Legal Framework for Child Support and Maintenance Obligations

Article 367. Special Cases for Food Requirements

The food requirement is also appropriate when:

• a) The identity is established indirectly through a binding decision rendered by a judicial authority;
• b) The identity is confirmed by an explicit, written statement from the respective parent or a formal confession in an authentic document;
• c) According to the judge hearing the application, the subsidiary can link a set of circumstances and evidence which, taken together, constitute sufficient, accurate, and consistent proof.

Article 368. Mandated Subsidiary Obligations

If the father or mother has died, lacks economic means, or is disabled, the food requirement falls upon the older siblings of the child or adolescent in order of proximity, followed by collateral relatives within the third degree.

The obligation may also rest on the person representing the child or adolescent in the absence of the parents, or the person to whom custody was granted.

Article 369. Determining Maintenance Elements

The judge must consider the needs and interests of the child or adolescent and the financial capacity of the obligor when determining maintenance.

• When economic dependence is not clear, it will be established by any suitable means.
• The amount of food required is set in minimum wages and must provide for automatic, proportional adjustments based on inflation rates determined by the Central Bank of Venezuela.

Article 370. Compliance and Living Arrangements

A child or adolescent requiring food cannot be forced to live with the person responsible for maintenance if custody has been legally granted to another individual by judicial decision.

Article 371. Proportionality of Support

Where two or more persons are entitled to maintenance, the court must establish the proportionate share of each, taking into account the interests of the child, the economic condition of each party, and the number of applicants.