Alimony is a financial contribution to the support of a child or an ex-partner.
Alimen tation
Request to the court
If a petition for divorce or dissolution of the registered partnership has been filed, the court handles the alimony request as part of the divorce proceedings. It is also possible to file a petition at another time with the help of an attorney and ask the judge to set, change or stop alimony. The judge reviews the alimony request against the law and against the guidelines established by the Alimony Standards Expert Group.
Child support
During marriage, parents are obligated to raise and care for the child. From the child's 18th birthday, parents are obliged to contribute financially to living expenses and studies. This obligation does not end with divorce. Whereas during marriage there is usually no need to record agreements, this need exists after divorce.
When parents are unable to agree together on the division of the costs of care and upbringing, the court can make a decision at the request of a parent. The child support is calculated to provide insight into the needs of the child and the financial capability of the parents. The Expert Group Alimony Standards has formulated guidelines for this purpose. Child support takes precedence over spousal support.
A child's need looks at what a child costs per month. Need is based on the net family income at the time of the marriage. The age of the child plays a role in this. Portability looks at what a parent has available now. In order to calculate child support, documents relating to the income and assets of both parents are required, as well as information on when the child is with which parent.
Spousal support
Partner alimony is a monthly financial contribution from one ex-partner to the other ex-partner for a certain period of time after divorce. This may be the case if one ex-partner has sufficient earning power and the other ex-partner has insufficient income to support himself or herself and cannot reasonably obtain this income.
The calculation of spousal support is customized and we can make that calculation for you. When assessing a request for spousal support, the court can take into account all the circumstances of the case, such as work experience, studies, age of the children, housing costs, degree of work (in)suitability and the length of the marriage. When calculating spousal support, at least the need and ability to pay are considered. The need can be set at 60% of the net family income after deducting costs of child(ren) but can also be based on a so-called need list. The financial capability is the amount available to pay spousal support.
A right or obligation to pay spousal support is not of unlimited duration. The court can set the duration and spouses can also agree on it together. In a divorce after Jan. 1, 2020, as long as spouses have not agreed otherwise, a maximum duration of 5 years applies. If the marriage lasted less than 5 years, the spousal support duration is equal to half the duration of marriage. However, there are three exceptions. If the youngest child is not yet 12 years old, then a right to spousal support exists until the youngest child turns 12. If the marriage lasted longer than 15 years and the ex-partner receives AOW benefits within 10 years, then the alimony obligation lasts until the day the person entitled to alimony receives the AOW benefits. If the person entitled to alimony was born before 1970, the marriage lasted longer than 15 years but it takes longer than 10 years before an AOW benefit is received, then the alimony duration is 10 years. In exceptional cases, the term may be extended.
With our years of experience, we can make an alimony calculation for you and advise you on your (litigation) options. Would you like to know what we can do for you? Then contact our family law specialists.