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Maintenance obligations are imposed by law on those who have the means to support another person with whom they have a relationship by blood or marriage. As a result, various people can claim maintenance, including:
The rule stating that ‘maintenance is not designed to cover past claims’ means that maintenance is intended to cover present and future needs, not to reimburse past expenses. This rule has the legal value of a simple presumption; in other words, the rule may be disregarded if the creditor provides proof either that he/she has had to incur debts in order to support himself/herself, or that he/she has not remained inactive or has been unable to act.
A maintenance claim cannot be offset, unless the claim against which it is to be offset is also a maintenance claim.
Where joint parental responsibility is exercised, each parent, whether married or not, separated or divorced, is under an obligation to contribute to the support and upbringing of children in proportion to their means, those of the other parent and the needs of the child. In the event of divorce or separation, whether or not they jointly exercise parental responsibility, the parents must continue to contribute together to the costs of the child’s support and upbringing, unless a court rules otherwise. This contribution takes the form of a maintenance allowance and does not automatically stop when the child reaches adulthood. It can be paid directly to an adult child and can be revised according to the child’s needs and the changing means and expenses of each parent.
The family court (juge aux affaires familiales) within the district courts (tribunaux d’arrondissement) has jurisdiction in particular over maintenance allowances, exercise of parental responsibility, and divorce and legal separation.
The applicant for maintenance must submit a claim to the family court. If the maintenance claim is connected with divorce or legal separation proceedings, the family court deciding on the application for divorce or legal separation also decides on the maintenance claim.
In cases of guardianship (tutelle) or protective supervision (curatelle), the guardian (tuteur) or supervisor (curateur) can submit an application on behalf of a parent or minor child.
Parent(s) exercising parental responsibility over their minor child can make an application on behalf of that child.
A minor child does not have legal personality and does not have the capacity to make an application himself/herself, except where the minor is capable of forming his/her own views pursuant to Article 1007‑50 of the New Code of Civil Procedure (Nouveau Code de procédure civile). In this context, the minor capable of forming his/her own views can, through an application made to the district court, ask the family court to amend the exercise of parental responsibility, the exercise of access rights or living arrangements. In this case, the court orders the appointment of a lawyer to represent the minor within 15 days.
The district court with territorial jurisdiction is:
For joint applications, the parties choose the court in the place where one or other party lives.
However, where the dispute concerns only spousal maintenance, contribution to the support and upbringing of children, contribution to the costs of the marriage, or urgent and provisional measures where a registered partnership is terminated, jurisdiction can lie with the court in the place of residence of the spouse or former partner receiving maintenance or parent chiefly responsible for the care of children, even where these are adults.
Territorial jurisdiction is determined by the place of residence on the date of the application or, in divorce cases, on the date when the initial petition is filed.
If maintenance is claimed during divorce proceedings, jurisdiction lies with the court hearing the application for divorce.
An applicant can bring a case before the family court by submitting an application to the district court. This application must be filed with the registry of the district court, which serves it on the opposing party. The parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer, except where maintenance is claimed during divorce proceedings on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of the marital relationship or during legal separation proceedings. In such cases, a lawyer must be used.
In any event, the applicant must provide the court with all documents proving his/her need. These may be, for example, payslips, tax exemption certificates, certificate of unemployment or long-term sick leave, evidence of rent, loans, dependent children, and support and upbringing costs, etc.
The costs that may be involved in legal proceedings include court costs and procedural costs that the losing party may be ordered to pay (in full or in part). Lawyers’ fees may also have to be paid.
People whose income is regarded as insufficient under Luxembourg law can receive legal aid. To receive this aid, they must complete a questionnaire that can be obtained from the central social welfare office (service central d'assistance sociale) and send it to the president of the bar association (Bâtonnier de l'Ordre des avocats) which has territorial jurisdiction.
If legal aid is granted by the president of the bar association, it covers all costs arising from the court proceedings, procedures or actions for which it is granted. It covers, for example, stamp and registration duties, clerks’ fees, lawyers’ fees, court officers’ duties and fees, notaries’ expenses and fees, technicians’ expenses and fees, witness taxes, fees of translators and interpreters, fees for certificats de coutume (a certificate or affidavit as to the applicable law), travel expenses, duties and fees for registration, mortgage and security formalities, and fees for publication in newspapers, if necessary.
During the proceedings and following the granting of a divorce or legal separation, maintenance usually takes the form of a monthly payment. However, it can also take the form of a lump-sum provision consisting of either a sum of money or the surrender of goods in kind.
As regards the contribution to a child’s support and upbringing, maintenance can take the form of either a monthly payment or, in full or in part, the direct payment of costs incurred for the child. Finally, it can take the form of a right of use and habitation.
