Maintenance: The most important questions and answers
1. Under what conditions do you receive maintenance after the divorce?
The law provides for maintenance if one of the ex-spouses can not maintain the standard of living he has had during the marriage after the divorce. This is the case when he can not work because he cares for children, is sick or can not find a job; but also if he has a job but earns much less than he had during the marriage. In this case, there is a claim to top-up maintenance.
However, the law and the judiciary are setting very high standards today. "Under no circumstances is a marriage a lifetime guarantee on a specific status," says lawyer Birgit Ganteführer-Verstege. After only a short transition period, the spouses usually have to cope on their own - and expect them to fall back to the standard of living they had before the wedding.
When it comes to the question of whether an ex-partner is in need and thus dependent, it depends on the moment of divorce.
2. How is the maintenance calculated after the divorce?
In principle, the difference between the income of both partners is determined. From this amount, the one with the lower income gets three sevenths, the other may keep four sevenths. Example: He earns 2100 euros, she 1400 euros. He then has to give her 300 euros each month, if the judges award her a maintenance claim.
However, when calculating how much support is lost, it is not the gross or net income that is used, but the maintenance-related income. In addition to the net salary, this also includes the housing value of your own property. Debt, maintenance claims of minor children and some work-related expenses such as Travel expenses to the workplace are deducted from the calculation in order to receive the maintenance-related income.
3. How much child support do you receive?
The level of entitlement of a child depends on the income of the parent who is to pay maintenance and the age of the child. Most courts use the Düsseldorfer table when calculating child support. The minimum amount for a child under five years is therefore 279 euros a month. Those earning more than 4700 euros owe their 18-year-old child 653 euros a month. At the top, the table in Düsseldorf is open: If one parent earns more than € 5100, the judges decide individually on the amount of child support.
The Dusseldorfer table is based on the assumption that the parents organize the care of the child so that it lives with one parent and visits the other on two weekends a month. If the child spends the same amount of time with both parents, the court may decide different sentences. If one-time high costs are incurred (for example, a school trip abroad), the parent with whom the child lives may request part of it as a special requirement from the other.
4. When do you have to go back to work?
Basically everyone has to earn their own living as far as possible after the divorce. At the same time, the judges of newly divorced women today believe that their efforts are much greater than before. "Only those who make enough effort to find a job retain their right to maintenance," says attorney Birgit Ganteführer-Verstege. Some judges require that at least one application per calendar day be sent and, in an emergency, an occupation for which the applicant is overqualified.
It is exempt from this duty to work who is incapacitated for work or, despite all his efforts, finds no job; but also for parents who look after small children, and people who are older, exceptions apply.
Even before reaching retirement age, work can be unacceptable for reasons related to age and health. But even those who are in their mid-50s and have been exclusively concerned with family and household for many years, may have to look for a job. When deciding whether to take the step back to working life, the duration of the marriage also plays a role. The opinions of the individual courts in Germany differ considerably in this question.
Even those who want to take care of children from the divorced marriage at home, do not have to go to work, but can demand from the Ex maintenance support. Since the reform of the right to maintenance on 1 January 2008, the parent who takes care of the child must return to a part-time job after his third birthday; After completing elementary school, full-time work is also reasonable.
However, depending on the individual case, the judges may also decide very differently. "When it comes to caring, it's all about the well-being of the child." If a child has to be cared for more intensively, the maintenance claim may be longer, "explains Ganteführer-Verstege.
Anyone who would actually have to work, but does not make enough effort for a job, the judges expect a fictitious income.The maintenance claim is correspondingly lower.
5. What happens if the income does not cover all maintenance claims?
Those who pay for maintenance only have to give enough that they themselves have enough to live on. This so-called deductible, if only the ex-partner requires maintenance, 1000 €. If a father or a mother has to pay maintenance for underage children, his deductible is lower: 900 euros, if he is working, 770 euros, if he does not work.
The money left over after deducting the deductible is now distributed. It is a strict order of priority: First, the maintenance is paid for all underage children and for full age children who are still in school, even for non-marital children from previous relationships. If there is enough left over after that, an ex-partner who looks after small children or has been married to the breadwinner for a long time can file claims. On the third level there are divorced people who do not care for children or whose marriage took only a short time. After that, children of age are off, in front of grandchildren, parents and other relatives. The higher the level, the less likely it is that you can enforce a maintenance claim completely.
The deductible can be further reduced in individual cases - for example, if the debtor has moved into the apartment of his new partner and therefore has no or only low rental costs.
6. Where do you get money if the ex does not pay?
First point of contact is the maintenance advance fund, a department of the youth welfare office. For children under the age of 12, single parents can apply for a maintenance advance. Anyone who can not work after the divorce, because he cared for small children, is incapacitated or can not find a job, is dependent on unemployment benefit II (Hartz IV), as long as the ex-partner does not pay.
In order to clarify the dispute over the level of maintenance quickly, Birgit Guntfer-Verstege recommends: "If you think of a separation, you should get all the information about the income of the partner that you can get. Because if the ex is silent about his financial circumstances ironically, one must complain to information - that alone can take at least four to six months. Only then can the actual negotiation about the amount of maintenance begin.
