Maintenance

The settlement of maintenance claims is often of existential importance for both the person obliged to pay maintenance and the person who needs maintenance payments. Under certain conditions, the legislator also provides for a maintenance claim for divorced spouses. Our lawyers for maintenance law will assist you with the often complex calculation of maintenance claims.

The topic of alimony is a controversial one in terms of legal policy and is subject to constant change, which also has an impact on long-term marriages. In order to create a clear regulation for your own marriage, a Marriage contract recommended.

Separation maintenance

If the spouses are separated, it is possible for one spouse to demand separation maintenance from the other based on their income and assets.

If a spouse was not gainfully employed until the separation, e.g. was running the joint household, they cannot simply be ordered to take up employment. However, the situation is different if, for example, previous employment, the financial circumstances or the duration of the marriage preclude separation maintenance.

Maintenance obligation despite waiver

If the marriage is not yet divorced, a waiver of maintenance is excluded. It is only possible to specify the separation maintenance by way of a maintenance agreement by specifying its appropriateness in more detail.

Post-marital maintenance

In principle, the law assumes that each spouse must provide for their own maintenance after a divorce. At the same time, however, there are bases for claims in maintenance law that can grant a claim to post-marital maintenance. It depends on the specific circumstances of the individual case.

Because circumstances can change over time, our family law specialists with extensive experience in maintenance law also examine the possibility of reducing or limiting maintenance payments.

Child maintenance

The question of the order of priority in which maintenance claims are to be honoured arises, especially if the maintenance debtor has limited financial capacity. A family law specialist from our law firm can help you, because even if the separation took place some time ago, it may be advisable to have the claims reviewed again.

Minor children, for example, enjoy priority with regard to maintenance claims. Maintenance law is based on the assumption that underage children cannot support themselves on their own. It is also important that the person entitled to maintenance takes precedence over the person providing childcare. The other partners are often subordinate.

It is in the nature of things that the order of priority can change over time due to changes in circumstances. It can therefore pay off to consult the maintenance lawyers at our law firm if the personal circumstances of a divorced spouse have changed.

The family law specialists at Schneider Stein & Partner support both maintenance claimants and debtors in the clarification of maintenance claims and in the subsequent review of claims.