Alimony is a payment that is attached to the dependents of the persons by being decided through court. In the Turkish Civil Code numbered 4721, there are 4 types of alimony regulations: Poverty Alimony, Temporary alimony, Child Support, Aid Alimony. The alimony request can be requested together with the divorce case or it may be the subject of a separate case. However, the alimony case to be filed after the divorce case is subject to a one-year limitation period from the finalization of the decision. In this regard, aid alimony is subject to a separate regulation and is explained in detail below.
Poverty Alimony
Poverty alimony can be decided at the request of one of the parties, if one of the spouses will fall into poverty due to divorce. In order for a spouse to be decided for alimony in favor of one of the spouses, besides the condition of falling into poverty, the requesting spouse must be faultless or less faulty and request must be proportional to the financial power of the spouse to pay.
The decision of the Court of Cassation on the principle of not awarding beyond the request is presented below.
T.R. COURT OF CASSATION 2. CIVIL CHAMBER E. 2019/4494 K. 2019/8456 T. 10.9.2019
"SUMMARY: 1- It is necessary to admit that the defendant-counter-plaintiff man is seriously at fault in cases that cause divorce according to the faulty behavior of the parties accepted and realized by the court, and it was found incorrect to accept the parties equally faulty without considering this issue. Thus, it was required decision of reversal.
2- In the events that cause to divorce, the defendant-counter-plaintiff man is seriously at fault, and these flawed behaviors also constitute an attack on the women's personal rights. The woman will be deprived of the financial support of the spouse as a result of the divorce. The conditions of Article 174 / 1-2 of the Turkish Civil Code can be applied for the benefit of the woman. In this case, while the economic and social conditions of the parties, the heaviness of the fault and the rules of fairness should be ruled for the benefit of the plaintiff and the defendant woman, the rejection of the moral and material indemnities claims of the woman was not considered correct, depending on the fault. Thus, it was required decision of reversal.
3- The judge may not award a party anything more than or different from what the party has requested.(TCPC art.26). As a result of the judgment made in accordance with the reversal of the explained reasons, it was not correct to decide on the poverty alimony of 200 TL per month, in violation of the procedural right and exceeding the demand, and 150 TL temporary per month and 200 TL child support per month for the benefit of each partner child.”
After the alimony has been ruled, a lawsuit can be filed for the increase or decrease or even abolition of alimony in case of changes in the socio-economic status of the parties, etc. Alimony ends automatically in case of the death of one of the parties and the remarriage of the person whose alimony is decided in favor.
Temporary Alimony
Before the divorce proceedings or during the divorce proceedings, the temporary alimony can be ordered in favor of one of the parties. Before the divorce case is filed, the separation of living together should be based on a just cause so that the temporary alimony can be ruled.
The decision of the Court of Cassation on the subject is presented below.
COURT OF CASSATION 3. CIVIL CHAMBER E. 2005/14028 K. 2005/14140 T. 20.12.2005
SUMMARY: It was alleged that the defendant did not fulfill the requirements of the marriage without filing a divorce case, and an alimony request was made for the spouse and the joint child. In addition, in this case filed, the amount of alimony is not a matter of public order, and the judge's discretion does not prevent them from determining the amount of alimony by agreement. In addition, there is a legal benefit for the plaintiff to open and continue this case despite the agreement. As a matter of fact, if the defendant fails to pay the alimony accepted by the defendant, the plaintiff will not be able to collect the receivables, who do not have a court decision. In that case, the acceptance of the defendant regarding the amount of alimony is valid and a decision must be made in line with the court's acceptance.
During the divorce proceedings, it is possible to decide on the alimony with an interim decision. When a divorce or separation case is filed, the judge takes ex officio temporary measures, which are necessary for the duration of the case, especially regarding the shelter of the spouses, their livelihood, the management of the spouses' property and the care and protection of the children. Temporary alimony is appreciated regardless of the request (ex officio) and as a temporary measure, it is ruled from the beginning of the case until the decision is finalized. The temporary alimony ends automatically with the finalization of the decision made in the divorce case, unless it is removed during the trial by the judge as a temporary measure taken within the scope of the divorce case. If there is a significant and continuous change during the trial, the amount of alimony can be adjusted upon application by one of the spouses.
Child Support
Child support is a form of alimony that can be decided in favor of the underage child to be paid by the other spouse to the spouse who gains the child's custody. This type of alimony is the right of a joint child, and even if the mother or father, who was given the custody during the divorce case, declared that they cannot request the child support, the spouse who gained the custody can request the child support immediately after the finalization of the divorce. This right of the child cannot be given up. Child support can also be requested in favor of a child born out of wedlock. Child support continues until the education is completed if the education continues even though the joint child is adult. It is possible to file an increase case in terms of adaptation to changing conditions.
The child support of the joint adult child is removed without the need for a separate case.
The decision of the Court of Cassation regarding the alimony increase case is presented below.
COURT OF CASSATION 3. CIVIL CHAMBER E. 2016/4481 K. 2016/8685 T. 1.6.2016
SUMMARY: The case is about the request to increase the child support.
The filing of the alimony increase case is not dependent on a certain period of time, and each lawsuit should be evaluated according to the date it is filed. More than 1.5 years passed between the previous case date and the date this case was filed. During this period, the social and economic conditions of the parties changed, as well as the age and needs of the child naturally increased.
An appropriate increase should be determined, taking into account the age, educational status, needs of the joint child, the economic situation of the plaintiff mother and the father who is responsible for maintenance, and also taking into account the principle of equity.
Aid Alimony
Alimony is designed to protect blood relatives' obligations to help each other, regardless of whether they live together or not. It is the type of alimony that is given to the descendants-ancestors and siblings who will fall into poverty, as of the date of the case.
In order to be able to get alimony, the requesting party must fall into poverty in the absence of alimony, he/she must be descendant-ancestor or sibling, the person who will pay the alimony must have an income. The case consists of a request for assistance necessary for the livelihood of the plaintiff and in accordance with the financial strength of the other party. Alimony case is opened considering the order in inheritance. If there is more than one person who is obliged to pay alimony at the same time, it is shared in proportion to the alimony powers to be paid. While the ability to pay is sufficient for the descendant-ancestor relatives, sibling relatives depend on their wealth.
The decision of the Court of Cassation on the subject is presented below.
T.R. COURT OF CASSATION 3rd CIVIL CHAMBER E. 2012/17987 K. 2012/22454 T. 1.11.2012
SUMMARY: The case is a request for alimony. Aid alimony is a kind of social assistance related to saving family members from poverty and hardship, and is a duty required by ethical rules and traditions. In the concrete case, although the plaintiff continues his education at the open education faculty, he also works at the minimum wage level, and the defendant receives a pension. In this case, it is not possible for the plaintiff to benefit from aid alimony. It should be decided to dismiss the case opened by the plaintiff.