FAMILY LAW
Maintenance: examining and enforcing the claim
After a separation the maintenance question arises quickly: who owes whom how much, from when and for how long. Two things are needed for that: a calculation that holds up, and a way to enforce it. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law in Cologne, and I handle maintenance cases myself, from the request for information to the enforceable title.
Post-marital maintenance, separation maintenance, child maintenance: three claims
The word maintenance covers three different claims, each with its own conditions, its own standards and its own logic of deadlines. Anyone who mixes them up is negotiating about the wrong subject.
Child maintenance
The child has its own claim against the parent who pays in cash. The parent providing care contributes in kind, through care and upbringing. The basis is the obligation of relatives in the direct line to provide maintenance to one another (section 1601 German Civil Code).
The amount depends on the child's age and the paying parent's income. The Duesseldorf Table serves as the point of reference, and the courts use it as a guideline. Child maintenance cannot be waived for the future (section 1614(1)), not even by agreement between the parents.
In addition there is what is known as additional need (Mehrbedarf) and special need (Sonderbedarf). For these, both parents are liable to pay in cash, in proportion to their income.
Separation maintenance
From the separation onwards the economically stronger spouse owes the other maintenance until the divorce becomes final. Here too a waiver for the future is prohibited. That follows from the chain of references in section 1361(4) sentence 4 via section 1360a(3) to section 1614(1).
A clause in a separation letter waiving all maintenance is void to that extent. Separation maintenance can perfectly well be quantified and paid in instalments; it just cannot be waived.
Post-marital maintenance
Once the divorce becomes final the principle of self-responsibility applies: post-marital maintenance is the exception and needs a ground, such as caring for a young child, age or illness. Here spouses have the widest scope to make their own arrangements.
Agreements are permissible. An agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c German Civil Code), and being recorded in matrimonial proceedings is equivalent to that (section 127a).
Care maintenance: maintenance because of caring for a child
The name a claim runs under decides its duration and its amount. A divorced spouse can claim maintenance from the other because of the care or upbringing of a child of the marriage for at least three years after the birth (section 1570(1) German Civil Code). After that the claim does not end automatically: it continues for as long and to the extent that is equitable.
This claim presupposes a marriage. Where the parents were never married, section 1615l applies, with its own conditions and a different duration. The dispute is rarely about the first three years but about the transition afterwards. What is relevant here includes, among other things: the opening hours of childcare, travel times, shift schedules, the child's specific needs.
Top-up maintenance: where your own income is not enough
Top-up maintenance is the case where someone works and still has a claim. Where income from suitable employment is not sufficient for full maintenance, the divorced spouse can claim the difference between their income and full maintenance (section 1573(2) German Civil Code). Full maintenance is measured by the standard of living during the marriage.
Two points are particularly significant: what employment is suitable, and the attribution of notional income where someone works less than they could. Added to that is limitation: the claim can be limited in time or reduced in amount where unlimited maintenance would be inequitable. Anyone concluding an agreement does better to settle that limit at the same time.
Pension provision maintenance: the item most often forgotten
Anyone who receives maintenance and therefore works less also acquires fewer pension entitlements during that time. That is what pension provision maintenance is for: the cost of appropriate insurance against old age and reduced earning capacity forms part of the cost of living (section 1578(3) German Civil Code). It is calculated alongside basic maintenance and is earmarked for that purpose.
During the separation phase it does not apply from the outset. Once divorce proceedings are pending, the cost of such insurance forms part of maintenance from the point they became pending (section 1361(1) sentence 2). That is one of the reasons why the timing of the divorce petition is a question of money and not merely of scheduling.
Need, ability to pay and adjusted income
Every maintenance calculation begins with two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's ability to pay. Which income the calculation starts from is decided by the adjustment: not every item permissible for tax purposes is deductible under maintenance law. The payer keeps an amount for their own living costs, the protected minimum. It differs depending on whether the case concerns child maintenance or maintenance between spouses.
