Alimony or maintenance is often an irritating topic. People ask themselves during a separation whether they can afford the child support at all. On the other hand, the question whether the child support will be sufficient to cover the needs of the children, arises. Some people who pay child maintenance fear that they are actually sponsoring the ex-partner with their payments. In fact, this is usually not the case.

The father of a daughter who is now 20 years old now has to pay dearly for his marriage to a wealthy woman. The Supreme Court has confirmed (22.09.2021, 4 Ob 67/21p) that the fictitious maintenance claim he would have against his well-off wife increases the child maintenance for his daughter, also for the past.

In many families, child maintenance is an irritant and a frequent point of contention between the parents. There are often difficulties in reaching an agreement between the parents when it comes to the concrete assessment of the monetary maintenance from the parent who is not the main carer. A common misconception is that child maintenance is only owed until the child’s 18th birthday. However, this is not correct. In principle, parents are obliged to pay maintenance until the children are capable of supporting themselves.