What is Poverty Alimony?
What is Poverty Alimony?
In this article, I will endeavor to provide you, my esteemed readers, with legal information regarding poverty alimony and the duration of poverty alimony.
When a marital union is established through an official marriage ceremony, the mutual rights and obligations arising between the spouses continue until the marriage ends in divorce. The Turkish Civil Code introduces a separate provision stating that the spouses' financial responsibilities and obligations toward each other continue even after the marital union is terminated upon the decision to divorce. In the presence of certain terms and conditions, a Family Court judge may order the spouse to pay alimony to the party who will fall into poverty due to the divorce, in proportion to the requesting spouse’s financial budget.
Poverty alimony is regulated in detail under Article 175 and the following provisions of the Turkish Civil Code.
POVERTY ALIMONY
Turkish Civil Code Article 175- The party who will fall into poverty due to divorce may request alimony from the other party indefinitely in proportion to their financial strength, provided that their fault is not greater. The fault of the alimony payer is not required.
With the alimony request, the aim is for the divorced spouse to adapt to social and communal life after the divorce decision and to provide financial contribution. While the Family Court judge is bound by the request when determining the amount of poverty alimony, they also have discretionary power. Depending on the nature of the case, the judge may reject the alimony request or decide on an alimony amount they deem appropriate.
In accordance with the established case law of the Court of Cassation, the judge does not have discretionary power regarding the duration of alimony. It is not possible for a Family Court judge to limit poverty alimony, which is requested indefinitely, to a specific duration.
Before issuing the alimony decision, the judge assesses the duration of poverty alimony by considering factors such as the spouses' assets, income, ages, eligibility for employment, custody and care needs of children, and the duration of the marriage.
The security provided by poverty alimony is essentially a constitutional duty of the state in the context of the "social state principle." Following the termination of a marriage, it is accepted that this duty be undertaken by the divorced spouses within certain limits to be determined by the Family Court judge based on the concrete case and the presence of certain conditions.
Lawyer Gizem GONCE