ALIMONY TYPES OF ALIMONY – TURKISH FAMIL LAW
WHAT IS ALIMONY? WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ALIMONY? ( TURKISH FAMIL LAW )
Alimony is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. According to the Turkish Civil Code, there are two kinds of alimony. The first of these is ”care” alimony, its aim is to protect the joint interest of the family institution. To ensure that the parties support each other and the joint child. Within this scope, Care Alimony is divided into two as “Child Maintenance” and “Welfare Allowance (Poverty Alimony)”.
The first one of care alimony is Spouse Maintenance also called Welfare Allowance (Poverty Alimony- in Turkish legal jargon ) is decided to give alimony to the party that will live in poverty after the divorce (within this scope gender is not important, men also can claim alimony from their spouses when conditions are suitable). The social and economic situation of the parties and their degree of fault ( level of contributary negligence during marriage ) are taken into account when determining welfare allowance. The alimony continues until the creditor of the alimony is married or dies. If the judge has adjudged an alimony for a limited duration, for example, limited to 2 years, the alimony debt ends automatically at the end of this period.
Another type of care alimony is the child maintenance ( child Support / alimony) provided by the law for the parent who is not actually caring for the joint child. If the child does not die until the age of 18 or if it is not removed by a court decision, alimony obligation of the parent continues. When determining this alimony, the age, physical and mental health and general expenses of the joint child are taken into account as well as the social/economic status of both parents. After all these conditions are evaluated together, an amount is adjudged by the court.. Despite this, since the best interest of the child is considered as the basis for the child maintenance, an amount is determined for the benefit of the child.
For both types of alimony, the judge can adjudge a temporary alimony with the interlocutory decision to prevent possible aggrievement of the parties during the divorce. As a result of the divorce lawsuit temporary alimony later becomes child maintenance or welfare allowance (poverty alimony) and continues.
If the education of the joint child continues after the age of 18, the child has to file a new lawsuit and claim child maintenance to continue as educational maintenance (alimony). Supreme Court decisions are also within this direction.
When the social and economic conditions of the parties changes or there is an extraordinary situation in the country that will cause difficulty in payment, the party that is the debtor of the alimony may open a lawsuit and request to cancel or reduce the alimony. The plaintiff certainly has to present health reports, which shows that his/her economic conditions became bad, executive proceedings and other evidences. In the same way, if the amount of alimony is insufficient or if there is a great improvement in the financial situation of the alimony debtor, an increase in the amount of alimony can be requested by filing a lawsuit. April 2020
Attorney Çağla Çinili, LLB *
Kaya & Partner Hukuki Danışmanlık**
Kaya Partner Lawyers and Consultants
*Attorney Çağla Çinili is a member of the İstanbul Bar Association, her practice areas are; Family Law, Personal Injury, Administration Law and Petroleum Law and Legislation, and Personal Injury. She has been working in Kaya Partner Lawyers and Consultants office since 2015.
