Spousal maintenance serves to secure an equal standard of living for both spouses during the marriage and cannot be limited or excluded by contract. If one spouse fails to fulfil this obligation, the other may seek to have it determined by a court, and maintenance may be awarded at the earliest from the date the application is filed with the court. The entitlement ends upon divorce, annulment of the marriage, or the death of one of the spouses.
The maintenance obligation between spouses has its substantive-law basis in § 71 of the Slovak Family Act. It is the fundamental expression of marital economic solidarity and, in the hierarchy of maintenance obligations, takes precedence over all other types of maintenance obligation (including the maintenance obligation of children towards their parents).
The existence of this obligation is strictly tied to the duration of the marriage: it arises upon the conclusion of the marriage. It ends upon divorce, annulment of the marriage, or the death of one of the spouses (or their being declared dead). It does not arise between unmarried partners.
It is a reciprocal obligation. The mutual maintenance obligation cannot be excluded or limited by contract. Its existence is likewise unaffected by the termination of the community property of spouses (bezpodielové spoluvlastníctvo manželov, 'BSM'), whether by a court cancelling the BSM during the marriage or by a contractual reservation deferring the creation of the BSM to the date the marriage ends.
If either spouse fails to fulfil their maintenance obligation, its extent may be determined by a court on the application of the other spouse. The proceedings can be commenced only on application, and spousal maintenance may be awarded only from the date the proceedings begin (from service of the application on the competent court).
The main purpose is to achieve an essentially equal standard of living for both spouses. This is not mechanical equality in the sense of identical amounts of money, but a requirement flowing from the spouses' equal standing in rights and obligations.
What does the court assess when determining the amount of maintenance?
In determining the extent of the maintenance obligation, the court considers important factors on both sides:
The reason is usually an economic disparity between the spouses. This may stem from:
In every set of proceedings the court examines whether determining the maintenance obligation would be contrary to good morals. An award of maintenance will be found contrary to good morals above all where the spouse seeking maintenance brought about their own need for maintenance through their own fault. This concerns primarily situations where they resorted to:
In addition to the general requirements of a filing, the application must contain:
The court decides on spousal maintenance by an operative ruling ordering the obliged spouse to pay the determined amount monthly in advance (as a rule, by the 15th day of the month). If a debt has accrued for the period between the filing of the application and the decision, the court will also order this maintenance debt to be paid in monthly instalments alongside the current maintenance, on pain of losing the benefit of instalments.
Spousal maintenance may be awarded at most for the duration of the marriage and ends when the divorce judgment becomes final. After the marriage ends, separate proceedings may be initiated to determine a maintenance contribution for a divorced spouse. This is a distinct entitlement — whereas spousal maintenance equalises living standards, the contribution for a divorced spouse secures only reasonable maintenance.
Does your partner contribute a fair share to running the household?
If you live in a marriage with a marked economic disparity, or your partner denies you access to joint financial resources, you have the right to an equalisation of living standards. We will help you assess your entitlement to spousal maintenance and prepare a high-quality application to the court.
Arrange a no-obligation consultation.