Both sides have mutual rights to information. Relatives in the direct line must, on request, provide information about their income and assets and produce supporting documents, in particular employer's certificates (section 1605 German Civil Code). A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. Without documents every calculation is an assertion.
The enforceable title: turning a calculation into an instrument
A calculated figure remains paper until it is enforceable. The routes there are a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court-recorded settlement, or a court order. Where income fluctuates, the title should contain a variation mechanism, otherwise every change in salary means new proceedings. Arrears can only be recovered on the basis of a title.
Where money is left on the table in maintenance cases
01
Accepting figures without having seen the documents
The other side names a sum and both are relieved that anything was calculated at all. The amount has not fitted for years, and without an enforceable title there is nothing to work with. Documents first, then agreement.
02
Waiving maintenance for the sake of peace
For child and separation maintenance a waiver for the future is void (section 1614(1) German Civil Code, for separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4). The clause offers no protection, and the claim comes anyway.
03
Leaving the right to information unused
Without documents the negotiation runs on estimates. A claimant who asks too modestly and a payer who discloses too much both pay for the lesson. The request for information under section 1605 German Civil Code is the first formal step in any case.
04
Mixing national and international cases in one calculation
If the payer or the child is abroad, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement come in as separate questions. The cost of living in the country concerned also has to be taken into account.
How I proceed
01
Initial consultation
In the initial consultation we first sort out the position: which of the three kinds of maintenance is meant, since when which period has been running, and what has already been paid or agreed.
02
List of documents
I then draw up the list of documents: among other things, proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements covering several years, rent and loan commitments, and health and age-related expenses.
03
Calculation and information
With the documents I work through the claim, formally demand any missing information, or check the other side's calculation.
04
Obtaining an enforceable title
The result is recorded in enforceable form, with a variation mechanism where income fluctuates. Where a business carries the income, I work together with the valuation questions from divorce for business owners.
Typical situations
01
A self-employed father with varying profits
A self-employed father shows very different profits over recent years. What decides matters here is which period is relevant and whether an average is taken. Both sides need the same documents: profit statements, drawings, private account movements. The title gets a clause that absorbs fluctuating years.
02
Moving out with two children, and a car loan
The mother moves out with two children and asks about separation maintenance for herself and cash maintenance for the children. The father is in permanent employment but wants a deduction for a car loan. Whether the instalments can be deducted is decided by the adjustment rules, not by the loan agreement.
Maintenance in Cologne: office and competent court
The office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Appointments there, by video or by phone. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, and in part from across Germany and even from abroad. Anyone living further away works with me at a distance, because maintenance sits in documents and calculations, not in the courtroom.
Where maintenance is contested it goes before the family court. For Cologne families that is as a rule the Cologne Local Court, with appeals to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. If divorce proceedings are already running, maintenance can be decided there as an ancillary matter. I can represent you before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
From two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's income available for maintenance. For child maintenance, the child's age and the income bracket provide the guideline, based on the Duesseldorf Table. For spousal maintenance the standard of living during the marriage comes in as well. The payer keeps the protected minimum. Anyone doing the calculation needs documents from both sides. Without information, every figure is an assertion.
The amount the payer needs for their own living costs before anything is passed on. It caps the amount of maintenance and differs depending on the kind of maintenance: for child maintenance the threshold is lower than for spousal maintenance, because the child takes priority. The specific amounts change regularly and belong in the individual calculation, not in a text.
Not effectively, so far as child and separation maintenance for the future are concerned. Child maintenance cannot be waived (section 1614(1) German Civil Code). The same principle applies to separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4. Post-marital maintenance is different: there spouses may waive, and an agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c).
From the separation until the divorce becomes final. After that it ends, and further maintenance requires one of the statutory grounds for post-marital maintenance, such as caring for a young child. What matters in practice is the date of the separation itself: claims run from that point, and arrears arise where nothing is paid although an obligation exists.
