Maintenance is among the most contested issues in divorce cases. Yet it is not a single concept: there are separate types for the duration of the case, for the child and for the spouse after divorce. The conditions and duration of each are assessed separately.
Interim maintenance
When a divorce action is filed, the judge orders the interim measures needed for the support of the spouses and children during the case. Interim maintenance is paid from the filing date until the judgment becomes final. Fault is not examined; need and ability to pay are decisive.
Child support
After divorce, the parent who is not granted custody must contribute to the child's care and education costs in proportion to their means. Child support is paid until the child comes of age, or until the end of education if it continues. It is determined by the child's needs rather than the parents' agreement and can be increased or reduced if circumstances change.
Post-divorce alimony
- The claimant's fault must not be greater than the other spouse's.
- The claimant must fall into poverty because of the divorce; a spouse with a regular and sufficient income cannot claim.
- The amount must be proportionate to the paying spouse's means.
- The law sets no time limit, but alimony ends if the recipient remarries, lives as if married without marrying, or is no longer in need.
If maintenance is not claimed in the divorce action itself, it may be claimed in a separate action within one year of the divorce judgment becoming final. Which maintenance to claim, in what amount and with what evidence should be settled when the petition is drafted.