Child & Spousal Support

Child support

Parents are obliged to provide for their children up to 21 years old. But did you know that this doesn’t only apply to parents? A stepparent may also be liable for maintenance. Or the partner of the mother who has had a child through donor sperm. Or the person who fathered the child but never acknowledged it. It does not matter whether the person has authority or not.

The amount of child support depends on all kinds of circumstances, with the amount of income of the parents and the extent to which the children see the parents being the most important factors. Because of all the exceptions that exist, it can sometimes be quite complex to correctly calculate the amount of child support. Many legal proceedings are conducted to determine or change the amount of child support. Legal assistance is required for such legal proceedings. But Advocatenkantoor Elbertse can also help to determine the amount of child support in mutual consultation.

An additional rule applies to children who are 18, 19 and 20 years old. If they earn a lot of money themselves because they already work then the child support can be considerably lower. It may even disappear completely.

Children aged 21 or older have no legal right to child support. Yet it often happens that parents also want to contribute to the costs of their studies. In some cases, the parents have even made a binding agreement (for example in a parenting plan) stating that children from the age of 21 have an enforceable right to child support. Once such an agreement has been made, a child can appeal to it.

 

Spousal support

Spousal support is much less common than child support. This is because a right to spousal support in principle only exists if the person is (or was) married or has (or had) a registered partnership. Sometimes a right to spousal support is included in a cohabitation agreement, but usually not. In any case, cohabitants without a cohabitation agreement are not entitled to alimony.

Child support takes priority over spousal support. The person who has to pay support will first have to pay child support. Only if there is still financial space left can spousal support be owed. For many parents, the financial scope ends after paying child support.

The calculation of spousal support is even more complicated than the calculation of child support. This is actually only possible if a support calculation program is used. Advocatenkantoor Elbertse naturally has a support calculation program. This is the same as the one courts also use. That is extra handy.