My parents kicked me out and I am an adult: what can I do?

One argument too many, a bag left by the door, and your parents kicked you out. You are an adult, with no home and sometimes no money. This is not a dead end: French law still requires parents to support an adult child who cannot meet their own needs, and help exists tonight. A lawyer reviews your situation with you in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

This article starts with the urgent steps, then explains your rights and how to enforce them.

My parents kicked me out: the first steps

Start by spending the night somewhere safe. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.

• Danger or violence: call 17 or 112. If you cannot speak, send a text message to 114.
• Nowhere to sleep: call 115, the emergency social services line. It is free and answers day and night to find you a bed.
• Someone can take you in: a friend, an uncle, a grandmother. A temporary solution beats a night outside.
• Your papers with you: identity card or passport, residence permit, health insurance card (carte Vitale), phone and charger, bank card, diplomas, proof of enrolment.
• Keep a record: note the date and what was said, and save the messages you received.

If you left your papers at your parents' home, ask for them in writing. They belong to you. If your parents refuse, the police or gendarmerie can advise you.

You are under 18

That changes everything. Parents cannot leave a minor on the street: failing in their legal duties to the point of endangering a minor's health or safety carries up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine (article 227-17 of the Criminal Code). Call 119, free and open 24 hours a day, or talk to the social worker at your school.

Your parents kicked you out: were they allowed to?

No French law requires parents to keep an adult child under their roof. The law requires something else: contributing to the child's support until they are independent. So they can ask you to leave, but not leave you with no support at all if you need it.

On the other hand, nothing allows violence, threats or keeping your personal belongings. Those acts can be reported in a criminal complaint.

The duty of support does not end at 18

Article 371-2 of the Civil Code is clear: each parent contributes to the child's support and education according to their means, and this duty does not end automatically at majority. Article 203 adds that parents must feed, support and raise their children.

Even if your parents kicked you out, that duty remains. According to service-public, the official government site, support remains due while the adult child is studying, training or actively looking for work. It ends when the child becomes financially independent.

The Cour de cassation, France's highest court, confirmed on 4 March 2026 (appeal no. 23-21.835) that an adult child has the right to sue their father or mother directly for a contribution to their support. You do not need another adult to act for you.

Asking your parents for maintenance: the procedure

When your parents kicked you out, you can first try to settle things amicably, then go to court if nothing moves.

1. Write to your parents. A calm letter setting out your needs, your studies or job search, and the amount requested. Keep a copy.
2. Suggest family mediation. A mediator helps restore dialogue when that is still possible.
3. Apply to the family judge. The application goes to the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire), addressed to the juge aux affaires familiales. According to service-public, a lawyer is not compulsory for a maintenance claim before this judge.
4. Prepare your evidence: proof of enrolment, registration with France Travail (the job agency), apprenticeship contract, rent, bills, bank statements, and anything showing your parents' income.

The judge sets maintenance "in proportion to the needs of the person claiming it and the means of the person owing it" (article 208 of the Civil Code).

What the judge looks at	Examples of evidence
Your needs	Rent, food, transport, study costs
Your efforts	Enrolment, attendance, a genuine job search
Your own income	Wages, apprenticeship pay, grants, benefits
Your parents' means	Income, assets, other dependent children
Your conduct towards them	The judge can reduce maintenance for serious misconduct (article 207)

The judge can also decide differently. If a parent proves they cannot pay, the judge can order them to take you in and support you at home (article 210). If a parent offers to house you, the judge decides whether they are excused from paying (article 211).

Payments ordered by the judge are binding. If they do not arrive, a complaint for family abandonment becomes possible: see our guide on family abandonment and unpaid maintenance.

If your parents are separated

If your parents kicked you out while living apart, first look at their separation ruling. One parent may already pay the other maintenance for you. It does not stop automatically at 18. If you no longer live with the parent who receives it, it can be paid to you directly, with the parents' agreement or by court order (article 373-2-5 of the Civil Code).

Our article on calculating and reviewing child maintenance explains how the amount is set.

Help available right now

When parents kicked out a young adult, the court route takes time. Meanwhile, several forms of help can support you:

• The département's child welfare service (aide sociale à l'enfance). It can take on, temporarily, adults under 21 without sufficient resources or family support. If you were in its care before turning 18, support becomes a right (article L. 222-5 of the Social Action and Families Code).
• 115 and social services. Your town's social action centre (CCAS) and the département's social workers can direct you to housing.
• If you are a student. The CROUS social worker reviews cases of family breakdown. A specific annual grant and an emergency fund exist, subject to conditions.
• If you are 16 to 25. The mission locale helps with jobs, training and housing.
• RSA (minimum income). It generally requires you to be 25, with exceptions: our guide on RSA conditions explains them.

Lawyer's fees and legal aid

You can act alone, but a dispute with parents who kicked you out is draining. Legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) can cover the fees. When the case pits you against your parents, only your own resources count, not those of the household you left.

How a lawyer helps

If your parents kicked you out, a lawyer first checks whether maintenance is realistic given your situation and your parents' income. They draft the application, gather the evidence and represent you at the hearing, so you do not argue alone against your family. They can also negotiate a written agreement, often faster than a judgment.

They cannot promise an outcome, but they quickly tell you where you stand. A family lawyer answers you in 20 minutes.

The official page on maintenance for a child who has come of age adds further details, in French.

Other family situations

Parents who kicked out their child are not the only family conflict. Our other guides:

• My family is planning a forced marriage for me
• My brother occupies our late parents' house