Yes, on request. Relatives in the direct line are obliged to provide each other with information about their income and assets so far as necessary to establish a maintenance claim, and to produce supporting documents (section 1605 German Civil Code). The same provision is referred to for separation maintenance and post-marital maintenance. A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. If no information comes, the next step is through the courts.
For the self-employed, income cannot be read off a payslip. What counts is the profit, adjusted for items that are not deductible under maintenance law, and where years fluctuate strongly frequently an average over several years. Drawings, private expenditure through the business and shareholdings all belong on the table. Where a business lies behind it, its valuation comes in as a separate question.
Arrears presuppose that an obligation existed and was not met. They become enforceable through a title: a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court settlement or a court order. Without a title the leverage is missing, which is why acting early achieves more than any renegotiation. How far back arrears reach and what objections the other side can raise depends on the individual case.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). You receive an invoice with a detailed record of the work done. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee.
Settle maintenance before arrears build up
Bring what you have: proof of income, any payment arrangements so far, the date of separation. In the initial consultation we sort out which kinds of maintenance apply and settle what has to be calculated and recorded first.
FAMILY LAW
Maintenance: examining and enforcing the claim
After a separation the maintenance question arises quickly: who owes whom how much, from when and for how long. Two things are needed for that: a calculation that holds up, and a way to enforce it. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law in Cologne, and I handle maintenance cases myself, from the request for information to the enforceable title.
Post-marital maintenance, separation maintenance, child maintenance: three claims
The word maintenance covers three different claims, each with its own conditions, its own standards and its own logic of deadlines. Anyone who mixes them up is negotiating about the wrong subject.
Child maintenance
The child has its own claim against the parent who pays in cash. The parent providing care contributes in kind, through care and upbringing. The basis is the obligation of relatives in the direct line to provide maintenance to one another (section 1601 German Civil Code).
The amount depends on the child's age and the paying parent's income. The Duesseldorf Table serves as the point of reference, and the courts use it as a guideline. Child maintenance cannot be waived for the future (section 1614(1)), not even by agreement between the parents.
In addition there is what is known as additional need (Mehrbedarf) and special need (Sonderbedarf). For these, both parents are liable to pay in cash, in proportion to their income.
Separation maintenance
From the separation onwards the economically stronger spouse owes the other maintenance until the divorce becomes final. Here too a waiver for the future is prohibited. That follows from the chain of references in section 1361(4) sentence 4 via section 1360a(3) to section 1614(1).
A clause in a separation letter waiving all maintenance is void to that extent. Separation maintenance can perfectly well be quantified and paid in instalments; it just cannot be waived.
Post-marital maintenance
Once the divorce becomes final the principle of self-responsibility applies: post-marital maintenance is the exception and needs a ground, such as caring for a young child, age or illness. Here spouses have the widest scope to make their own arrangements.
Agreements are permissible. An agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c German Civil Code), and being recorded in matrimonial proceedings is equivalent to that (section 127a).
Care maintenance: maintenance because of caring for a child
The name a claim runs under decides its duration and its amount. A divorced spouse can claim maintenance from the other because of the care or upbringing of a child of the marriage for at least three years after the birth (section 1570(1) German Civil Code). After that the claim does not end automatically: it continues for as long and to the extent that is equitable.
This claim presupposes a marriage. Where the parents were never married, section 1615l applies, with its own conditions and a different duration. The dispute is rarely about the first three years but about the transition afterwards. What is relevant here includes, among other things: the opening hours of childcare, travel times, shift schedules, the child's specific needs.
Top-up maintenance: where your own income is not enough
Top-up maintenance is the case where someone works and still has a claim. Where income from suitable employment is not sufficient for full maintenance, the divorced spouse can claim the difference between their income and full maintenance (section 1573(2) German Civil Code). Full maintenance is measured by the standard of living during the marriage.
