Advance on and recovery of maintenance payments

Maintenance is a financial contribution paid to any person whose subsistence is to be ensured, as provided for in the Civil Code.

As a rule, maintenance payments are set by a court decision.

Any person entitled to maintenance, the amount of which has been set by a court decision enforceable in Luxembourg, may apply for an advance on maintenance payments in order to receive any unpaid monthly instalments provided for in the judgment. However, for the application to be admissible, the maintenance creditor must be in financial difficulty and must have personally exhausted all legal options to obtain his or her entitlement.

The amount of maintenance set by the court decision is then paid and recovered on demand, under certain conditions, by the National Solidarity Fund (FNS). Any real estate belonging to the debtor and the creditor is subject to a mortgage registration in favour of the FNS for the purpose of guaranteeing restitution in the event of a financial recovery or in the event of inheritance. The amounts to be recovered from the debtor are subject to a 10 % recovery charge.