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“Nothing is so constant as change,” said the ancient philosopher Heraclitus. This also applies after a divorce. One day the ex-wife, who receives alimony, moves in with a new partner. Or you lose the job. Or the daughter now receives a decent apprentice wage. But you still have to pay as before. The big question: can you have the alimony reduced? One thing is clear: you cannot change alimony that is stipulated in the divorce decree or in an alimony agreement. Otherwise you risk enforcement. However, alimony can be adjusted by the judge if an amicable settlement between the parties is not possible. The condition for this is that the circumstances must have changed “significantly, permanently and unforeseeably”. And of course you should not have brought about the new circumstances yourself. So if you simply quit your high-paying job, you can’t expect to pay less alimony for your ex-wife and children.
The judge uses a comparison to determine whether financial circumstances have changed significantly. The income and expenses of the spouses upon divorce are compared with the current situation. “Depending on the court, a change in financial circumstances of five percent is sufficient,” explains Corinne Seeholzer, specialized family law lawyer in Zug. Other courts require a minimum of ten percent, others even up to twenty percent if the financial circumstances are good.
This article was first published in the “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch.
This article was first published in the “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch.
The Federal Court simply says that it depends on the individual case: the tighter the financial circumstances were when the alimony was determined, the less significant the change needs to be for adjustments to be made. It is worthwhile to inquire in advance with the relevant judge about current practice.
You must demonstrate that you were not aware of future developments when determining the alimony and therefore did not take them into account. This is often difficult because the judge assumes that foreseeable changes have been taken into account.
For example, those who want to pay less because their child has started an apprenticeship and will now earn money themselves have little chance. Because it’s clear that a child is probably going to do an internship. The result: The court assumes that this was taken into account when determining the alimony. You only have a chance if the judgment states or explicitly states that the student’s income has not been taken into account in the alimony.
According to lawyer Seeholzer, there is a good chance that you will have to pay less in the following cases:
It is therefore important to record exactly what you assume in the divorce. The change is nothing more than an update of the original situation at the time. A divorce decree lays down the foundation. This means: income, expenses and assumptions that the court assumed.
“Judicial divorce decrees are therefore easier to change than amicable divorces that are based on a treaty or a settlement in court,” says expert Seeholzer. In the latter case, the principles are usually unclear: agreement has simply been reached without knowing exactly which individual factors are relevant to the level of maintenance. The result: there is a lack of a benchmark that can be used to measure whether a significant change has occurred. “There is a great risk that the court will conclude that an adjustment of the alimony contributions is not possible, because the changes that have occurred today have already been taken into account at the time of the divorce.”
In amendment procedures, the question always ultimately arises whether only the income and expenditure figures at the time are updated, or whether, for example, new case law that has appeared since then – such as the change to the school level model – or whether new legislation is also taken into account. “This also varies from court to court,” says lawyer Seeholzer. But what is the same everywhere: If only the case law or law is different, but the financial circumstances have not changed significantly, permanently and unforeseen, that is not enough for change.
Judicial amendment proceedings are therefore full of uncertainties. Therefore, it is obviously best if you can reach an agreement. Otherwise, it is worth having the chances of a lawsuit clarified by a specialist. Otherwise you risk losing thousands of francs for a hopeless procedure.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
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