Yelizaveta Yasko filed a child support claim against Mikheil Saakashvili
Member of Parliament Yelyzaveta Yasko is in a legal dispute with former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, with whom she has a daughter, Jasmine. Since April 2026, she has been seeking a court order to compel him to pay child support and to terminate his parental rights. A lawyer who commented on the case believes that the child support issue will be easier to resolve than the issue of terminating parental rights.
Yelyzaveta Yask, a member of parliament from the “Servant of the People” party, filed a lawsuit against her common-law husband, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. The court case has been ongoing since April 2026. The lawmaker is seeking child support for their daughter and the termination of Saakashvili’s parental rights. Yaskó announced the birth of her daughter on June 1, 2023. The girl’s father is Mikheil Saakashvili. The daughter was named Jasmine.
In her financial disclosures for 2021–2022, the lawmaker listed Saakashvili as the person with whom she lived, although they were not officially married. Starting in 2023, he disappeared from her declarations, but information about their daughter—Jasmine Mikheilovna—remained.
What Yaskova Said About Saakashvili Previously
In September 2024, in an interview with Glavkom, Yelizaveta Yasko spoke about her views on the situation surrounding Saakashvili. She noted that she no longer travels to Georgia and also commented on the former president’s decision to return to the country. “He’s living in his own reality, which is very complicated. Mikheil essentially sacrificed his life for Georgia, and by returning there now, he has caused a lot of pain to various people. And all for what? For the future of Georgia. We can see that, unfortunately, this move has not paid off,” Yask said at the time.
Currently, the court is considering the issue of child support for their daughter and Saakashvili’s parental rights. The details of the evidence on which the lawsuit is based are not disclosed in the article.
Why It Might Be Easier to Collect Child Support
In a comment to “Glavkom,” attorney Dmytro Buzanov explained how the court case might unfold. He emphasized that both parents are obligated to provide for the child until she reaches the age of majority. This obligation does not depend on whether the parents are married or on the nature of their relationship. According to the lawyer, even if the court terminates the father’s parental rights, this will not relieve him of his obligation to pay child support. Therefore, the main issue in this part of the case may be the amount of the payments.
“So the question is not whether the court will order child support, but exactly how much. The plaintiff is requesting one-third of the defendant’s income. The court may agree to this or reduce the amount if the defendant proves that he is in a difficult financial situation, has other children, or has health problems,” Buzanov explained. The lawyer also noted that, as a general rule, child support is awarded from the date the lawsuit is filed. In this case, that would be April 2026.
Termination of parental rights—a more complex issue
Another of Yasko’s demands is to terminate Mikheil Saakashvili’s parental rights. According to the attorney, courts view such a step as a last resort. The mere fact that the father lives separately from the child or fails to pay child support is not sufficient grounds for this.
The court must determine whether the father is deliberately shirking his responsibilities without valid reasons. It is also important to establish whether he takes an interest in the child’s life, maintains contact with her, and has attempted to change the situation.
Buzanov emphasized that the outcome will depend on the evidence provided by the plaintiff. If the evidence confirms that the father has not communicated with his daughter for a long time, does not participate in her upbringing, and does not attempt to maintain a relationship with her, the court may take this into account during the proceedings. If there is insufficient evidence, the request to terminate parental rights may be denied.
“The evidence will be the deciding factor in this case. If the plaintiff proves that the father has shown no interest in his daughter for years, has not maintained contact even remotely, has not provided financial support, and has made no effort to change the situation, the chances are good. If there is insufficient evidence, the court is more likely to deny the petition to terminate parental rights,” the attorney noted.
What Else the Court Will Consider
According to Buzanov, in such cases, the opinion of the child welfare agency—the service that assesses circumstances related to the child’s best interests—is crucial. The court must take this opinion into account when considering a petition to terminate parental rights. The attorney also drew attention to changes in the procedure for hearing such cases, which, he said, have been in effect since August 5, 2026. This refers to the mandatory participation of a prosecutor in cases involving the termination of parental rights.
Consequently, the court must consider Yelyzaveta Yasko’s two claims separately: the collection of child support for her daughter and the termination of Mikheil Saakashvili’s parental rights. The decision will depend on the circumstances of the case and the evidence presented by the parties. At this time, there is no basis for asserting that the court has already granted either of these requests. This is discussed in a “Glavkom” article on court cases and family conflicts involving Ukrainian members of parliament.
