What is nutritious?
The term maintenance (generally alimony) is not directly defined in the law. It can be deduced from the statutory provisions that maintenance means the provision and payment of reasonable needs between persons who have a kinship or other family relationship to each other. Unless the circumstances preclude it, maintenance is also understood to include savings. The Civil Code understands maintenance in a broader sense. Maintenance includes not only the provision of the child’s basic living needs, but also the satisfaction of his or her other justified needs, for example in the field of education, culture, sport or leisure activities. Maintenance may also include the creation of savings, provided that this corresponds to the parents’ financial circumstances.
Who is obliged to pay child maintenance?
Every parent has a legal obligation to provide maintenance for his or her offspring who is unable to support himself or herself. Most often, maintenance is imposed on a parent who does not have custody of the child. The custodial parent often replaces part of his or her maintenance with personal care.
How much is child support?
There are basically two options. The amount of maintenance can be determined by agreement between the parents. The maintenance agreement should be in writing. However, in the case of a minor child, it only becomes legally binding once it has been approved by the court. Official verification of signatures is not compulsory, but can help avoid disputes about the authenticity of the agreement. If there is no agreement, the question of maintenance will go to court. In this case, there are several criteria by which the court will determine the amount of maintenance:
- the parents’ standard of living,
- the reasonable needs of the child,
- the parents’ financial circumstances (their income, expenses, ownership of movable and immovable property),
- the child care ratio.
However, the final amount of child support is always decided by the judge. In order to make the decision as uniform as possible, the Ministry of Justice has issued a table for child support. This determines the percentage of the parents’ income that should be paid to the child. This will give you a guide to the approximate amount of child support before the court proceedings start.
Tip for article
Tip: In late 2022, the Ministry of Justice introduced a new table and method of calculating child maintenance from the following year onwards. In this context, some of the principles for calculating child support have also been slightly modified. What principles do judges now base their child support determinations on? This is the focus of our article.
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What is proved in court to establish the amount of maintenance?
When determining maintenance, the court always considers the child’s reasonable needs as well as the child’s parents’ abilities, possibilities and means. It may therefore require both sides of the dispute to produce evidence. The custodial parent usually presents proof of education, proof of school fees, medication needed, living expenses, etc.
For the other parent, proof of income is essential. Many parents try to get around this too. However, the court also looks at whether the parent has deliberately taken a lower-paid job, taken unreasonable financial risks to avoid paying child support, or given up income.
When to file for an increase in child support?
You can apply for an increase when there is a change in family circumstances. The most common situations in which an increase is requested are:
- A child enters kindergarten, elementary school or high school.
- The child changes extracurricular extracurricular activities that require increased funding. Importantly, the other parent should agree.
- The child’s health condition, either a chronic illness or a specific disability that requires more care and resources.
- A change in financial circumstances on the part of the parent.
Tip for article
Tip: Child support can be increased retroactively – up to 3 years from the date of the court proceedings.
By when does child support have to be paid?
The maintenance obligation is not fixed by the age of the child. In general, maintenance is payable until the child has completed his or her studies, i.e. until the child is able to support himself or herself. However, there are exceptions – for example, if the child is still studying at the age of 30, there may be a question as to whether he or she is no longer able to support himself or herself, in which case it is possible to apply to the court to cancel the maintenance. As a rule, the marriage of the child means the termination of the parents’ maintenance obligation, but only if the child is capable of supporting himself. If this is not the case, the parents’ maintenance obligation may continue after the marriage.
Who should I pay child support to?
If you have a maintenance obligation towards a minor child, maintenance is paid to the person who has custody of the child. In the case of adult children, the maintenance is paid directly to them, unless the judgment states otherwise.
Tip for article
Tip: Keep in mind that you are still obliged to pay child support even if your child has reached 18 and is not a student. In this case, you must file a petition with the court to cancel the maintenance obligation. To make sure you have all the important information about maintenance obligations towards adult children, we have written a separate article about it.
What to do if a parent does not pay child support?
