Child maintenance (alimony): What parents need to know

What parts does child maintenance consist of?

Child maintenance is made up of cash maintenance, maintenance in kind and childcare maintenance. 

Cash maintenance

Cash maintenance serves to cover direct child costs, such as the share of rent, food, clothing, education and health costs, etc.). According to the latest case law of the Federal Supreme Court, neither an abstract calculation may be made nor may the calculation be based on cantonal tables (e.g. "Zurich table").

Maintenance in kind

If the child is in the sole care of one of the parents, the parent entitled to custody provides maintenance in kind by caring for and raising the child.

Childcare maintenance

Childcare maintenance ensures the minimum subsistence level of the custodial parent under family law if they are unable to meet their own needs as a result of childcare.

What is the school level model?

As a rule, the older the children are, the less effort and intensity of care is required. As a result, the parent with sole custody can be expected to take on a higher workload. According to the Federal Supreme Court, the school level model states the following:

• After compulsory schooling, the caregiver can take on a 50% workload.
• An 80% workload is possible with the transfer to the upper school.
• You can work 100% from the age of 16.

Who pays the maintenance?

In principle, the parent providing care pays maintenance in kind, which is why the other parent has to pay child maintenance (cash and childcare maintenance) in the case of sole custody. In the case of alternating custody with half the childcare share, maintenance is divided according to the parents' financial capacity.

How much is the maintenance?

Child maintenance depends on the needs of the children and increases as the child gets older. In addition, the amount of child maintenance should correspond to the parents' position in life and ability to pay.

How long is the entitlement to child maintenance?

In principle, parents are obliged to pay child maintenance until the child reaches the age of majority. In exceptional cases, the maintenance obligation may also extend to children of full age until the child has completed an appropriate education or could have completed it properly. The maintenance obligation is generally only owed until the completion of initial education. The payment of child maintenance to adult children must be economically feasible for the parents, correspond to their ability to pay and also be reasonable.

What can I do if the maintenance is not paid?

If the parent fails to make maintenance payments, there are various legal options available: In particular, these are debt collection assistance, debtor orders, debt enforcement or criminal charges.