In short
An action for an increase of maintenance changes the existing ruling of maintenance with the new fact of income and expense. The participation slip and collection in enforcement are not the subject of this page. The downward direction is in the writing reduction and lifting of maintenance.
A new document of income and expense updates the old ruling. A sentence of "life is expensive", without a slip, does not produce a ratio.
The participation slip is the child's item. It is not mixed with poverty.
If the judgment is not entered in the enforcement file, collection stays on the old photograph.
Related writings: an increase of participation.
An action for an increase of maintenance is the legal path applied to when the amount of maintenance that was ordered earlier has become insufficient in the current economic and social conditions. In participation maintenance, the increase in the child's needs is decisive. In poverty maintenance, the change in the balance of livelihood is decisive. The action should be conducted not only with the sentence "life became expensive", but with concrete data that show the changes of income and expense. The basic approach in the court decision is equity, the power to pay and the balance of need.
The balance of maintenance built after the divorce may not stay the same over the years. The child's school level may change. Health expenses may increase. Rents rise. The parties' arrangement of income diverges. When an amount of maintenance that looked reasonable at the start becomes insufficient over time, the parties often do not know what to do. In some files the side that receives maintenance does not make a claim for a long time. In some files the other side refuses the claim of an increase of income. What is essential in the resolution of the dispute is that the current conditions are set out in a way based on documents.
The approach is the same in actions for an increase of maintenance heard in the family courts in Ankara as well. A concrete economic table is looked for, instead of an abstract claim. This text is in the nature of general information. Every dispute should be assessed according to its own data.
Definition: what is an action for an increase of maintenance?
An action for an increase of maintenance is the action that aims at the amount being determined again, with the claim that the amount of maintenance in the earlier court decision does not meet the current needs. The frame of the assessment changes according to the type of maintenance that is the subject of the claim:
- Participation maintenance: the child's expenses of care, education, health and social development are in the foreground.
- Poverty maintenance: the conditions of livelihood and the economic fragility of the side that receives the maintenance are assessed.
This action is not disregarding the earlier decision. It is a mechanism of adaptation to changing conditions of life. The court assesses together both the need of the person who receives the maintenance and the power to pay of the person obliged to pay the maintenance. A decision is not given with a one-sided look.
Who may think of opening an action for an increase?
Not every economic tightness is an automatic cause of an action. The following positions may strengthen the claim:
- A lasting increase in the child's education expenses (school, transport, a course, material)
- An increase of regular health expenses
- A marked rise in housing and in the basic costs of living
- An increase in the income level of the maintenance debtor
- The amount of maintenance not having been updated for a long time
Against this, claims of expense that are temporary and cannot be documented, or claims sourced only in emotional tension, may weaken the action. Economic reality and the order of legal proof should be at the centre of the claim.
Process: how is an action for an increase of maintenance opened?
1) Diagnosis of the file
The content of the earlier decision should be examined. Which type of maintenance, which amount, and from which date was it ordered? If there are special conditions or a mechanism of increase in the decision, these should be taken into account. A petition prepared without this diagnosis often stays incomplete.
2) Documenting the economic change
For the claim to be strong, current data should be prepared in a systematic way:
- The child's school and education documents
- Records that show the health expenses
- Documents of rent, of invoices and of basic living expenses
- Documents that are possible on the parties' position of income
Saying "the amount stayed low" without a concrete table being built creates a limited effect before the court.
3) Building the scope of the claim correctly
It should be clear in the petition which type of maintenance is claimed, and what is claimed. Claiming poverty maintenance with a ground that belongs to participation maintenance, or a mixed account in the opposite direction, makes the file technically difficult. The new amount that is claimed should be realistic and in line with the data of the file.
4) The process of the trial
The court may make an inquiry into the parties' economic position, may ask for institutional records, and assesses the documents that were presented. The parties' statements are not decisive by themselves. The quality and the consistency of the evidence form the basis of the decision.
5) The decision and the application
When the decision is given, the new arrangement of maintenance is put into the ruling. The application of the decision and the follow-up of the arrangement of payment are important. If problems of payment arise, headings of enforcement law such as an objection to enforcement may also come onto the agenda in practice.
Mistakes that are often made
The mistakes most often met in actions for an increase of maintenance are these:
- Opening the action without examining the text of the old decision
- Not tying the amount that is claimed to concrete data
- Presenting temporary spending like a lasting expense
- Not being able to document the claim of an increase of income
- Mixing the grounds of participation and of poverty maintenance
- Disregarding the risk of enforcement while the existing payment of maintenance continues
Another important mistake is constructing the action like a continuation of the past disagreements among the parties. The court examines the current economic balance more than the emotional history. For this reason data should be produced, not a speech.
