If no alimony is sought in an uncontested divorce, can it be sought later?

Poverty alimony waived in the protocol cannot be claimed afterwards. Child alimony belongs to the child, so a waiver of it is invalid and it can always be claimed again on the child’s behalf. This distinction is the point most often overlooked when the protocol is drafted.

What percentage of income is alimony?

The law fixes no percentage. The judge weighs the payer’s income and assets, the child’s age and needs, and the recipient’s financial position, and decides according to equity. Different amounts may therefore be awarded at the same level of income.

Can a spouse who works receive poverty alimony?

An income at the level of the minimum wage does not in itself remove poverty. In the Court of Cassation’s practice, what is examined is whether the income earned is such as to lift the person out of poverty. Where the income is steady and sufficient, alimony may be refused or discontinued.

In which court is an alimony case brought?

In the family court. If it is sought during the divorce, no separate case is needed; it is claimed in the divorce file. In alimony actions brought after the divorce, such as claims to increase, reduce or end alimony, the competent court is the family court of the alimony creditor’s domicile, whoever brings the claim (Civil Code art. 177).

Types of Alimony in Turkey and How It Is Calculated

The most common misconception about calculating alimony is the assumption that alimony is a single item. Turkish law has four separate and independent types of alimony; each has its own conditions, duration and way of ending. The amount is set not by a fixed percentage but at the judge’s discretion.

The types of alimony #

1. Interim alimony #

This is the temporary alimony paid while the divorce case is running, until it is concluded. It can be sought as soon as the case is brought; the judge may award interim alimony for the children of their own motion even without a request. Fault is not considered — that is the most important point distinguishing interim alimony from the others. It runs from the date of the case and ends when the judgment becomes final.

2. Poverty alimony #

This is paid by one spouse to the other who will fall into poverty because of the divorce. Three conditions must be met together: falling into poverty because of the divorce, making a request, and the spouse seeking alimony not being more at fault than the other. Poverty alimony can also be awarded where fault is equal. It is awarded indefinitely; but it can be ended in the situations set out below.

3. Child alimony #

This is the alimony paid by the parent who was not granted custody, to contribute to the child’s care and education costs. It is the child’s right; the parent with custody cannot waive it. As a rule it ends when the child reaches majority (18). If the child continues in education, it can be sought that it continue as maintenance alimony throughout their studies.

4. Maintenance alimony #

This has nothing to do with divorce. It can be claimed between descendants, ascendants and siblings who would fall into poverty without help. A child of full age studying at university, for example, can claim maintenance alimony from their father; an elderly mother without income can claim it from her children.

How is the amount calculated? #

The law contains no percentage and no formula. The judge assesses it by the measure of equity. The main data used in practice are these:

The income of the person liable: payslips, social security service records, bank movements, tax records
Assets: searches of the land register, vehicles and company shareholdings
The income and needs of the person entitled: rent outgoings, state of health, ability to work
The child’s age and needs: school fees, transport, health, special education costs
The parties’ social and economic position: the social and economic status investigation the court has carried out through the police

One point to watch in the calculation is that income is not limited to the payslip. Rental income, self-employment earnings and regular bank credits are also taken into account. That is why, when claiming alimony, producing concrete evidence of the other party’s income directly affects the amount calculated.

A rough example #

For someone liable to pay who has a net monthly income of 60,000 TL, one child aged eight and no one else dependent on them, child alimony is in practice mostly set at an amount corresponding to a certain proportion of the income. That is an observation, not a rule: at the same level of income, the child attending a private school or having ongoing medical expenses pushes the amount up.

How does alimony rise each year? #

If the judgment states a rate of increase (the producer price index, the consumer price index, or the average of the two, for instance), the increase runs automatically; there is no need to bring a fresh claim. If the judgment contains only a fixed sum, a claim to increase alimony must be brought. Having the annual rate of increase written into the judgment in the divorce file therefore removes the litigation burden of the following years from the outset.

Can alimony be reduced or ended? #

Yes. Where there is a fundamental change in the parties’ financial position, a claim to reduce or end it can be brought. Poverty alimony ends, either automatically or through proceedings, in these situations:

The recipient remarrying (it ends automatically)
The death of either party
The recipient’s poverty ceasing — taking a job, obtaining a regular income
The recipient living as if married without marrying
The recipient leading a dishonourable life

The person liable becoming unemployed, falling ill or having a new child is usually a ground for reduction rather than for ending it.

What if alimony is not paid? #

An alimony claim is first made the subject of enforcement proceedings. If no payment is made, coercive imprisonment of up to three months can be sought by way of complaint to the enforcement criminal court. That is not a penalty but a coercive measure: once the debt is paid, the imprisonment order falls away. For each unpaid month the complaint must be made within three months of learning of the non-payment and in any event within one year of the due date (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law art. 347).

The most widespread mistake here is paying alimony in cash. If payment is not made through a bank with the relevant month written in the description, proving that it was paid becomes seriously difficult. For a detailed roadmap you can use our legal roadmap tool, and for checking time limits the time limit and limitation checker.

Alimony is not a wage or a gain; it is not subject to income tax or to social security contributions. The person receiving it does not have to declare the amount. The person liable, on the other hand, can deduct the sums paid from their income tax base. For that, the payment must have been made through a bank and must rest on a court judgment.

If the person liable is abroad #

That the person liable lives abroad does not extinguish the claim. A judgment given in Turkey is made enforceable in the country concerned through recognition and enforcement. Under the international conventions to which Turkey is a party, there is also an application route for recovering alimony from abroad through the ministries of justice. The process is long; so if the person liable has assets in Turkey, using that route first produces a faster result.

Four common mistakes #

Paying in cash: not making the payment through a bank with the relevant month written in the description makes it almost impossible to prove later that the debt was paid.
Not having the rate of increase written into the judgment: alimony fixed at a set sum loses its value in practice within a few years and requires a fresh claim each time.
Not investigating the other party’s income: relying on the payslip alone leaves rental and self-employment income out of the calculation.
Waiving child alimony: even if it appears in a protocol it is invalid; but plans made in reliance on it later turn into a surprise for the parties.

Does interim alimony run retrospectively? #

Interim alimony is awarded not from the date of the request but from the date of the case. If the case has been long, the whole of the sum accrued retrospectively falls due when the judgment becomes final. Making payments regularly while the case runs therefore prevents facing a single heavy debt at the end.

Limitation of alimony claims #

Accrued alimony claims are subject to a ten-year limitation period. That is, enforcement proceedings can be started for the previous ten years. But where claims have gone unpursued for a long time, the other party’s ability to pay has usually disappeared in practice; it is therefore advisable not to delay enforcement.

For the divorce process as a whole and how alimony is set out in the protocol, see our guide to uncontested divorce, and for the whole subject our family and divorce law page.

Types of Alimony and How Alimony Is Calculated