Jump to content
Complete France Forum

Going to University


Gardian

Recommended Posts

Bit of a complex one, this.

Our French neighbours are in their late-50's, comfortable, but not wealthy.  Really nice people. Five children, all in their 30's.  The eldest has a son, now aged 18, who was brought up by our neighbours from virtually 0 - 12 yrs, but has since returned to live with his father and stepmother some 500kms away. Difficult situation at home: standoffs with his father, little support, grandparents frustrated (and who look on him as a son rather than a grandson).

He's a lovely lad, bright and personable.  He wants to read Law at Uni (from next Autumn), but Dad won't entertain the financing of it. Our neighbours want to support him, but have limited funds (though the rest of the family would undoubtedly chip in).

My question is whether any State support would be dependent on his legal 'guardianship'?  By all accounts, his father has the funds to support his further education, but quite simply won't.  My suspicion is that as long as that remains the case, neither he nor his grandparents would get any State aid for his further education.

If anybody has any pointers as to the rules or a possible avenue, it would be extremely helpful.  The last thing I would want to do is tell them to "Do this, or do that", but a steer in a particular direction (if there was one) would be good for them.

Any suggestions gratefully received.    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

State Bourses are totally dependent on  the parents or legal guarians income. If his father (presumably having remained his guardian)  has the income to fund his uni education then he will be expected to. Sorry, it's not great news. There may be ways around it though but I think you would really have to know the "system".

Lucinda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They'll need to do some calling around, but I have a feeling that the lad's father is obliged to give his son support for education. There has been a lot in the media about how unfair (on parents, that is) penal code article 402 (? - someone will know) is in this respect. He may have to go to tribunal, but if I have understood correctly, if his father has the money he is obliged to pay up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Code civil     Article 203

Les époux contractent ensemble, par le seul fait du mariage, l'obligation de nourrir,

entretenir et élever leurs enfants.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quelles obligations pour les parents ?

 Qu'ils soient légitimes, naturels ou adoptants, les parents ont toujours à l'égard de leurs enfants une obligation alimentaire et une obligation d'entretien

(art. 203 du code civil). Cette règle générale s'applique tant que

l'enfant n'a pas atteint son autonomie financière : elle n'est donc

conditionnée par aucune limite d'âge.

 Si un jeune poursuit ses études

et dispose par lui-même de ressources qui lui permettent de subvenir à

ses besoins (ce qui est rare), les parents n'ont aucune obligation.

Dans tous les autres cas, il va de soi que l'obligation d'entretien et

alimentaire doit s'apprécier selon les ressources des parents, le coût

des études, les montants des aides dont dispose l'étudiant (bourses,

aides sociales).

 Pas question cependant de poursuivre des études

plus ou moins mythiques ou indéfinies, ou de s'inscrire chaque année de

façon purement formelle à une nouvelle Faculté... Les tribunaux

apprécient la cohérence du projet d'études et de son déroulement dans

le temps. Un étudiant peu sérieux peut se voir couper les vivres, et l'obtention d'un diplôme de fin d'études constitue la limite logique à l'obligation financière des parents.

Entre dialogue et conflit : des situations explosives

Entre les enfants qui poursuivent leurs

études et trouvent que les parents ne les aident pas assez, et les

parents qui estiment que les jeunes doivent participer à leurs frais,

le conflit peut être latent.

Il a beaucoup été question depuis quelques années

d'étudiants ayant saisi les juges aux affaires familiales pour obtenir

une aide financière de leurs parents. En fait, ces cas restent encore

peu nombreux, mais ils sont bien réels et ont permis de mieux préciser

la doctrine des tribunaux sur ces questions délicates. Quelques points

à relever :

 Chaque situation est appréciée en détail, en

fonction des ressources des parents, ainsi que de la capacité de

l'enfant à poursuivre ses études.

 Un enfant majeur peut exiger d'avoir un logement

indépendant de ses parents, même si cette solution est plus coûteuse

pour les parents.

 Les parents ne peuvent exiger que leur enfant

travaille, même à temps partiel, pour financer ses études : travail

salarié et études sont en principe incompatibles. Toutefois, certains

tribunaux ont tenu à responsabiliser des étudiants dont les parents

avaient peu de moyens, en obligeant les jeunes à travailler pendant une

partie de leurs vacances.

 Le recours à la médiation familiale doit en

principe être généralisé dans ces affaires, afin d'éviter les abus et

de préserver l'entente des familles.

Quelle couverture sociale pour les étudiants ?

* Les lycéens restent les ayants droit de leurs parents jusqu'à 20 ans.

* Les étudiants relèvent d'un régime spécifique,

gratuit jusqu'à 20 ans en tant qu'ayants droit, et payant au-delà en

tant qu'assurés autonomes. Les mutuelles étudiantes gèrent le plus

souvent la partie sécurité sociale et la partie complémentaire.

* Les enfants majeurs qui ne travaillent pas et ne

sont pas étudiants peuvent garder la qualité d'ayant droit de leurs

parents s'ils vivent avec eux et sont intégralement à leur charge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Gemonimo"]By the same token, I believe that if mum dad fall on hard times late in their lives, the children have an obligation to take care of them. [/quote] True, but that's another thread altogether!!

[/quote]

Oops... got carried away!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]

I think the Riff-Raff are right on this one. Though actually getting the father to pay up may be another matter. Seems strange in this day and age that anyone would want to stop their kid getting an educatiuon.[6]

[/quote]

Not bad for me. OK - it was civil code not penal code and the article number was wrong, BUT I did get the general idea correct.

What stuck in my mind was an Envoyé Spécial edition last year which featured a girl (faintly obnoixious in my opinion) who wanted to go to Canada to study and successfully sued her own mother for the fees. The money was taken from the woman's salary. The girl I think was about 23 years old.

Anyway, it can be done - parents can be forced to cough up for adult offspring where grants are not available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks very much everyone.  Pretty much what I thought.

I'm sure you appreciate that this is a very tricky matter for our neighbours and the rest of their family.  Eldest son (now 40-ish), has a child by someone or other (long since departed) and the lad was brought up for the first 12+ yrs of his life by his grandparents.  He's viewed as a sibling by their other 4 children.

Dad is a professional man, away on business a lot, has another partner and has no interest in his son's further education. In fact, no interest in his son at all.  Sad and somewhat incomprehensible?

Anyway, they'll find a way.  If there's a good outcome, I'll post back, but it'll take a while for them to sort.

Funny things families, aren't they? 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...