The statutory frame and the principles of assessment
The basic approach in an increase of maintenance is adaptation to changing conditions. In family law, maintenance is not seen as a static figure. The parties' economic reality and the child's needs are taken into account. In practice the courts focus on these principles:
- Is there an increase in the need that is real and that shows continuity?
- What is the maintenance debtor's power to pay?
- Is the increase that is claimed equitable and measured?
- Are the pieces of evidence current and reliable?
- How will the best interests of the child be protected?
In this assessment, general economic indicators provide a background. They do not hold the place of the concrete data of the file. In the practice in Ankara as well, the quality of the documents of the file affects the speed of the trial and the clarity of the decision directly.
Determining the amount of the increase: why a realistic claim matters
It is of critical importance that the amount claimed in an action for an increase of maintenance is in line with the reality of the file. A claim that is excessively high sometimes weakens credibility. A claim that is excessively low may cause it to stay under the right. For a correct frame of the claim, these elements should be taken into account:
- The difference between the existing amount of maintenance and the current expenses
- The existing data on the other side's power to pay
- Items of expense supported by concrete documents
- The child's age and particular needs
The claim should be constructed in the balance of equity and of the concrete document. When a numerical claim separates from the document, the court may use its own discretion. This may also give rise to a result under the increase that was expected.
Is it possible to finish by a settlement?
Not every path in claims for an increase of maintenance has to turn into a trial. It is possible for the parties to talk at the stage of the action, or before it, and to agree on a suitable amount. If the text of the agreement is prepared in accordance with the procedure and is approved, it may become binding after it passes the court's review.
The advantage of this path is the reduction of the length of the trial, of the uncertainty and of the cost. If the text of the settlement stays uncertain, or arranges insufficiently a subject that affects the child's interest, new disputes may arise. It is important that the text be prepared in a form that is open, suitable for enforcement, and that reflects the parties' real will.
The period and limitation in an action for an increase of maintenance
There is no single arrangement of a period that extinguishes the right that has become fixed in an increase of maintenance. This position does not mean that postponing the claim without a limit is safe. Claims of a difference that looks backward may result according to the nature of the file and to the court's assessment. Applying in the period when the economic changes became concrete strengthens the fit of the claim and the document. Staying inactive for a long time may create a disadvantage both for the difficulty of proof and for the management of expectation. For this reason an early assessment is suggested when the conditions change.
The course of maintenance disputes in Ankara
Actions for an increase of maintenance in the family courts of Ankara may proceed at different paces, depending on the density of work. For this reason preparing the documents completely, and constructing the petition openly, reduces the risk of an unnecessary examination and of an adjournment. The asking for institutional records for the court's inquiry may take additional time in the process. Taking this reality into account, a comprehensive preparation of documents at the start of the action is advised.
The difference between an action for an increase of maintenance and an action for a reduction
The reverse of an action for an increase of maintenance is an action for a reduction of maintenance. A reduction may be claimed when the maintenance debtor's economic conditions worsen, when there is a loss of income, or when the existing amount of maintenance becomes disproportionate because of new obligations. Both claims rest on the measure of a changing condition. The direction of the assessment differs. In the action for an increase, it is proved that the expenses rose and that the existing maintenance stayed insufficient. In the action for a reduction, it is set out that the obliged person's power to pay decreased. The need for documents and the strategy of proof of the two types of action separate from each other.
Legal paths if maintenance is not paid
Even if an increase of maintenance was decided, if the payment continues not to be made, mechanisms of enforcement law such as an objection to enforcement come in. Enforcement of maintenance may be assessed within the enforcement of judgments. This position brings important obligations to the debtor. Disputes that arise at the intersection of enforcement and maintenance are in the nature of a bridge between family law and enforcement law. For the maintenance creditor to use their rights, both taking the decision of increase and actively continuing the follow-up of payment are needed.
This writing is for general information. Every dispute should be assessed with its own conditions. For complementary contents on the subject, the headings family law, the types of maintenance and, in disputes of application, an objection to enforcement may be examined.
For an effective result in practice, it is important that the claim and the set of evidence be planned together. Separating the type of maintenance correctly, building the table of income and expense transparently, and arranging chronologically the documents presented to the court, ease the judicial assessment and form a more foreseeable process for the parties.
Where the file of the increase is read from
The existing ruling of maintenance is read together with the income document and the record of expense. An amount and a ratio that are not in the file are not written into the text. The type of participation and the type of poverty are not melted in the same item. An office in Çankaya does not change the competent authority.
On a claim of increase, the type of the ruling is left to the separate record where the slip stands.
Conclusion
An action for an increase of maintenance is an important tool for adapting the financial balance built after the divorce to changing conditions of life. This path can be conducted effectively not only with a general complaint, but with concrete and consistent economic data. Building the claim correctly, separating the types of maintenance, and preparing the plan of evidence completely, provide that the process proceeds soundly.