Modify Child Support or Alimony in France

Changing child support or alimony in France means asking for a new amount, a suspension or an end to payments set earlier by a judgment or an agreement. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Modification Child Support or Alimony Agreements”. In French, child support is the pension alimentaire, formally the contribution to the child's upkeep and education, and the procedure is its review (révision). English speakers also say child maintenance, reducing or increasing child support, or alimony. Payments between former spouses after a divorce are a different matter in France, the compensatory payment (prestation compensatoire), and they are much harder to change.

Who this is for

Parents whose income has fallen or risen, whose child has moved to the other parent, started studies or has new needs, parents who have moved to another country, and former spouses paying or receiving a compensatory payment in instalments.

How a review works in France

Either parent can ask the family judge (juge aux affaires familiales) of the court where the child lives for a review when a new element has changed a parent's resources or charges or the child's needs. A new partner does not by itself justify a change, although it can affect a parent's costs. Parents who agree can also have their new arrangement made enforceable, which gives it the same force as a judgment. Indexation, the yearly adjustment written into most decisions, is automatic and is not a review.

Payments can be collected and passed on by a public agency (ARIPA, through the family benefits office). The agency applies the amount fixed in the current decision; changing it still takes a new decision or an enforceable agreement.

Alimony between former spouses

A compensatory payment set as a lump sum generally cannot be revised. When it is paid as a periodic allowance, the judge can revise, suspend or end it after an important change in either party's situation, and the payer can ask to convert it into capital.

What a lawyer does

A lawyer assesses whether the change is significant, gathers proof of income and expenses in each country, negotiates an agreement or applies to the judge, and deals with the agency. Child support is often reviewed together with the child's residence or visitation.

Questions and answers

Can child support be reduced after losing a job?

A real loss of income is a new element the judge can consider. Until a new decision is made, the existing amount remains due.

Is there a table for the amount?

The Ministry of Justice publishes an indicative table based on income, the number of children and the type of residence, but the judge is not bound by it.

Does child support stop when the child becomes an adult?

Not automatically. It continues while the young adult is not financially independent, for example during studies, unless the decision says otherwise.

What if the other parent lives abroad?

European and international rules allow French decisions to be enforced in many countries and foreign decisions in France; a lawyer checks which court can change the amount.

Is alimony the same as child support?

No. Child support is for the child; the compensatory payment is for a former spouse and is decided in the divorce.