After 2017, the Court of Milan changes the guidelines on extraordinary expenses for children who are not self-sufficient
The split of child-related expenses between separated parents according to the so called New Milan Protocol (the “Nuovo Protocollo di Milano”): school meals, babysitting (up to Italian first-level secondary school - “scuola secondaria di primo grado”), psychological therapy and smartphone for children are considered extraordinary expenses. Therefore, both parents must contribute to them in the percentage established at the time of separation.
In June 2025, the Court of Appeal of Milan, the Court of Milan, the Milan Bar Association and the Milan Civil Justice Observatory approved new guidelines for the allocation of expenses for children who are not financially self-sufficient or have disabilities, to be applied to separated or divorced parents.
The purpose of the “Nuovo Protocollo di Milano” is to limit the reasons of conflict in the co-management of family expenses.
The Article 337-ter of the Italian Civil Code imposes on both parents the obligation to financially support their children, without distinguishing between ordinary and extraordinary expenses or regulating the methods of payment.
Therefore, in order to give some operational answers, case law and written guidelines from Italian Courts intervened to provide some clarification.
The guidelines become binding on parents if they are expressly mentioned in separation agreements, divorce agreements or Court rulings.
The new guidelines issued by the Court of Milan introduce significant changes compared to the previous guidelines of 2017. They also introduce specific rules on expenses for children with disabilities, pursuant to article 2, paragraph 1, letter a) of the Italian Legislative Decree No. 62 of 2024.
Rules on expenses for children with disabilities
Parents of a disabled child are now no longer required to agree in advance on the budget for goods and services for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of their child, their therapeutic nutrition, home care for educational purposes, walking aids, adapted vehicles and guide dogs, if such expenses are documented by the parent issuing the payment in advance.
The main changes to expense items
Regarding the changes introduced by the “Nuovo Protocollo di Milano”, expenditures for school meals are no longer included in the periodic maintenance allowance for children. In the past, it was paid by the parent who spent more time with the child. Today, however, this expense is considered extraordinary and a prior agreement between the parents is not required and must be divided between them equally (or in a different percentage established by the Court or set out in the separation agreement).
The waste tax, condominium fees and housekeeping costs are now expressly included in the accommodation expenses of the child and are considered ordinary expenses.
It is no longer necessary to agree with the other parent on the cost of babysitting services, which remain excluded from the maintenance allowance if both parents work and the child has not yet completed first-level secondary school.
For the first time, the expenses for the psychologist of the child and the purchase of a mobile phone are mentioned. These are extraordinary expenses for which prior information and consent from the non-custodial parent is required.
The agreement on expenses for private dental care is not required except for urgent cases. Otherwise, the other parent must be consulted before providing medical care to the child and incurring into the related expenses.
The new guidelines now stipulate that expenses for vitamin supplements for the child, as well as medicines prescribed by the doctor, are not covered by the periodic maintenance allowance. They must be divided proportionally between the parents, without a prior agreement. As in the past, the purchase of non-prescription medicines for children is included in the monthly child support.
It is no longer mandatory to agree in advance on fees for postgraduate courses and specialisation courses for the child, if the courses are offered by public institutions. On the contrary, in the case of private institutions, the rule of sharing costs between parents continues to apply.
Operating procedures: between the old and the new
a) Request for consent for extraordinary expenses to be agreed in advance
In the case of prior agreement, the new guidelines continue to require a written request from a parent to the other, as well as the “tacit approval” mechanism: if the parent does not respond to the request for extraordinary expenses within ten days, silence is understood as approval.
In any case, according to Italian case law, the failure to seek approval from the ex-partner does not automatically exclude the right to reimbursement of the share owed by the other parent. At most, the Court may impose penalties on the parent who incurred the expense without seeking the consent of the other parent.
It may happen that the ex-spouse not informed in advance of the extraordinary expense for the child refuses to reimburse its share. In such cases, according to the Italian Court of Cassation, the parent who paid the expense may still claim reimbursement in court if he/she proves that the expense:
- the expense is documented.
- is in the best interests of the child.
- is useful and economically sustainable for the family.
b) Request for reimbursement of advance expenses
As for the reimbursement, the “Nuovo Protocollo di Milano” confirms the previous terms: the parent who paid the expense in advance must send a request for reimbursement (with supporting documents) to the other parent within 30 days. The other parent must then reimburse his share within the following 15 days.
The guidelines also offer more flexibility in terms of means of communication: the request for reimbursement from one parent to the other does not necessarily have to be sent by e-mail or registered mail. From now on, any method proving that the request has been received by the other parent will be acceptable.
c) Direct payment for high expenses
The latest addition to the guidelines concerns the new protection in the event of high expenses. If the amount of extraordinary expenses exceeds 10% of the net monthly income of one of the parents, both must pay their share directly, without advance payments.