Maintenance: Assessing Children, Spouses and Financial Documents

Distinguish Three Types of Maintenance

Interim measures may arise for spouses' subsistence and children's care during divorce proceedings. Contributions to a child's care and education and a claim by a spouse impoverished by divorce have different requirements. Information about one should not be applied unchanged to another.

Post-divorce maintenance considers poverty arising from divorce, the claimant not bearing greater fault and the other party's means. Child maintenance instead considers the child's needs and the parents' living circumstances and ability to pay.

Build an Income and Expense Schedule with Documents

A monthly salary or single bank movement may not explain the file's financial picture. Regular income, housing and health costs, children's schooling and existing payments should be seen together. Differences between stated income and recorded movements require explanation.

We compare statements with existing documents, identifying clarity issues such as duplicate expenses or mixed periods. We distinguish alleged future expenditure from current regular costs. This clarifies which financial questions support the claim or response.

Read Existing Judgments and Changed Circumstances Together

If an earlier judgment exists, we first examine its scope, payment arrangements and subsequent position. Changes in income, need or the child's circumstances may require separate assessment. Seeking a new amount and questioning implementation of an existing judgment are different tasks.

Separating payment records by period matters. Payment descriptions, directly paid school or health costs and related agreements are considered within the file as a whole. Before enquiring, prepare the complete existing judgment if possible, rather than only its operative part.

The Current Legal Position on Duration

As of 8 November 2026: the Constitutional Court annulled the phrase 'for an indefinite period' in Article 175 TMK and deferred the decision's effect until 30 June 2027. This does not mean that existing maintenance automatically ends or that a new fixed period has been introduced. The rules and dates applicable to the file require separate examination.

Which Records Help the Initial Review?

In the first message, state whether the claim is new or concerns an existing judgment. Share documents through the agreed arrangement only after suitability and scope are clarified.

When summarising expenses, distinguish regular monthly spending from costs incurred once or several times a year. Do not show a child's expenditure and the whole household's shared costs as the same item. Explain each payment's date and need. This makes the claim's basis understandable; it is not an exercise in producing figures to justify a predetermined amount. Missing records are identified separately in the written assessment.

• Existing proceedings, maintenance judgment and any settlement.
• Records of regular income, rent and other financial sources.
• A periodic summary of housing, education, health and care costs.
• Payments made and related bank descriptions.
• Dates and documents concerning alleged changes in circumstances.