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Some financial and tax facts about divorce
- If divorce proceedings are pending or if the spouses have been separated for two years, the surviving spouse is not entitled to a compulsory portion.
- If the income of the parent paying child maintenance is low or insufficient, but the assets are high, the assets are taken into account when determining the maintenance.
- The minimum subsistence level of the paying parent must always be secured and covered. No pension is payable if the payment of a pension reduces the strict minimum subsistence level of the paying parent.
- The pension hierarchy must be observed. This means that if financial resources are limited, the pension for minor children takes precedence over the pension for the (ex-)spouse. The ex-spouse’s pension in turn has priority over the pension for adult children. The minor child always has priority.
- Assets are taken into account when determining child maintenance if they are very large and income is low.
- The court is always free to decide on the amount of the contribution for the child. It is not bound by the consent of the parents and decides solely in the interests of the child.
- Upon divorce, the spouses switch from joint taxation to separate assessment.
- Outstanding tax debts up to the date of separation are jointly and severally charged to both spouses.
- Children, regardless of their parentage, are all treated equally. Pensions are the same for everyone of the same age.