Many people believe that the alimony provided for in family law only applies to spouses after divorce. However, this is not the case: there are many types of alimony even among relatives that frequently occur in social relationships. Because it is important to know how all types of alimony are legally regulated, we have analyzed in this text what applies to the issue as well as when alimony can be requested through precautionary measures.

1.What are the main types of alimony recognized by law?

Family law does not only provide for the classic form of alimony known to many, which is that after the divorce of the spouses. There is also alimony that must be paid while the spouses are separated—that is, during the period before the divorce is issued. It is presumed that if the spouses have been continuously separated for 2 years, then the marriage has been significantly shaken, justifying its dissolution through divorce. There is always the contribution of the spouses to family needs and to each other while they are married, which (obligation) the law also considers as alimony and includes in the above categories.

At the same time, there is also the obligation of alimony among relatives, which is based on blood ties as well as marriage, during which ascendants must provide for their descendants and vice versa. We will discuss this type of alimony further below. However, we must know that spouses are not relatives to each other, and therefore this type of alimony does not concern them, as it involves those family members of one spouse, namely parents/siblings/uncles/grandparents, etc.

The law also provides that the mother of a child who is already an heir to the deceased father before birth may request alimony from the latter if she cannot meet her basic needs during pregnancy and for the subsequent period. This is a special type of alimony, as the amount the mother is entitled to receive is determined by the inheritance share that the child will have as an heir from the inheritance of the deceased father.

2.When do I owe alimony in the case of divorce?

For a claim for alimony to arise from one spouse against the other, the law requires certain conditions to be met, which are clearly defined, but also show some leniency towards both spouses. Specifically, for the award of alimony, it must be:

• The beneficiary of the alimony must be impoverished—meaning they cannot maintain the standard of living that was established during the marriage with their income. This does not mean that the beneficiary must live at the poverty line.
• The obligated spouse must be able to provide it without risking their own livelihood. The law does not impose an extreme disparity in income between the spouses.
• At least one of the conditions listed below must also apply.
• The beneficiary of the alimony must be of an age that does not allow them to begin work/practice a profession, etc. However, they must have previously explored at least their possibilities for professional reinstatement.
• The beneficiary of the alimony cannot work due to the care of the child for whom they are responsible. Here too, the alternatives provided by their standard of living must be examined.
• The beneficiary of the alimony may not be able to find work due to a lack of professional training (e.g., lack of a degree/specialization/necessary practical training). Here, however, alimony can only be granted for a period of 3 years from the issuance of the divorce.
• The beneficiary of the alimony may be entitled to alimony for reasons of leniency, as stated by law. This refers to various situations that arise in practice, which, although they do not fall into any of the above categories, still justify the award of alimony to the beneficiary spouse.

3.What happens in the case of the cessation of cohabitation?

The cohabitation of spouses is usually interrupted before the marriage is dissolved by divorce, which, if a lawsuit is filed in court, is likely to be issued after a considerable amount of time. In the meantime, therefore, the alimony beneficiary must ensure their financial survival if such a matter arises. Critical to this type of alimony is whether the spouse who interrupted the cohabitation did so for a valid reason.

By “valid reason,” we mean all the facts that justify the cessation of cohabitation by one spouse at the expense of the other. This may involve culpable behaviors of the other spouse (e.g., infidelity, physical violence, psychological threats, etc.). The behaviors included here are similar to those that would justify the dissolution of a marriage through divorce. Thus, if the spouse interrupted the cohabitation without a valid reason from the possible cases mentioned, then they are not entitled to alimony for that period.

The valid reason for the cessation of cohabitation may cease to exist at some point (e.g., if the spouse had a contagious disease and was treated and cured after medical interventions). In this case, and as long as the marriage has not yet been dissolved by divorce, the spouse who interrupted the cohabitation is generally obliged to return to the family home; otherwise, the payment of alimony to them will cease. However, this should not provide grounds for abusive behavior by the other spouse to “blackmail” the return of the spouse through the threat of terminating the alimony claim.

4.What if the marriage between the spouses was invalid?

If certain legal requirements are missing, the marriage between the spouses may be invalid (e.g., if the necessary age difference was not present) or voidable (e.g., if one spouse consented to the marriage due to threats from the other spouse). We will address these specific issues in a separate text, but it is crucial to see how the obligation of alimony relates to the (legal) fate of the marriage.

