Travel and Accommodation Costs Are Not Part of Child Support, Rules Thessaloniki Court of Appeal
Φωτογραφία: Εφετείο Θεσσαλονίκης, KavvadiaEi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Published: August 25th 2026
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The Single-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki ruled that the cost of a parent's travel to visit their child does not fall on the other parent, rejecting a father's lawsuit on the matter.
Following the separation, the father chose to settle permanently in Piraeus, while the minor child remained with the mother in Giannitsa, under her exclusive custody. The distance between the two cities required him to travel twice a month to see the child, incurring corresponding transport and accommodation costs. Although the relocation had been his own choice, the father went to court seeking to have the mother cover part of that cost through a monthly payment, arguing that it effectively constituted a component of the child's support — a claim that, if accepted, would have reduced in practice the amount he himself owed to pay.
The court rejected this reasoning. It held that a parent's travel expenses do not meet a need of the child, but instead constitute a personal burden of the one who chooses to travel in order to exercise their right of contact — a burden stemming from their relationship with the child, not from a child-support obligation. As such, they cannot be converted into a monetary claim against the other parent.
The Court of Appeal also noted a procedural bar: since custody belongs exclusively to the mother, only she has standing to bring child-support claims on the child's behalf — not the father.
The only allowance the ruling left open is that such expenses could be factored in, as an element of the father's financial situation, in any future proceeding to reduce basic child support — but not as a standalone claim for directly recovering money from his ex-wife. The appeal was dismissed, and the father was further ordered to pay the mother's court costs.
SOURCE
- Original title:
- Thessaloniki Court of Appeal: A parent's travel costs to see their child do not count as child support
- Author(s):
- dikastiko.gr Newsroom
- Publish date:
- 24/08/2026
- Source:
- dikastiko.gr
- Source link:
- https://www.dikastiko.gr
- Original article link:
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ORIGINAL TEXT
The Single-Member Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki rejected a father's lawsuit seeking financial contribution from the mother toward his travel and accommodation costs, which he incurred traveling from Piraeus to Giannitsa to see his minor child.
The case began when the father, after the separation, settled permanently in Piraeus, while the mother remained with the child in Giannitsa. Because of the distance, the father made trips on two weekends every month to see the child, spending significant amounts. In a lawsuit filed with the court of first instance, he sought to have the mother ordered to pay him a monthly sum to cover these costs, arguing that they constituted part of the child's support.
The court rejected the lawsuit on two grounds. First, it clarified that, because custody of the child had been awarded exclusively to the mother by a prior court decision, only the mother has the right to bring proceedings regarding the child's support.
Furthermore, it was held that a parent's travel and accommodation costs to see their child are not considered needs of the child itself, but rather a personal expense of the traveling parent, arising from their love and duty toward the child, and therefore cannot be claimed as a monetary demand from the other parent.
The decision notes that these expenses may be taken into account as a factor affecting the parent's overall financial situation in any future proceedings to reduce basic child support, but do not entitle him to collect money directly from his ex-wife. With this ruling, the appeal was dismissed and the father was ordered to pay the mother's court costs.
Machine-assisted translation, reviewed and edited by a human.