem is compounded by low starting salaries and university
degrees that can take years to complete.
"Unfortunately we continue to be the mummy's boys of Europe," said
Simone Baldelli, youth co-ordinator for Forza Italia, the party of the
Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. "The family, instead of being
considered a fundamental cell for children's education and training,
becomes a social safety net."
But not everyone saw the ruling as a loafer's charter. "The verdict is
innovative because of its precision," said Cesare Rimini, a lawyer. "The
time limit must be reasonable, as must the aspirations of the young
person."
------------------
"I think, therefore I um..."