It is possible that both spouses (or at least one of them) are unaware that their marriage has some defect that justifies its annulment by court order. This ignorance about the invalidity of the marriage must exist at the time the marriage was performed, not necessarily later. If the marriage was indeed invalid and was annulled by an irrevocable court decision as prescribed, the effects should normally be retroactively overturned for both spouses. However, the law establishes an important exception for leniency regarding the legal and factual situation that has developed.

It provides that the spouse who was unaware that the marriage was invalid is entitled to alimony from the spouse who knew about the invalidity/voidability of the marriage and nonetheless consented to its performance. However, for the alimony claim to be exercised against the other spouse, it is critical that both are alive when the marriage is annulled by court decision. Otherwise, practically one spouse would inherit the other due to the inheritance rights created by the marriage, and thus the alimony would be given in the form of the inheritance share, whereby the beneficiary would not obviously collect the claim twice.

5.Is alimony among relatives something entirely different?

The law also provides that alimony is given among relatives, namely between ascendants and descendants, as well as between spouses who are linked by marriage/civil partnership. More specifically, under the law:

• The obligation of alimony encompasses relatives who are connected by blood ties, with no restriction on the degree of kinship. This regulation also includes children adopted by the spouses/one spouse, who are also entitled to alimony.
• There is no obligation of alimony for in-laws—that is, the relatives of one spouse do not have the right to alimony from the other spouse.
• The conditions for alimony are the same as those mentioned in the case of divorce; namely, the alimony beneficiary must not be able to support themselves by their own means in relation to the standard of living they had before their impoverishment.
• At the same time, the obligated party must not risk their own livelihood by providing alimony to the beneficiary.
•  The beneficiary of alimony must have previously sought work that corresponds to their abilities and needs and must have exhausted their search possibilities.
• They must also have utilized any property they have to cover their needs before requesting alimony—that is, they must not unjustly request alimony from the obligated party while being able to support themselves independently.
• It is important that it does not matter at all whether the beneficiary or the obligated party was at fault regarding the lack of property that justifies the alimony or concurrently excludes it due to risking the obligated party’s livelihood. Only the objective financial inability is sufficient.
• Naturally, alimony to the beneficiary can also be awarded in part, provided that they do not experience complete financial incapacity but only a part that exposes them to corresponding risks. Alimony is owed for that part.

6. How is the order of those obligated to provide alimony determined?

To make it easy to understand who owes alimony to the beneficiary, the law has established a hierarchy of those responsible, with the general rule being that, in principle, the closest relatives are obligated to provide alimony, and only if they cannot do so for objective reasons will the more distant relatives be liable.

Thus, the primary obligation to provide alimony lies with the spouse of the beneficiary as part of the mutual support spouses owe each other. Of course, the same principles we mentioned in the second question apply in cases where the marriage has been dissolved by divorce, as that involves a completely different type of alimony. Otherwise, if the spouse cannot provide alimony (because they risk their own financial situation), we move to the next category.

In this category, the obligation to pay alimony falls on descendants according to the order they would inherit and based on the shares each would receive. Regarding inheritance and how it is regulated in Greece, we have discussed this in another text. Thus, those responsible for providing alimony are primarily the children of the beneficiary, and if they cannot provide alimony, then their grandchildren (if any) take their place.

If there are no children/grandchildren or they cannot provide alimony, then the parents of the beneficiary are primarily responsible. It is important here that the parents are liable according to their means; their incomes as well as their personal contributions to the family household, which have monetary value, are taken into account. If the parents cannot provide alimony to the beneficiary, then their grandparents take their place, who, conversely, are liable in equal shares due to the looser familial bonds compared to those the beneficiary has with their parents.

7.If I provide alimony while I am not obligated, can I request back what I gave?

It is quite common for the alimony of a beneficiary to be paid by a relative who is not normally obligated, as they are “further down” the list of those required to provide alimony. The law has provided that this person has a right of recovery, meaning they can claim the monetary amounts they paid to the beneficiary for their alimony from the other obligors who should have provided alimony.

The person who paid the alimony can claim back what they paid from the person who was obliged to provide alimony before them, provided that the latter could indeed provide alimony to the beneficiary based on their financial situation. If they can be compelled legally (through a lawsuit) to pay alimony, then the one who paid it to the beneficiary can turn to them to seek recovery of what they paid.

The same option is available to the state and its relevant agencies if they provided alimony to someone while it should have been provided by their relatives. Therefore, these agencies can also claim back what they paid, with interest (which will start accruing from the time they issued a formal notice to the relative who was obligated to pay alimony). The same regulation includes those who had custody of the alimony beneficiary, such as the guardian of the minor we discussed in relation to the institution of judicial support.

