CONSULTATION:
Dear Sir,
My divorce Court Decree states that I should deposit 500 € monthly into my ex wife’s bank account as maintenance for my two under age children, (250€ each) for child support / maintenance. My children are spending the coming month of August with me and my question is if my children are under my care during that month, should I still pay my ex wife the 500 € for child support or not?
Dear reader,
Thank you for your consultation.
My opinion as lawyer is that even if your 2 children spend with you the whole month of August you should still pay your ex wife the monthly amounts set by the judge in your divorce Decree.
Many Spanish Courts have clearly stated that the obligation to pay child maintenance regards the year as a whole and not as individual months even though the amount is set in monthly payments. The Court establishes a global annual payment and divides this amount into months since the minor’s needs and expense can be some months, higher than others. Therefore the established monthly amount must be paid regardless the amount of that particular month’s expenses since it is fixed taking into account the whole year. Otherwise the monthly child support payments would need to be monthly revised according to each month’s real expenses.
In addition, child support is based in Spain, on article 142 of the Spanish Civil Code which not only refers to food as such but also to other items as clothing, medical, education etc. Thus article 142 reads: It is understood as maintenance everything imperative and essentially needed to live; shelter, clothing and medical assistance…
Therefore, even if you take care of the minors’ food during the month of August, your ex wife could allegedly claim that she faces the rest of the monthly expenses such as clothing, school, education, housing costs and other ordinary expenses proper of the children’s age during the rest of the year. As previously mentioned in this article, the monthly maintenance amount is set according to the child’s annual requirements, so failure on your part to pay the month of August could undermine economic manage and deprivation of the minors’ economic needs.´
Our Regional Court of Alicante Section 7th (Audiencia Provincial de Alicante (Sección 7ª) has ruled in this respect on its Court Order 216/2002 of April 30th.
Moreover if we consider that the judges must always protect and safeguard the interest of the minors, it is my understanding that if you fail to pay the child support during the month of August, the custodial mother could claim against you with high success possibility.
Should any reader be in this situation or similar please do not hesitate to contact us and the appropriate advice will be provided.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues.
This article is available in English and Spanish at our Web site: www.white-baos.com
Carlos Baos (Lawyer)
Tel: 966 426 185
E-mail: info@white-baos.com
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