A recourse claim is a pecuniary claim, but not a maintenance claim. It does not use the provisions concerning, inter alia, enforcement of maintenance payments. The substantive and procedural rules relating to the privileging of maintenance claims do not apply to him.
Recourse claims are not maintenance claims, but can be treated as already fulfilled maintenance. As a rule, however, alimony is intended to meet current needs. Maintenance for the past period is awarded exceptionally in the case in which there are unmet needs of the child from the past period, or as a result of satisfying these needs a debt was incurred to cover the justified needs of the child.
Pursuant to Art. 140 par. 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, a person who provides another means of subsistence or upbringing without being obliged to do so or being obliged to obtain timely maintenance from the obligated person in a closer or the same order would be impossible for the entitled person or associated with excessive difficulties, may request reimbursement from the person who should have fulfilled these benefits.
It is therefore possible to demand from the person obliged to provide the means of subsistence or upbringing the reimbursement of costs incurred by the person entitled to maintenance. It is not necessary that there has been a prior decision determining the extent of the maintenance obligation. The court will determine its amount in the process of reimbursement of the said costs. It should be noted, however, that the amount of the reimbursement is directly related not only to the justified needs of the entitled party, but also to the property and earning capacity of the obligee. This means that the amount allocated to the current needs of the child may be too high, taking into account the financial capacity of the debtor. In this case, the reimbursement will not cover the entirety of the funds allocated to the child’s maintenance.
Recourse claims expire after three years.