8.When and how should alimony be paid?

Regarding how alimony is paid to the beneficiary and when it must be paid, the law states certain fundamental rules governing this matter. More specifically, the alimony for the beneficiary:

• As a rule, it is paid at the beginning of each month in the form of money; that is, it does not include benefits in kind, for which only their monetary value can be paid. The obligor for alimony may request from the court a change in the timing of the alimony payment if there are particularly serious reasons justifying this change (e.g., the obligor receives their salary at different times and thus does not have constant liquidity).
• It is prohibited to agree that the alimony will be paid to the beneficiary in a lump sum; similarly, if such an agreement is made, it will be invalid as it allows for abusive behaviors by the obligor, ultimately resulting in the beneficiary receiving a much smaller amount as a lump sum than they would with periodic alimony payments.
• The beneficiary can only claim alimony from the obligor from the moment they informed them that the conditions for claiming alimony exist (and in any case, from the time the relevant court decision was issued). Based on the above, alimony is not owed for the entire preceding period during which the obligor had not been informed by the beneficiary of the claim for alimony.
• Finally, agreements whereby the beneficiary waives their claim for alimony or compromises their claim with the obligor are prohibited; they cannot be offset against a corresponding claim that the obligor has against the beneficiary.

9.Under what circumstances can alimony cease?

The claim for alimony cannot exist indefinitely; thus, the law has provided for certain cases that justify the permanent cessation of the beneficiary’s claim for alimony against the obligor. Alimony can cease when:

• The beneficiary of the alimony dies or is declared missing by a relevant court decision. In this case, if the obligor is the heir of the beneficiary, they can receive their inheritance share from the estate of the beneficiary without this being offset against the alimony claim the beneficiary had against the obligor, as this (the claim) no longer exists.
• The alimony claim does not cease when the obligor dies; therefore, if the beneficiary still meets the conditions, they can pursue a claim against the other relatives of the obligor or even against the heirs of the obligor for the amounts of alimony that have not been paid and for those that are due.
• The beneficiary no longer meets the conditions for alimony; this includes situations where they can support themselves through their own means, when they find satisfactory employment, or when they return to the standard of living they had during the marriage/prior to the separation of the spouses, etc.
• The beneficiary and the obligor are no longer relatives by law. This can only happen in one case: when a paternity dispute claim or a claim to annul voluntary recognition of a child is filed and accepted. This case does not apply to the dissolution of marriage through divorce, as even though the legal bond of marriage between the spouses is dissolved, there remains an obligation for alimony precisely due to the marriage that was once active.

10.Can I request alimony through precautionary measures?

It is not uncommon for the beneficiary of alimony to have an immediate need for money to cover their basic living expenses, which have arisen after the dissolution of the marriage, after the separation of the spouses, or due to their status as a beneficiary among relatives, before they file a lawsuit against the obligor for payment. Since it would indeed be unfair for them to wait for a court decision, the law allows them to request temporary alimony through a precautionary measures application.

Specifically, it must involve a monetary provision due to contributions to the needs of the family household, or for alimony that is owed either by law (e.g., in the case of divorce/separation/among relatives), or by contract between the beneficiary and the obligor, or from a will of the obligor that includes a provision for paying alimony to the beneficiary after the obligor’s death. The alimony granted must be paid monthly, as previously mentioned.

The amount of alimony awarded to the beneficiary if the precautionary measures application is accepted cannot be seized or offset against a corresponding claim of the obligor against the beneficiary. However, the beneficiary must file a lawsuit within 60 days of the court’s decision regarding the precautionary measures in order to proceed with the main trial concerning their alimony claim. If they do not file a lawsuit within this deadline, the payment of alimony will cease in the future.

An interesting provision of the law here is that if the beneficiary of alimony files a lawsuit after the precautionary measures application against the obligor and their lawsuit is dismissed on substantive grounds by the court, the beneficiary will be required to return to the obligor all amounts that the latter paid for alimony under the temporary decision regarding the precautionary measures that initially accepted the claim. Therefore, caution is necessary to avoid hastily filing precautionary measures applications for alimony, as they risk being overturned later and having adverse outcomes for the current beneficiary of the alimony.

Next to the client and his needs.

Athina Kontogianni-Lawyer

The above does not constitute legal advice, and no responsibility is assumed for it. For more information, please contact us.