{"id":2415,"date":"2025-06-20T21:40:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/who-can-get-spousal-maintenance-and-when\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T21:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:40:01","slug":"who-can-get-spousal-maintenance-and-when","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/who-can-get-spousal-maintenance-and-when\/","title":{"rendered":"Who can get spousal maintenance and when?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people call it wife-keeping, but it is not exclusive to the ex-wife. Spousal maintenance<\/strong> (also known as spousal support<\/strong> ) after divorce is a legal instrument designed to provide financial support to one spouse who, through no fault of his or her own, becomes financially destitute and needy after the divorce. <\/p>\n

It is governed by the Civil Code (Act V of 2013)<\/strong>, the main points of which are summarised below.<\/p>\n

When is spousal maintenance payable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former spouse is entitled to spousal maintenance if the following conditions<\/strong> are met:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. In a vulnerable situation<\/strong>
    \n– Unable to support themselves (e.g. due to illness, old age, incapacity for work, raising a young child).<\/li>\n
  2. The need is not due to any fault on your<\/strong> part
    \n– The ex-spouse did not put you in this situation intentionally or negligently.<\/li>\n
  3. The other former spouse’s ability<\/strong> to support the person in need
    \n– The other party is in a financial position to support the person in need without making him or her or his or her new family unable to do so.<\/li>\n
  4. Conduct during the marriage is not a ground for disqualification<\/strong>
    \n– The former spouse did not abuse his\/her rights or engage in unworthy or seriously reprehensible conduct during the marriage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How long does it last?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • By agreement<\/strong>: the parties may agree on the amount and duration of the maintenance.<\/li>\n
    • By court decision<\/strong>: if there is no agreement, the court decides.<\/li>\n
    • Duration<\/strong>: can be either fixed or indefinite, both until the need arises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Special case: former spouse with a child<\/strong><\/p>\n

      If the ex-spouse is raising a child<\/strong> and is unable to work because of this, this in itself can establish a dependency claim.<\/p>\n

      Spousal maintenance in practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

      To better understand spousal maintenance, we would like to give two examples. In one case the court granted it, in the other it rejected it. <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Example – Awarded spousal maintenance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Ildiko and Peter divorce after 15 years of marriage. Ildik\u00f3 is 52 years old, and during the marriage she raised their three children full-time and did not work regularly. At the time of the divorce, only the youngest child, aged 10, lives with her. Ildik\u00f3 is unable to work full-time due to health problems, only part-time for a few hours a week. Her income is low and she can barely cover her basic expenses. <\/p>\n

        Decision:<\/strong>
        \nThe court finds that:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Ildik\u00f3 can establish your means<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • The situation is beyond your control <\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        • Peter is financially stable and has a good-earning job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          The court will award Ildiko spousal maintenance<\/strong>, a fixed monthly amount for as long as she is in need, with the exception of when she is unable to work or when she is raising the child alone.<\/p>\n

          <\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Example – Refused spousal maintenance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Location:<\/strong>
            \nG\u00e1bor and N\u00f3ra were married for 8 years. N\u00f3ra applied for spousal maintenance, claiming that she was going through a “difficult time” after the divorce and wanted to maintain her lifestyle. However, N\u00f3ra is healthy, has a university degree and is able to work. She worked during the marriage and still has a job, but at a lower salary than G\u00e1bor. <\/p>\n

            Decision:<\/strong>
            \nThe court considers that:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • Nora is not destitute<\/strong>, as she can support herself.<\/li>\n
            • His income may be lower, but that is no reason<\/strong> to keep him.<\/li>\n
            • There are no factors that justify an award of spousal maintenance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              The court rejects the request for maintenance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Many people call it wife-keeping, but it is not exclusive to the ex-wife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drokros.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}