What indexation actually is
A Lithuanian court awards a specific figure, say a set number of euros per month. Five years later the same figure buys less. Indexation is the mechanism that offsets the difference: the awarded sum is recalculated annually for inflation, under a procedure set by the Government.
The detail most guidance omits is that this happens by operation of law. Indexation is not a service you apply for and not a separate case. It attaches to the order itself from the moment it is made.
So who applies it
Here is where the real problem sits. The law says the sum is indexed, but somebody has to do the arithmetic. Who depends on how maintenance is being paid.
Enforced through a bailiff
- The bailiff applies the index
- Recalculation happens within the enforcement file
- You can ask for a statement of the debt
- The accumulated shortfall is recovered as arrears
Paid voluntarily
- The payer should apply the index themselves
- In practice this often does not happen, because nobody reminded them
- The shortfall accrues quietly, year after year
- The recipient can claim the accumulated amount
Indexation is not a change of amount
What do you actually need?
The sum is right, it has just lost value
Indexation
- Happens by operation of law
- No new case required
- Somebody simply has to recalculate
- The accumulated part remains a debt
The child's needs or the parent's means have changed
Variation of the amount
- Requires a fresh court order
- Requires proof that circumstances changed materially
- For example health, education, a change in income
- A separate case, not a recalculation
If the payer is in the UK
This is the situation that brings most people to this page in English. A Lithuanian maintenance order does not operate in the United Kingdom by itself, and since Brexit the earlier EU framework no longer applies, so recognition and enforcement there require their own steps.
It is workable, but it takes time, and it is far easier to plan for before payments stop than after. Because I am admitted in both jurisdictions, the Lithuanian order and its enforcement in England run on one file rather than through two firms.
If maintenance is not paid at all
- 01Step 1
The order is already enforceable
A Lithuanian maintenance order is an enforcement document in itself. No separate case is needed to start enforcement.
- 02Step 2
Bailiff enforcement
Deductions from wages, freezing of accounts, seizure of assets. Maintenance takes priority over many other claims.
- 03Step 3
The children's maintenance fund
Where recovery from the debtor fails, the state pays through Sodra and then recovers the debt itself. The amount is capped and set annually, so the current figure is worth checking.
- 04Last resort
Criminal liability
Persistent evasion of the duty to maintain a child is a criminal offence. It is a last resort, but it exists and is used.
Common questions
Do I need to go to court to have maintenance indexed?
No. Court-awarded maintenance in Lithuania is indexed for inflation by operation of law, under a procedure set by the Government. No fresh order is needed. What is needed is for somebody to actually apply the index: the bailiff where enforcement is running, the payer where payment is voluntary.
What if indexation was never applied?
The shortfall remains a debt. It does not disappear because nobody calculated it, and it can be recovered later alongside the principal. If you pay or receive maintenance under an older order, it is worth checking whether the sum was ever recalculated.
How is indexation different from increasing maintenance?
Indexation only offsets inflation and happens automatically. Varying the amount is a separate case in which you must show that circumstances have changed materially, whether the child's needs or a parent's means. If the sum is too low for reasons other than price rises, indexation will not help.
How is the amount of maintenance set in the first place?
The Civil Code sets no fixed formula. The court weighs the child's needs against the financial position of both parents, aiming at proportionality. In practice courts use the minimum monthly wage as a reference point, but that is case law rather than a statutory rule, and the outcome depends on the facts.
What if the paying parent lives in the UK?
A Lithuanian order does not operate there by itself. Since Brexit the earlier EU framework no longer applies to the United Kingdom, so recognition and enforcement require separate steps in England. It is workable but slower, and much easier to arrange before payments stop than afterwards.
What happens if maintenance is simply not paid?
The order is already an enforcement document, so a bailiff can be instructed without a new case. Where recovery fails, the children's maintenance fund pays through Sodra and the state then recovers the debt. The amount paid is capped and set annually.
This page states the law of Lithuania as at 18 August 2026. It is general information, not advice on your matter, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship.