Who has never heard of alimony? This device, designed in particular to protect divorced parents with custody of a child, allows one of the two spouses to claim payment of additional income. “The spouses contract together, by the mere fact of marriage, the obligation to feed, maintain and raise their children”, recalls article 203 of the Civil Code. In the event of separation, one can still read in article 373-2-2, “the contribution to his upkeep and education takes the form of alimony paid, as the case may be, by one of the parents to the other”. “The terms and guarantees of this alimony are set by the approved agreement referred to in Article 373-2-7 of the Civil Code or, failing that, by the judge”, continues the legislator.

In practice, the form that such a pension takes varies: it can constitute direct payment of the costs incurred for the benefit of the child or represent a right of use and habitation, for example. More important perhaps: the pension can sometimes be paid even in the absence of children. Witness, in fact, the story of La Voix du Nord, which lingered last January on the case of an octogenarian from Arrageois. The latter, seriously ill, could not raise the money needed to pay for his entry into nursing home. In question ? The alimony that he then had to pay to his former wife.

At 85, this retiree suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, explain our colleagues. He physically cannot stay at home, but pays 700 euros in alimony to his former wife, which represents a third of his retirement pension for a divorce that occurred in 1983.

Since this alimony is not considered a charge, the requests for revisions were rejected at the time of writing the article in La Voix du Nord. But can we really find ourselves forced, in retirement, to pay alimony?

Several scenarios can give rise to the payment of alimony. This must be requested by the beneficiary, recall the teams of the French administration on the site of the public service.

The following individuals are therefore eligible for payment:

As soon as the payment of alimony is decided by a judge, it is compulsory. But it is possible to revise the terms.

“The revision of the alimony is defined as an adjustment of the amount of the pension”, explains from the outset the French administration on the site of the public service. And the platform continues, listing the conditions that must be met to benefit from a reduction in the amount to be paid or an outright deletion:

Naturally, some cases lead to an increase in the amount to be paid while others may lead to a decrease.

To request the reduction or cancellation of alimony, you must contact the family affairs judge (JaF) and complete the Cerfa form n°11530. This must then be addressed to the court of the place where the creditor spouse resides.