Alimony… until when?
Interesting Judgment of the Audiencia Provincial (AP) of Barcelona handed down in the context of a proceeding for modification of measures, in which the parent obliged to alimony payment sought to reduce the maintenance allowance in favour of his daughter (600Euros/month).
In order to prove a substantial change in circumstances, the claimant based his request on 3 points: (i) worsening of the financial capacity of the obliged to alimony payment, (ii) financial improvement of the parent, with whom the daughter they had in common lived, and (iii) financial independence of the daughter, aged 20.
Regarding the precarious economic situation of the obliged to alimony payment, the AP concludes that this has not been accredited, on the contrary, it considers that there are «indicators that are incompatible with the economic deterioration claimed» such as the purchase of a financed home, among others.
In relation to the economic independence of the daughter, the AP highlights the following: «… as for the daughter, aged 20, she continues to live with her mother and has not finished her education. She is studying mathematical engineering at university with very good results. The level and demands of these studies are hardly compatible with a full-time job that would allow her to fully meet her financial needs. Consequently, maintenance will be maintained until the daughter completes her education and is in a position to generate income on her own. It is not now possible to fix the date in question as Mr. Samuel claims, since we do not have sufficient data to do so.»
And he continues: .
«We note, however, that the young woman gives private lessons and also makes some sales via a wallapop website. Both activities do not provide stable and regular income from which to derive the economic sufficiency claimed by the appellant, but we understand that they do contribute to and make it possible to reduce the amount of the child support.
Taking into account the above data, we consider that the amount of the child support should be set at 450 euros per month with effect from the date of this judgment.
In this context, the AP clarifies that no maximum date can be set for declaring the child support to have expired; rather, it is necessary to weigh up all the applicable circumstances, such as the economic capacity of the parent obligued to face alimony payment and the age of the child, among others.
