Maintenance calculation
February 1, 2011 | 35,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Hello,
I would like to know if I am entitled to maintenance support from you - and if so, to what extent (does not have to be exact to the penny).
My son was born in January, I live alone with him in my apartment and I am separated from the father. He pays the minimum child support (225 euros) and I receive child benefit. Before the birth, I earned 2400 euros net per month and will soon receive parental allowance between 1600-1700 euros.
The father earns 1600 euros net and commutes 37km to work daily.
However, without maintenance support, I am missing about 400 euros per month, which would be important for me (financing the apartment, retirement planning, etc.).
Thank you in advance.
Dear seeker of advice,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to respond as follows:
Based on your description, you are not likely to have a enforceable claim for maintenance support. The father of the child has what is called a reasonable self-support reserve of €1150. This amount is necessary for his own living expenses.
This is not based on his taxable net income, but rather his relevant adjusted net income for maintenance purposes. This income is determined by deducting certain expenses from the taxable net income.
Without knowing the complete financial circumstances of the father of the child, I cannot take into account all possible deductions that may apply.
However, I will consider the deductions that are possible.
From the €1600 net income, the child support must first be deducted, which as you correctly stated is €225, leaving an available income of €1375.
Next, one must deduct work-related expenses. According to legal precedent, a flat rate of 5% can be deducted, leaving €1306. If higher expenses can be proven, they can also be deducted. This is where transportation costs come into play.
Assuming the father drives 37 km for work 20 days a month at a rate of €0.3 per kilometer, he can deduct a total of €222, leaving a remaining amount of €1153.
As mentioned, I am not aware of any other possible deductions, so I assume that, if anything, you may only receive a few euros in maintenance support, but most likely will not receive any.
I hope this provides you with an initial legal orientation and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to point out the following:
The legal information I have provided is based solely on the facts you have presented. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive examination of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful. Feel free to contact me via email or the follow-up option if you have any further questions.
Wishing you a pleasant Tuesday afternoon,
Kind regards from the North Sea coast
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax. 0471/140244
