Alimony Payments: How Long Do I Have to Pay?

Questioner

Good evening... I have a question that I can't find a good answer to. My girlfriend at the time left for a weekend in Germany in 2005 with our 4 year old daughter. Unfortunately, they never came back. It took me half a year to make a good visitation arrangement. I have also been paying child support for my daughter since the beginning of course. My question is... Until how long do I have to pay? One says until 18... The other says until 21. I also hear that I just have to keep paying for as long as necessary. I hope you can give me an answer to this. Thanks in advance and kind regards, D

Lawyer

Do I understand correctly that your daughter is still living in Germany? In this case, German law applies.

Questioner

Yes that is correct

Lawyer

According to German law, the question of until when you have to pay maintenance depends on the situation. It is possible and also likely that you have to pay maintenance for a much longer period than until your daughter’s 18th birthday – for example because she goes to university and therefore has no income of her own. However, maintenance for an adult child is calculated differently. For example, the so-called “Selbstbehalt” is higher, i.e. the amount that you were allowed to keep for yourself.