In principle, children are always entitled to child support. If the parents live together with the child, the question does not arise who has to pay the child support. If the parents live separately, the parent with whom the child lives provides maintenance in kind in the form of room and board. The other parent, on the other hand, is obliged to pay cash maintenance – regardless of the income of the parent with whom the child lives.

There is an entitlement for minors and children of legal age

Underage children and children of legal age who are still in their initial education are entitled to child support. In both cases, however, they must be unmarried, since with a marriage, the maintenance claim is primarily transferred to the spouse.

Children are entitled to maintenance from their parents; whether the child is legitimate or not makes no difference. Both parents have to contribute proportionally to covering the needs of the child; the parent who looks after the child in the household thereby makes his or her contribution.

The parents must contribute to the upkeep of the child “to the best of their ability”: Each parent must exhaust their possibilities in order to fulfill this obligation. To this end, he not only has to use his income but also the maintenance payments he is entitled to (spouse’s maintenance) or the trunk of his assets and take this into account when choosing a career and when structuring his living conditions. If one parent can only contribute a little, the other – as far as he is able to do so – has all the more to contribute. Thus, half of the maintenance may not be imposed on each parent schematically.

If both parents together are unable to meet the appropriate needs of the child, the grandparents must provide the missing part as far as they can. The grandparents’ maintenance obligation only exists if the parents are unable to provide maintenance.

If a parent’s maintenance obligation is determined by a legally binding court decision, but if it is not fulfilled by the parent, the judiciary will grant an advance maintenance payment upon application, provided that all requirements are met, which it, in turn, reclaims from the maintenance debtor.

Children can also have maintenance obligations for their parents (grandparents).

How much is the maintenance?

If the child lives in the same household as his parents, the child is entitled to maintenance in kind. This can be provided by providing accommodation, providing the necessary food and clothing, school materials, etc. If the child does not live in the same household with one of the two parents (or if one parent has failed to meet his or her maintenance obligation), this parent must pay maintenance; this means the payment of money. In principle, this is done to the legal representative of the minor child (i.e., up to the age of 18), if the child is of legal age, to the child himself.

The amount of the monetary maintenance claim depends on the one hand on the needs of the child and on the other hand on the ability of the parent. Normally, the child’s maintenance entitlement is calculated on the basis of percentages of the net income of the dependent parent. The level of these percentages is graduated according to the age of the child.

• for children under 6 years: 16%
• for children between 6 and 10 years: 18%
• for children between 10 and 15 years: 20%
• for children over 15 years: 22%

However, the parent’s maintenance obligation towards other children must be taken into account accordingly.

The standard requirement serves as a certain control variable in the maintenance assessment. The standard requirement is understood to mean the costs that a child of a certain age incurs on average in addition to the care services. In doing so, no consideration is given to the concrete living conditions of the father and mother, the predispositions of the child, and the (other) circumstances under which it grows up. A maintenance request must be examined more precisely by the court and the maintenance decision must be justified in greater detail the further the specific maintenance amount deviates from the standard requirement. However, the standard requirement only has a control function and is not to be seen as a fixed minimum or maximum limit.

The child’s maintenance entitlement is reduced if they have their own income (from gainful employment or assets). However, the trunk of his property is not to be used to cover maintenance. The maintenance claim depends on whether the child is able to support itself, taking into account its living conditions. Therefore, children of legal age can also have a maintenance claim, while minors lose it if they earn enough. Once the claim to maintenance has expired, it is revived if the child can no longer support himself.

Amount of maintenance for children

In family law, the maintenance obligation is regulated by law. The maintenance for children is therefore fixed from the start, the amount only has to be determined.

The amount of the entitlement to child maintenance depends on the income of the maintenance debtor and the age of the child – minus the child benefit, this results in the amounts paid for the maintenance.

Child support cannot be ruled out

While spousal maintenance and separation maintenance can be excluded in a prenuptial agreement, this is not possible with maintenance for children. If a marriage contract contains such a clause to exclude child support in the event of a divorce, it is not legally valid.

How does family law differentiate between maintenance?

Minors

Minor children are always entitled to the minimum maintenance, regardless of where they live and whether they are still in education.

Minimum maintenance

Here, the principle of parental responsibility already requires ensuring the necessities of life. For minors and privileged adult children, there is an increased obligation on the parents’ side to ensure child support, so the minimum support for minors is also regulated on the basis of the substantive subsistence level.

Privileged adults

Privileged children of legal age are on an equal footing with underage children in terms of the right of maintenance. Children who are of legal age are referred to as privileged adults.

Adult children

Adult children who are not privileged, for example, because they are older than 21 years or are no longer in general school education, are also entitled to maintenance until they have completed their first vocational training.

For the sake of simplicity, information on adult child maintenance is divided into different categories:

• Child of legal age (general)
• Child in training
• Maintenance with students
• Child unemployed

There is also a special feature of child maintenance for children of legal age with child benefits. While half of the child benefit is deducted from the table maintenance for minors, those liable for maintenance can deduct the entire child benefit from the table maintenance for adults.

How can parents provide support for their children?

In addition, there is a close connection between parental care and child maintenance, because: the parent who takes on child care usually already provides maintenance through their care and upbringing, in the sense of so-called maintenance in kind.

The other parent is obliged to provide cash maintenance. Those in need of maintenance are not expected to have their own gainful employment as long as they are in school or vocational training. Ultimately, such training should form the basis for appropriate professional and economic independence.

During this time, the parents are obliged to pay both the general maintenance obligation (apartment, food, etc.) and the special training costs.

How is child support calculated?

Depending on the age of the child and the adjusted net income of the person liable for maintenance, there is a corresponding amount. Half of this amount is then deducted from this amount for minor children and the full child benefit for children of legal age in order to receive the final maintenance amount

How long does maintenance have to be paid for a child?

Parents have to pay maintenance to their children until they have completed their first professional training (study or training). A maintenance claim can accordingly also exist after the child has reached the age of 18.

Sources

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/divorce-and-separation/how-much-child-maintenance-should-i-pay
https://www.ntucfirstcampus.com/do-good/child-support-model
https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/guideline-models-by-state.aspx
https://www.thebalance.com/how-child-support-payments-are-calculated-2997973
https://mensdivorce.com/basics-child-support/
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/how-is-the-amount-of-child-support-determined-42008
https://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/en/couples-and-families/separation-and-divorce/children-a-joint-responsibility/child-support/the-quebec-model-for-the-determination-of-child-support-payments/