This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Nafaka Nedir? Türleri, Miktarı ve Değiştirilmesi.
Turkish law provides four distinct types of maintenance, and which one applies depends on who claims it and at what stage: interim maintenance during the proceedings, child maintenance for a child, spousal maintenance for a divorced spouse, and family support maintenance between ascendants, descendants and siblings. The amount is fixed by reference to the parties' means and to equity, and it can be revisited at any time when circumstances change.
Maintenance is frequently assumed to be a single thing owed between spouses. It is not. This guide sets out the four types, how the amount is determined, when it can be increased, reduced or ended, and what happens when it goes unpaid. TMK means the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721.
What Maintenance Is
Maintenance is regular financial support paid to a person in a weaker economic position. In family law it may arise from divorce, from separation, or from a family relationship having nothing to do with marriage.
- TMK art. 169 — interim maintenance, ordered by the judge for the duration of the proceedings
- TMK art. 175 — spousal maintenance for a spouse who would fall into poverty after divorce
- TMK art. 182 — child maintenance, claimed from the parent who does not hold custody
- TMK art. 364 — family support maintenance between ascendants, descendants and siblings
The right to maintenance is strictly personal. It cannot be assigned, it does not pass to heirs, and as a rule a maintenance receivable cannot be attached.
The Four Types
1. Interim maintenance (TMK art. 169). A provisional measure that comes into play as soon as a divorce or separation action is filed. The judge may order it of the court's own motion, without any request, to secure the livelihood of a spouse and any children until the case ends. It ceases with the divorce judgment.
2. Spousal maintenance (TMK art. 175). A spouse who would fall into poverty on divorce, and whose fault is not the graver, may claim it from the other. It may be awarded without a time limit, but it ends when:
- the recipient remarries — it lapses automatically;
- the recipient in fact lives with another person outside marriage — it is lifted by court order;
- either party dies;
- the recipient ceases to be in poverty.
3. Child maintenance (TMK art. 182). The parent without custody contributes to the child's care, education and living costs. It is paid to the parent with custody and must be used for the child. It ends in principle when the child reaches eighteen, but may continue where the child remains in education. The child's particular needs — health, schooling — bear directly on the amount.
4. Family support maintenance (TMK art. 364). Unconnected to marriage or divorce. A person who has fallen into poverty may claim it from their parents, children or siblings. The claimant must genuinely be in poverty, and the person liable must have the means to pay.
| Type | For whom | Duration | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interim maintenance | Spouse and children | For the duration of the proceedings | TMK art. 169 |
| Child maintenance | The child | Until the child reaches majority | TMK art. 182 |
| Spousal maintenance | Divorced spouse | Without time limit, subject to the ending events | TMK art. 175 |
| Family support maintenance | Descendants, ascendants, siblings | While the need continues | TMK art. 364 |
Interim maintenance can also be sought without a divorce action, under TMK art. 197, where living apart is justified.
How the Amount Is Determined
No figure is fixed by statute. The judge assesses what is equitable on the facts, weighing:
- the claimant's actual needs and monthly living costs;
- the income, assets and capacity to pay of the person liable;
- the standard of living before and during the marriage;
- whether the claimant works and has an income of their own;
- for child maintenance, the child's age, level of education and particular needs;
- the relative fault of the parties — decisive for spousal maintenance.
The discretion is wide, but Court of Cassation case law constrains it within recognisable bounds. Reviewing settled decisions in comparable cases is the most reliable way to form a realistic expectation of the amount.
"The party who would fall into poverty because of the divorce may, provided their fault is not the graver, claim maintenance from the other party indefinitely for their livelihood."
TMK art. 175
Increase, Reduction and Termination
An award is not fixed forever. Under TMK art. 176, where the economic and social circumstances of the parties change materially, the amount may be increased, reduced or removed altogether.
The application must rest on concrete, provable grounds. Abstract assertions and ordinary changes in life are not enough. The grounds most often relied on are:
- a substantial rise or fall in the income of the person liable;
- the recipient taking employment or otherwise improving their position materially;
- a marked increase in the child's education and living costs;
- remarriage, or serious illness, of either party.
For spousal maintenance, the recipient living with another person outside marriage is a ground for removal — but it must be proved in court.
The judge may also order automatic annual indexation to the consumer price index when making the award. Where none is ordered, a separate action is needed for every increase, which is why indexation should be requested at the outset.
When Maintenance Is Not Paid
The first step is enforcement proceedings. Once the judgment is put into enforcement, the debtor's salary, bank accounts and other assets may be attached. Maintenance claims rank ahead of others and are not subject to the ordinary limit on salary attachment.
Article 344 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act adds a sharper sanction: a debtor who has the means but refuses or neglects to pay maintenance may, on the creditor's complaint, be subject to coercive imprisonment of up to three months. Its purpose is compulsion, not punishment — payment ends the detention. The complaint must be made within three months of the default.
Where the debtor changes employer, leaves work or attempts to dispose of assets, protective measures can be sought from the court.
Common Mistakes
- Not including the maintenance claim in the divorce petition — a separate action may then be required.
- Failing to gather the documents that prove the amount: income records, the lease, utility bills.
- Not pursuing the debtor's real income where it is understated; enforcement can be used to investigate.
- Delaying an application to increase or remove maintenance, and acquiescing in the existing position.
- Not informing the court promptly that the recipient has remarried or begun living with another person.
If the judgment contains no annual increase clause, each rise requires a fresh action. Ask for indexation to the consumer price index at the outset — it costs nothing then and saves years of litigation in a long-running spousal maintenance award.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kinds of maintenance are there?
Four: interim maintenance during proceedings, child maintenance, spousal maintenance after divorce, and family support maintenance between relatives.
How is the amount decided?
By the judge, on the claimant's needs and the other party's capacity to pay, weighed against the standard of living and, for spousal maintenance, the relative fault of the parties.
Does spousal maintenance last forever?
It may be awarded without a time limit, but it ends on remarriage, on the recipient living with another person, on death, or when the recipient is no longer in poverty.
Can the amount be changed later?
Yes, where the parties' circumstances change materially. The application must rest on concrete, provable grounds.
What if the other parent simply does not pay?
Start enforcement, and complain to the enforcement criminal court within three months — a debtor with the means who refuses to pay faces coercive imprisonment of up to three months.