Legal advice for alimony and allowances

Questioner

My ex's boyfriend has been living with her since last December. She owns a house, but her boyfriend is not registered with her and he rents out his apartment. In addition to her full-time job, she receives just over €400 in child-related budget. Her boyfriend also works full time. In my opinion, it is a kind of fraud. What are the consequences of this? For her and for me? Will I have to pay more alimony later? Do they commit fraud and what can be done about it? We have 2 daughters. 1 of 14 and 1 of 10. Due to my rotating shifts and co-parenting, I see my children an average of 4 times a week. I pay my alimony properly, but I have the feeling that something is not right. I don't get any benefits...absolutely nothing, while they earn around €4,000 a month together, plus over €400 in childcare allowance. The more I think about it now, the angrier I get. I hope that I can get some advice, because other agencies don't make me any wiser.

Questioner

If you pay this amount in child support, nothing can be done about it. However, if it's partly paid as spousal support, it can. This is because spousal support ends when the ex-partner you're paying for cohabits/marries. A change in child support can be requested if your ex-partner has entered into a registered partnership or marriage with their current partner because their new partner has become a stepparent and is therefore obligated to contribute to the costs of the children in their household. If you see your children an average of four times a week, you could also try applying for child-related budget and/or child benefit. This is possible in cases of co-parenting. I recommend checking the Tax and Customs Administration and the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) websites to see if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Questioner

I do not pay alimony. We have already arranged that. But the fact that her boyfriend is not registered with her could still result in a fine or something? Now she receives the full benefits. Don't get me wrong, but I don't want to be punished for her mistakes by having to pay more alimony.

Questioner

The more benefits she receives, the more she has to pay. If the full amount of her benefits wasn't taken into account in the previous calculations, a recalculation may be appropriate now because she has more financial resources now and could potentially contribute more to the costs of both your children. If the full amount of benefits was already taken into account, a recalculation now likely won't make a difference unless she has increased her working hours or earned a much higher income. This is because, in that case, her full income (including benefits) as well as yours were already taken into account when the calculation was made. In that case, you wouldn't be paying too much now. This may be different if there has been a change in circumstances since then.

Questioner

Ok, so if I understand correctly, anyone can live somewhere without any consequences, provided the parent receives the full benefits. While various sites state that it is a form of fraud and that the child-related budget may have to be repaid retroactively.

Questioner

This is obviously not acceptable. However, if your ex-partner's benefits were to be reduced due to cohabitation, she would have less financial capacity, and it's quite possible that the costs of the children would be divided differently between you both, meaning you might end up paying more than before. I understand this is unpleasant for you. Only with a precise calculation can we determine whether you are indeed paying too much. Unfortunately, if she doesn't cooperate in voluntarily providing her information to the LBIO, court proceedings will have to be initiated. I regret that I cannot inform you otherwise.