In order to recover child support from the other parent, you will need a so-called enforcement order, which in this case is a final judgment. When you recover child support this way, you will communicate with the bailiff who, after sending you the evidence, will issue an enforcement order and decide which way to recover the debt. The bailiff can garnish the non-paying parent’s account, have child support deducted from their wages, sell their belongings, or seize their driver’s license (not applicable in the case of professional drivers).
The other option is to file a criminal complaint for child support neglect. Failure to pay maintenance for more than 4 months can be a criminal offence punishable by up to 3 years in prison (if this would put the child in danger of destitution). We have written about what to do if you do not pay maintenance in more detail in one of our articles.
Child support is paid once in a while and incompletely
You can also file acriminal complaint in this case. It happens very often that the debtor sends a token amount once every 4 months with the intention of going above the law. However, the Penal Code does not recognise any such thing. In order for such a parent to avoid criminal prosecution, the so-called effective regret would have to be fulfilled. That is, he would have to pay the child support debt until the court convicted him of the offence.
What about child support if you have alternate custody?
In such an arrangement, child support payments are usually set for both parents. If the parents have similar incomes and the care of the child is evenly divided, the court will most often impose the same amount of child support or will not impose a reciprocal obligation to pay child support. In cases where one parent’s income is predominant or there is not an equal distribution of care, the court will set maintenance as in the case of sole custody.
Summary
Maintenance (alimony) is a statutory obligation of parents to maintain a child who is unable to support himself or herself and is regulated by the Civil Code; its purpose is to ensure not only the child’s basic needs for life, but also his or her education, leisure activities and an adequate standard of living, including, where appropriate, the accumulation of savings. The amount of maintenance can be determined by agreement between the parents, but in the case of a minor child it must always be approved by the court, otherwise the court will decide on it according to the child’s justified needs, the parents’ abilities, possibilities and financial circumstances and the extent of their care, using the Ministry of Justice’s methodology valid in 2026 as a guide. An increase or decrease in maintenance may be requested in the event of a substantial change in circumstances, for example, an increase in the child’s needs or a change in the parent’s income, and the court may exceptionally award maintenance retrospectively. The maintenance obligation does not last until a certain age, but until the child is able to support himself or herself, and the child’s marriage only ends it if he or she is truly economically independent. Maintenance is payable to the parent who has custody of the minor child, usually directly to them in the case of adult children, and non-payment can be dealt with by enforcement and criminal law, since non-payment for four months may constitute the offence of neglect of maintenance; in the case of alternate custody, the court takes into account the parents’ income and the actual extent of custody and may fix maintenance for both parents, for one of them or not at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay child support even if the child has a part-time job or income?
Yes, the child’s part-time work or earnings alone do not usually terminate the maintenance obligation. The decisive factor is whether the child is capable of supporting himself or herself in the long term and in a realistic manner. Occasional income while studying is not usually considered by the courts as a reason to cancel or reduce maintenance. If the child has a regular and sufficient income, it is possible to file a motion to modify or cancel the maintenance obligation.
What should I do if the other parent has concealed his/her real income?
If you suspect that a parent is not reporting their true income, bring this to the attention of the court. The court is not only bound by officially documented income and can also look at actual assets, standard of living or so-called potential income. The court will also take into account whether the parent is deliberately avoiding better paid work.
Can maintenance be changed even if it has already been decided by the court?
Yes. The maintenance decision is not final. If there is a significant change in circumstances – for example, an increase in the child’s needs, a change in health, or a significant change in the parent’s income – you can file a motion to increase or decrease child support at any time.
Do I have to pay child support if I have alternate custody?
Yes, even with alternate custody, the court can set maintenance. It depends on the custody ratio and the parents’ income. If the parents have comparable incomes and care for the child to the same extent, the court will often not set child support. If there is a significant difference in income between the parents, child support may be ordered even with alternating custody.
How quickly can I start collecting child support if it is not paid?
Maintenance can be recovered as soon as it is due if you have a final court order or an approved agreement. You can apply to a bailiff, who can enforce the debt by, for example, deducting it from your wages, seizing your account or other legal means. Failure to pay maintenance for four months can also have criminal consequences.
