Facts
The unmarried K.S. is the mother of two daughters, M. and S. The fathers of the children pay monthly maintenance. K.S. is not employed and was initially financially supported by the municipality of Reinach from March 1991 and then by the city of Liestal from May 1991. The municipality of Reinach and the city of Liestal brought claims for relative support against the father H.S., which were, however, dismissed by the District Court of Arlesheim and the High Court of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.
Considerations
According to Art. 328 para. 1 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), persons are in a state of need if they cannot provide for their own livelihood. This is the case if someone is not capable of working, has no employment opportunities, or if employment cannot reasonably be expected of them.
The Federal Supreme Court states that the case law on divorce law, according to which a parent can be exempted from employment to devote themselves to childcare, cannot simply be transferred to the obligation of relative support. Rather, the decisive factor is whether, for reasons of the child's well-being, personal care by the mother is necessary and employment is therefore unreasonable. This can be the case in particular with young…