Two points are particularly significant: what employment is suitable, and the attribution of notional income where someone works less than they could. Added to that is limitation: the claim can be limited in time or reduced in amount where unlimited maintenance would be inequitable. Anyone concluding an agreement does better to settle that limit at the same time.
Pension provision maintenance: the item most often forgotten
Anyone who receives maintenance and therefore works less also acquires fewer pension entitlements during that time. That is what pension provision maintenance is for: the cost of appropriate insurance against old age and reduced earning capacity forms part of the cost of living (section 1578(3) German Civil Code). It is calculated alongside basic maintenance and is earmarked for that purpose.
During the separation phase it does not apply from the outset. Once divorce proceedings are pending, the cost of such insurance forms part of maintenance from the point they became pending (section 1361(1) sentence 2). That is one of the reasons why the timing of the divorce petition is a question of money and not merely of scheduling.
Need, ability to pay and adjusted income
Every maintenance calculation begins with two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's ability to pay. Which income the calculation starts from is decided by the adjustment: not every item permissible for tax purposes is deductible under maintenance law. The payer keeps an amount for their own living costs, the protected minimum. It differs depending on whether the case concerns child maintenance or maintenance between spouses.
Both sides have mutual rights to information. Relatives in the direct line must, on request, provide information about their income and assets and produce supporting documents, in particular employer's certificates (section 1605 German Civil Code). A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. Without documents every calculation is an assertion.
The enforceable title: turning a calculation into an instrument
A calculated figure remains paper until it is enforceable. The routes there are a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court-recorded settlement, or a court order. Where income fluctuates, the title should contain a variation mechanism, otherwise every change in salary means new proceedings. Arrears can only be recovered on the basis of a title.
Where money is left on the table in maintenance cases
01
Accepting figures without having seen the documents
The other side names a sum and both are relieved that anything was calculated at all. The amount has not fitted for years, and without an enforceable title there is nothing to work with. Documents first, then agreement.
02
Waiving maintenance for the sake of peace
For child and separation maintenance a waiver for the future is void (section 1614(1) German Civil Code, for separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4). The clause offers no protection, and the claim comes anyway.
03
Leaving the right to information unused
Without documents the negotiation runs on estimates. A claimant who asks too modestly and a payer who discloses too much both pay for the lesson. The request for information under section 1605 German Civil Code is the first formal step in any case.
04
Mixing national and international cases in one calculation
If the payer or the child is abroad, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement come in as separate questions. The cost of living in the country concerned also has to be taken into account.
How I proceed
01
Initial consultation
In the initial consultation we first sort out the position: which of the three kinds of maintenance is meant, since when which period has been running, and what has already been paid or agreed.
02
List of documents
I then draw up the list of documents: among other things, proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements covering several years, rent and loan commitments, and health and age-related expenses.
03
Calculation and information
With the documents I work through the claim, formally demand any missing information, or check the other side's calculation.
04
Obtaining an enforceable title
The result is recorded in enforceable form, with a variation mechanism where income fluctuates. Where a business carries the income, I work together with the valuation questions from divorce for business owners.
Typical situations
01
A self-employed father with varying profits
A self-employed father shows very different profits over recent years. What decides matters here is which period is relevant and whether an average is taken. Both sides need the same documents: profit statements, drawings, private account movements. The title gets a clause that absorbs fluctuating years.
02
Moving out with two children, and a car loan
The mother moves out with two children and asks about separation maintenance for herself and cash maintenance for the children. The father is in permanent employment but wants a deduction for a car loan. Whether the instalments can be deducted is decided by the adjustment rules, not by the loan agreement.
Maintenance in Cologne: office and competent court
The office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Appointments there, by video or by phone. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, and in part from across Germany and even from abroad. Anyone living further away works with me at a distance, because maintenance sits in documents and calculations, not in the courtroom.
