Receive divorced maintenance

Prerequisites

• Legally binding divorce of spouses or life partners according to the Life Partnership Act (LPartG)
• Entitlement existed at the time of divorce
• Need: The spouse in need of maintenance cannot provide for his or her own maintenance. The need depends on the marital living conditions.
• Ability to pay: The other spouse is able to contribute from his or her income and assets to the maintenance of the needy partner
• Existence of a legal maintenance obligation: The maintenance obligation may arise from the fact that the spouse
  • has to look after a child and therefore cannot work (care support),
  • is too old to work (maintenance due to old age),
  • is ill (maintenance due to illness),
  • cannot find work (support due to unemployment),
  • has a job but earns too little (top-up maintenance),
  • undergoes training, further training or retraining,
  • or can demand maintenance for other serious reasons (equitable maintenance).

Documents required

• Proof of income, assets and personal and financial circumstances
• if necessary, further evidence to be determined by the court
• where applicable, written assurance that the information provided is truthful and complete

Please note

Legal advice is not available at the district court. Please contact the persons authorized to provide legal advice. These are lawyers or notaries.
The Public Legal Advice Service (ÖRA) offers cost-effective legal advice for people with low incomes   at.

Deadlines

• Make your claim in good time, because you are only entitled to maintenance retroactively under certain conditions.


• As long as the divorce proceedings have not yet been concluded, the claim for post-marital maintenance can also be asserted in conjunction with the divorce if the application is submitted at least two weeks before the oral hearing.

Procedure

• An application to claim maintenance for a divorced spouse can only be made by a lawyer. This does not apply to proceedings for the issuance of an interim order.
• The lawyer you have appointed will determine which family court has local jurisdiction for you.
• The further course of the court proceedings is essentially governed by the provisions of civil procedure.
• The court may order you and your former spouse to provide information about your respective income, assets and personal and financial circumstances.
• If you or your former spouse do not comply with this order within the set deadline, the court can independently make inquiries, for example with employers or insurance companies.

Processing time

The processing time depends on the circumstances of the individual case. Usually around 3 to 6 months, but in more complex cases it may take longer.


Proceedings by way of interim measures usually take between 3 and 6 weeks to process.

Fees

• Court costs


• Legal fees


• both are essentially based on the value of the proceedings

Legal remedies

• An appeal can be made against a final decision of the court. In order to do so, the value of the subject matter of the appeal must generally exceed EUR 600.00.


• The complaint must be filed with the issuing court by a lawyer within one month.


• If the court has only made a provisional decision on maintenance by way of an interim order, there is no legal remedy against this.

Legal basis

• Section 111 number 8 Law on the procedure in family matters and in matters of voluntary jurisdiction (FamFG)


• Section 112 No. 1 Law on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)


• Section 113 paragraphs 1 to 3 and 5 of the Law on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)


• §§ 231 to 248 Law on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)


• §§ 1569 to 1586b German Civil Code (BGB)


• Section 114 paragraph 1 Law on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction (FamFG)


• § 16 Life Partnership Act (LPartG)