If the person required to pay maintenance proves that he/she cannot afford to pay, the court can order him/her to take the person to whom he/she is required to pay maintenance into his/her home and to feed and maintain him/her.
There are no reference scales. The amount of maintenance is calculated according to the debtor’s means and the creditor’s needs.
In order to adapt maintenance in line with changes in the cost of living, the court can, even of its own motion, decide that the maintenance will be index-linked based on a legally applicable variation clause.
In the event of a change in circumstances, maintenance can be revised upwards or downwards and even terminated. This does not apply where it was paid as a lump-sum provision as part of a divorce. If the parties fail to reach agreement, the court decides on the termination or reduction of maintenance.
The court may also change the amount of maintenance that was set by agreement between the parties. This right applies not only in the event of a change in the respective situations of the creditor and debtor, but also in the absence of any change, if the court deems that the amount is insufficient or excessive.
Maintenance granted to a spouse in a divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of the marital relationship cannot be paid for longer than the duration of the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances.
During the proceedings and after the granting of a divorce or legal separation, maintenance is paid to the beneficiary spouse.
The contribution to a child’s support and upbringing is paid either by one parent to the other or to the person to whom the child has been entrusted. If the child has reached adulthood, the court can decide, or the parents can agree, that this contribution will be paid, in full or in part, to the child.
A creditor has several ways of forcing a recalcitrant debtor to pay maintenance.
Civil law:
A creditor has several options:
Criminal law:
A creditor can lodge a criminal complaint for the following offences:
This applies to the maintenance obligation of parents towards their children, the obligation between spouses and the obligation of adoptive parents towards adopted children.
Prosecution of the offence is preceded by the debtor being questioned by a police officer of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which is recorded in a written statement. If the debtor has no known residence, questioning is not required.
For the purposes of applying Article 391 ter of the Criminal Code, court decisions and agreements approved by the court that impose an obligation to make payments, subsidies or contributions to the costs of the marriage, as well as maintenance provisions contained in agreements reached prior to a divorce by mutual consent, are regarded as equivalent.
Actions to collect arrears of perpetual and life annuities and maintenance are barred by limitation after five years.
At the request of the creditor, the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds national de solidarité) can recover any maintenance that is payable to a spouse, ascendant or descendant. For the amounts that it must recover, the Fund is subrogated in the actions and guarantees of the creditor with regard to the recovery of his/her maintenance. Once the debtor has been notified of the amounts to be recovered, he/she must hand over these amounts to the President of the National Solidarity Fund.
The National Solidarity Fund can, under certain conditions, pay the maintenance in the debtor’s place. The request for payment must be submitted by the creditor or his/her legal representative to the President of the National Solidarity Fund.
This request is accepted by the President or his/her delegate if the creditor proves that:
Even if condition (c) is not met, the request is accepted if recourse to enforcement measures is expected to fail or if the debtor lives abroad. Any disputes fall within the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace (juge de paix) in the place of the creditor’s domicile, before whom the case must be brought within 40 days of notification of the President’s decision.
Creditors are automatically entitled to legal aid. From the acceptance of the request until payments by the Fund cease, the creditor cannot take any action against the debtor to recover any maintenance.
Under the New York Convention of 20 June 1956 and Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations, an applicant resident in Luxembourg can, if the debtor lives abroad, apply to the Chief Public Prosecutor (Procureur Général d’Etat) to obtain maintenance.
The Chief Public Prosecutor, in his/her capacity as the central authority, will forward the application and accompanying documents to the central authority of the country in which the debtor lives so that said central authority can help the applicant to obtain payment of the maintenance due.
The person entitled to maintenance submits the application to the transmitting authority, i.e. the Chief Public Prosecutor, using the various forms provided for under Regulation (EC) No 4/2009.
Procureur Général d'Etat
Cité Judiciaire
Bâtiment CR
L-2080 Luxembourg
An applicant living in a country other than Luxembourg must apply to the central authority of the country in which he/she lives. He/she cannot apply directly to a Luxembourg organisation or authority.
Not applicable.
Yes.
In the event of applications under this EU regulation, legal aid is entirely free of charge for maintenance recipients aged under 21, irrespective of the provisions of national law.
In order to enable the central authority to provide the assistance described in Article 51 of the Maintenance Regulation, Luxembourg passed a law on 3 August 2011 implementing this EU regulation, as well as a grand-ducal regulation implementing Articles 2 and 3 of said law of 3 August 2011 (Official gazette (Mémorial) A No 175 of 12 August 2011).
These legal provisions have given the Chief Public Prosecutor direct access to certain databases.
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