Where maintenance is contested it goes before the family court. For Cologne families that is as a rule the Cologne Local Court, with appeals to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. If divorce proceedings are already running, maintenance can be decided there as an ancillary matter. I can represent you before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
From two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's income available for maintenance. For child maintenance, the child's age and the income bracket provide the guideline, based on the Duesseldorf Table. For spousal maintenance the standard of living during the marriage comes in as well. The payer keeps the protected minimum. Anyone doing the calculation needs documents from both sides. Without information, every figure is an assertion.
The amount the payer needs for their own living costs before anything is passed on. It caps the amount of maintenance and differs depending on the kind of maintenance: for child maintenance the threshold is lower than for spousal maintenance, because the child takes priority. The specific amounts change regularly and belong in the individual calculation, not in a text.
Not effectively, so far as child and separation maintenance for the future are concerned. Child maintenance cannot be waived (section 1614(1) German Civil Code). The same principle applies to separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4. Post-marital maintenance is different: there spouses may waive, and an agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c).
From the separation until the divorce becomes final. After that it ends, and further maintenance requires one of the statutory grounds for post-marital maintenance, such as caring for a young child. What matters in practice is the date of the separation itself: claims run from that point, and arrears arise where nothing is paid although an obligation exists.
Yes, on request. Relatives in the direct line are obliged to provide each other with information about their income and assets so far as necessary to establish a maintenance claim, and to produce supporting documents (section 1605 German Civil Code). The same provision is referred to for separation maintenance and post-marital maintenance. A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. If no information comes, the next step is through the courts.
For the self-employed, income cannot be read off a payslip. What counts is the profit, adjusted for items that are not deductible under maintenance law, and where years fluctuate strongly frequently an average over several years. Drawings, private expenditure through the business and shareholdings all belong on the table. Where a business lies behind it, its valuation comes in as a separate question.
Arrears presuppose that an obligation existed and was not met. They become enforceable through a title: a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court settlement or a court order. Without a title the leverage is missing, which is why acting early achieves more than any renegotiation. How far back arrears reach and what objections the other side can raise depends on the individual case.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). You receive an invoice with a detailed record of the work done. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee.
Settle maintenance before arrears build up
Bring what you have: proof of income, any payment arrangements so far, the date of separation. In the initial consultation we sort out which kinds of maintenance apply and settle what has to be calculated and recorded first.
FAMILY LAW
Maintenance: examining and enforcing the claim
After a separation the maintenance question arises quickly: who owes whom how much, from when and for how long. Two things are needed for that: a calculation that holds up, and a way to enforce it. I am Dr Hanna Schmidt, attorney at law in Cologne, and I handle maintenance cases myself, from the request for information to the enforceable title.
Post-marital maintenance, separation maintenance, child maintenance: three claims
The word maintenance covers three different claims, each with its own conditions, its own standards and its own logic of deadlines. Anyone who mixes them up is negotiating about the wrong subject.
Child maintenance
The child has its own claim against the parent who pays in cash. The parent providing care contributes in kind, through care and upbringing. The basis is the obligation of relatives in the direct line to provide maintenance to one another (section 1601 German Civil Code).
The amount depends on the child's age and the paying parent's income. The Duesseldorf Table serves as the point of reference, and the courts use it as a guideline. Child maintenance cannot be waived for the future (section 1614(1)), not even by agreement between the parents.
In addition there is what is known as additional need (Mehrbedarf) and special need (Sonderbedarf). For these, both parents are liable to pay in cash, in proportion to their income.
Separation maintenance
From the separation onwards the economically stronger spouse owes the other maintenance until the divorce becomes final. Here too a waiver for the future is prohibited. That follows from the chain of references in section 1361(4) sentence 4 via section 1360a(3) to section 1614(1).
A clause in a separation letter waiving all maintenance is void to that extent. Separation maintenance can perfectly well be quantified and paid in instalments; it just cannot be waived.
Post-marital maintenance
Once the divorce becomes final the principle of self-responsibility applies: post-marital maintenance is the exception and needs a ground, such as caring for a young child, age or illness. Here spouses have the widest scope to make their own arrangements.
