Ex pays off credit and doesn't pay me alimony

Questioner

My ex and I divorced a few years ago. A long financial aftermath that I really want to put an end to now. We had a joint flexible credit. And my ex has to pay alimony for 2 children. He does not pay alimony for that, instead he pays off the flexible credit. This is not officially recorded but more or less went that way. He also says that this is more or less the agreement. And I have to trust him in this. I would like to make this official because my ex sometimes does not pay and then the bank comes to me. I have already tried at the bank to get the loan in his name only, but unfortunately this is not possible. How can I best record this so that I don't end up with the misery when he doesn't pay again?

Lawyer

I would not go along with this arrangement, also because no offsetting of claims with child support may take place. Furthermore, child support must be indexed every year. Does that happen? You cannot prevent the bank from calling you because you remain jointly and severally liable.

Lawyer

If nothing has been agreed, you could still start a procedure to obtain a fixed amount of child support. In principle, you must each pay off half of the debt. If your ex were to pay you x amount of child support, you could pay half of the debt yourself. Depending on how high those two amounts are, that may be the most desirable. In this way, it is also in line with the law, as your ex may indeed not offset the child support against debts if you have not expressly agreed to this yourself. In addition, the support increases annually by a certain percentage (called indexation). If desired, you can contact us.