Modify Child Support or Alimony in Cyprus

Modifying child support or alimony in Cyprus means asking the Family Court to change a maintenance order (διάταγμα διατροφής), the order for maintenance (διατροφή) paid for a child or to a former spouse. Child support is usually called child maintenance in Cyprus, and alimony spousal maintenance; people also search for how to vary a maintenance order, reduce child maintenance or increase alimony. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Modification Child Support or Alimony Agreements”.

Who this is for

A parent or former spouse who pays maintenance and whose income has fallen, a parent caring for a child whose needs have grown, and families where the child has moved to live with the other parent or to another country.

How a change works in Cyprus

Maintenance is set by looking at the child's needs and the means of both parents, and the same test applies when it is reviewed. Either side applies to the Family Court, usually the one for the area where the child lives, and shows what has changed since the order was made: a job lost or a new one, illness, a new family, school or medical costs, or a change in who the child lives with. The court can raise, lower, suspend or end the payments. Parents who agree on a new arrangement can ask the court to approve it, which makes it enforceable.

Maintenance between former spouses is a separate claim from child maintenance and is reviewed on its own facts.

Points to watch

• The order stands until the court changes it. An agreement made only by message or word of mouth does not replace the order, and unpaid amounts can be enforced.
• Evidence. Income documents, tax returns and receipts for the child's costs carry the case.
• Cross-border families. When the payer or the child lives in another country, EU and international rules decide where the change is made and how it is enforced; see enforcement of foreign judgments.

What a lawyer does

A lawyer reviews the existing order, gathers the financial evidence, negotiates with the other side, files the application and represents the client at the hearing. Legal aid may be available to a person with limited means.

Questions and answers

Is child maintenance part of the divorce decree in Cyprus?

No, it is a separate application to the Family Court; see divorce in Cyprus.

Can maintenance be reduced after losing a job?

A real loss of income is a recognised reason to ask; the court looks at the whole financial picture of both parents.

What is the difference between child maintenance and alimony?

Child maintenance covers a child's needs; alimony is paid to a former spouse who needs support.

Who decides where the child lives?

That is a custody question; see child custody.