Agreements are permissible. An agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c German Civil Code), and being recorded in matrimonial proceedings is equivalent to that (section 127a).
Care maintenance: maintenance because of caring for a child
The name a claim runs under decides its duration and its amount. A divorced spouse can claim maintenance from the other because of the care or upbringing of a child of the marriage for at least three years after the birth (section 1570(1) German Civil Code). After that the claim does not end automatically: it continues for as long and to the extent that is equitable.
This claim presupposes a marriage. Where the parents were never married, section 1615l applies, with its own conditions and a different duration. The dispute is rarely about the first three years but about the transition afterwards. What is relevant here includes, among other things: the opening hours of childcare, travel times, shift schedules, the child's specific needs.
Top-up maintenance: where your own income is not enough
Top-up maintenance is the case where someone works and still has a claim. Where income from suitable employment is not sufficient for full maintenance, the divorced spouse can claim the difference between their income and full maintenance (section 1573(2) German Civil Code). Full maintenance is measured by the standard of living during the marriage.
Two points are particularly significant: what employment is suitable, and the attribution of notional income where someone works less than they could. Added to that is limitation: the claim can be limited in time or reduced in amount where unlimited maintenance would be inequitable. Anyone concluding an agreement does better to settle that limit at the same time.
Pension provision maintenance: the item most often forgotten
Anyone who receives maintenance and therefore works less also acquires fewer pension entitlements during that time. That is what pension provision maintenance is for: the cost of appropriate insurance against old age and reduced earning capacity forms part of the cost of living (section 1578(3) German Civil Code). It is calculated alongside basic maintenance and is earmarked for that purpose.
During the separation phase it does not apply from the outset. Once divorce proceedings are pending, the cost of such insurance forms part of maintenance from the point they became pending (section 1361(1) sentence 2). That is one of the reasons why the timing of the divorce petition is a question of money and not merely of scheduling.
Need, ability to pay and adjusted income
Every maintenance calculation begins with two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's ability to pay. Which income the calculation starts from is decided by the adjustment: not every item permissible for tax purposes is deductible under maintenance law. The payer keeps an amount for their own living costs, the protected minimum. It differs depending on whether the case concerns child maintenance or maintenance between spouses.
Both sides have mutual rights to information. Relatives in the direct line must, on request, provide information about their income and assets and produce supporting documents, in particular employer's certificates (section 1605 German Civil Code). A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. Without documents every calculation is an assertion.
The enforceable title: turning a calculation into an instrument
A calculated figure remains paper until it is enforceable. The routes there are a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court-recorded settlement, or a court order. Where income fluctuates, the title should contain a variation mechanism, otherwise every change in salary means new proceedings. Arrears can only be recovered on the basis of a title.
Where money is left on the table in maintenance cases
01
Accepting figures without having seen the documents
The other side names a sum and both are relieved that anything was calculated at all. The amount has not fitted for years, and without an enforceable title there is nothing to work with. Documents first, then agreement.
02
Waiving maintenance for the sake of peace
For child and separation maintenance a waiver for the future is void (section 1614(1) German Civil Code, for separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4). The clause offers no protection, and the claim comes anyway.
03
Leaving the right to information unused
Without documents the negotiation runs on estimates. A claimant who asks too modestly and a payer who discloses too much both pay for the lesson. The request for information under section 1605 German Civil Code is the first formal step in any case.
04
Mixing national and international cases in one calculation
If the payer or the child is abroad, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement come in as separate questions. The cost of living in the country concerned also has to be taken into account.
How I proceed
01
Initial consultation
In the initial consultation we first sort out the position: which of the three kinds of maintenance is meant, since when which period has been running, and what has already been paid or agreed.
02
List of documents
I then draw up the list of documents: among other things, proof of income for the last twelve months, for the self-employed profit statements covering several years, rent and loan commitments, and health and age-related expenses.
03
Calculation and information
With the documents I work through the claim, formally demand any missing information, or check the other side's calculation.
