This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Nafaka Artırım ve Azaltım Davası.
A maintenance award is not fixed: when circumstances change it can be increased, reduced or removed altogether (TMK arts. 176/4 and 331). An increase requires proof of a material change in the parties' finances or in the child's needs since the judgment. The action is brought in the family court and is subject to no time limit.
Maintenance fixed five years ago no longer meets a child's needs — or the reverse: the payer has lost their job and cannot pay. Turkish law provides for both.
The Statutory Basis
TMK art. 176 is explicit: where the parties' financial circumstances change, or equity requires it, the periodic payment may be increased or reduced.
The judge may also, on request, determine what amount is to be paid in future years.
That last provision is very useful and little used: in the divorce action you can ask for maintenance to be increased annually by the producer price index. That removes the need to bring a fresh action every few years.
If you did not ask for it in the divorce action, you can ask for a forward-looking rate of increase in the variation action.
When an Increase Can Be Sought
- The child's needs have grown. Age, the move to a new school stage, special educational or medical needs.
- The payer's income has risen. Promotion, a change of job, additional income.
- Economic conditions have changed. A fall in purchasing power.
- The recipient's position has worsened. Loss of work, illness.
There is no minimum waiting period, but the circumstances must be shown to have genuinely changed since the award. Actions brought at very short intervals are refused for that reason.
Where an increase is ordered, it takes effect as a rule from the date of the action.
Reduction and Removal
The payer may rely on the same article to seek a reduction:
- Loss of work or a serious drop in income
- Inability to work through illness
- Remarriage and new dependants
- The child becoming able to meet their own needs
For spousal maintenance the statute separately lists the events that end it (TMK art. 176/3): a periodic award lapses automatically on the remarriage of the recipient or the death of either party.
It is removed by court order where the recipient lives as if married without marrying, ceases to be in poverty or leads a dishonourable life.
These last grounds require a court order; they do not take effect automatically. Stopping payment unilaterally leads to enforcement proceedings against you.
| Type | Basis | Duration | How it ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interim maintenance | TMK art. 169 | For the proceedings | When the judgment becomes final |
| Child maintenance | TMK art. 182 | Until the child reaches majority | Majority; may continue in education under art. 328/2 |
| Spousal maintenance | TMK art. 175 | Without time limit | Remarriage, death, end of poverty (art. 176) |
| Family support maintenance | TMK art. 364 | While need continues | When the need ends |
Living as if married is also a ground for removing spousal maintenance, but the burden of proving it lies on the party asserting it.
Where to Sue and How to Prove It
The competent court is the family court. Territorial jurisdiction may lie with the court of the maintenance creditor's residence — a rule that favours the claimant.
Mediation is not a condition of this action; it is filed directly.
Evidence to assemble:
- Social security and tax records showing the other party's income (ask the court to obtain them)
- Documents for the child's school, course and medical costs
- Rent, utility and essential expenditure records
- Medical reports
- Land registry and vehicle records — an assets search
If you do not know the other party's income, ask in the petition for the social security, tax office, land registry and traffic records to be obtained. The court will carry out that search.
Under TMK art. 176/4 the judge may determine what is to be paid in future years. Asking, in the divorce or the variation action, for an annual increase by the producer price index saves you from bringing a fresh action every few years.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can maintenance be increased?
Where the parties' financial circumstances change or equity requires it. There is no waiting period, but a genuine change must be shown.
Can an automatic annual increase be ordered?
Yes. The judge may determine what is to be paid in future years, and an increase by the producer price index can be requested.
When does spousal maintenance end?
Automatically on the recipient's remarriage or either party's death; by court order where they live as if married, cease to be in poverty or lead a dishonourable life.
I cannot pay. Can I just stop?
No. Stopping unilaterally leads to enforcement. You must bring an action to reduce or remove the maintenance.
I do not know the other party's income.
Ask in the petition for the social security, tax office, land registry and traffic records to be obtained; the court carries out the search.