The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ – obligations and scope for change

Helen Brander Pump Court Chambers

Quite unusually two judgments of the High Court in 2020 have considered financial provision for adult children and when and how applications can be made. They come at a time when the current pandemic has shone a light on the importance of family financial support for individuals even as adults. These applications are rare in England and Wales but Courts in other countries see them far more frequently. In Italy in particular where children remain in the family home well into adulthood the Courts regularly hear applications by children in their late 20s and 30s seeking an increase in maintenance from their parents and applications by parents to reduce the amount of financial support given to their children at a time when the parents are retiring and the children still have not managed to achieve self-sufficiency. This article considers the law in England and Wales and in Italy what lessons might be learned as to reform of the law and when and how children should be expected to be financially independent of their parents following changing...

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