04
Obtaining an enforceable title
The result is recorded in enforceable form, with a variation mechanism where income fluctuates. Where a business carries the income, I work together with the valuation questions from divorce for business owners.
Typical situations
01
A self-employed father with varying profits
A self-employed father shows very different profits over recent years. What decides matters here is which period is relevant and whether an average is taken. Both sides need the same documents: profit statements, drawings, private account movements. The title gets a clause that absorbs fluctuating years.
02
Moving out with two children, and a car loan
The mother moves out with two children and asks about separation maintenance for herself and cash maintenance for the children. The father is in permanent employment but wants a deduction for a car loan. Whether the instalments can be deducted is decided by the adjustment rules, not by the loan agreement.
Maintenance in Cologne: office and competent court
The office is at Jakordenstrasse 8 in 50668 Cologne. Appointments there, by video or by phone. Clients come from Cologne and the surrounding area, and in part from across Germany and even from abroad. Anyone living further away works with me at a distance, because maintenance sits in documents and calculations, not in the courtroom.
Where maintenance is contested it goes before the family court. For Cologne families that is as a rule the Cologne Local Court, with appeals to the Cologne Higher Regional Court. If divorce proceedings are already running, maintenance can be decided there as an ancillary matter. I can represent you before family courts and higher regional courts throughout Germany.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
From two figures: the claimant's need and the payer's income available for maintenance. For child maintenance, the child's age and the income bracket provide the guideline, based on the Duesseldorf Table. For spousal maintenance the standard of living during the marriage comes in as well. The payer keeps the protected minimum. Anyone doing the calculation needs documents from both sides. Without information, every figure is an assertion.
The amount the payer needs for their own living costs before anything is passed on. It caps the amount of maintenance and differs depending on the kind of maintenance: for child maintenance the threshold is lower than for spousal maintenance, because the child takes priority. The specific amounts change regularly and belong in the individual calculation, not in a text.
Not effectively, so far as child and separation maintenance for the future are concerned. Child maintenance cannot be waived (section 1614(1) German Civil Code). The same principle applies to separation maintenance via section 1361(4) sentence 4. Post-marital maintenance is different: there spouses may waive, and an agreement made before the divorce becomes final requires notarial recording (section 1585c).
From the separation until the divorce becomes final. After that it ends, and further maintenance requires one of the statutory grounds for post-marital maintenance, such as caring for a young child. What matters in practice is the date of the separation itself: claims run from that point, and arrears arise where nothing is paid although an obligation exists.
Yes, on request. Relatives in the direct line are obliged to provide each other with information about their income and assets so far as necessary to establish a maintenance claim, and to produce supporting documents (section 1605 German Civil Code). The same provision is referred to for separation maintenance and post-marital maintenance. A renewed request within two years is only possible where substantially higher income is credibly shown. If no information comes, the next step is through the courts.
For the self-employed, income cannot be read off a payslip. What counts is the profit, adjusted for items that are not deductible under maintenance law, and where years fluctuate strongly frequently an average over several years. Drawings, private expenditure through the business and shareholdings all belong on the table. Where a business lies behind it, its valuation comes in as a separate question.
Arrears presuppose that an obligation existed and was not met. They become enforceable through a title: a notarial deed with submission to enforcement, a court settlement or a court order. Without a title the leverage is missing, which is why acting early achieves more than any renegotiation. How far back arrears reach and what objections the other side can raise depends on the individual case.
I bill by time, at an hourly rate of 280 euros plus 19% VAT, but at least according to the statutory fees under the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). You receive an invoice with a detailed record of the work done. Billing through legal expenses insurance is possible. As a rule the insurer only pays the statutory fees; you bear the difference to the hourly fee.
Settle maintenance before arrears build up
Bring what you have: proof of income, any payment arrangements so far, the date of separation. In the initial consultation we sort out which kinds of maintenance apply and settle what has to be calculated and recorded first.