Everything you wanted to know about alimony and alimony reduction

According to what is the alimony determined?

Is there a way to change or reduce them once they are set?

How was the existing law changed in 2017?

We spoke with attorney Hila Dahan-Tovi, an expert in family law

In conjunction with Legal Zap

03/07/2022

Sunday, 03 July 2022, 06:12 Updated: 06:55

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Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the family courts used to rule on an absolute alimony obligation on the father up to the age of 15, but in 2017 nothing happened in Israel (Photo: ShutterStock)

When a marital relationship involving offspring comes to an end, the court determines the ways in which the finances of the joint children (minors) will be secured.

According to the personal law applicable to Jews, it is a Torah law, a father must pay alimony to his minor children who are under the age of 18 in order to secure their economy.

Necessary needs and needs from a charity It is customary to divide alimony into two types of needs.

The first of which concerns the necessary needs of the minor, taking into account the basic and essential needs for the existence of each minor, such as: food, clothing, shelter, education, medical treatments and more, to which the father owes exclusively.

A boxed article states that when the parties did not bring evidence to prove the necessary needs of the minors, the ruling set the amount of alimony regarding the necessary needs of a minor at NIS 1,600 per month, but this amount is not multiplied by the number of minors assuming the larger the number of children. The proportion of each child in the necessary needs is small.

The second type of needs are charitable needs that are designed to bring the standard of living of the minor as close as possible to the standard of living to which he is accustomed on the eve of separation.

According to the halakhic approach, which was also adopted in court rulings, alimony from a charitable state is equally obligatory on the father and mother.

To these needs is added another third to a half (depending on the number of minors) the cost of the "section", ie the rent and the associated costs as well as exceptional education or medical expenses if necessary, which are usually divided half by half between mother and father.

Three age groups for alimony

Hebrew law distinguishes between three age groups: ages 6-0 ("small children"), ages 15-6 ("small") and ages 18-15 ("large"), with arrangements applicable to each of the groups. Various.

In the case of "small children" - children up to the age of 6 years - the obligation to pay alimony rests entirely and exclusively with the father.

Advocate Dahan Toby explains: “The accepted halakhic interpretation is that a Jewish father owes alone, and completely and completely, all the alimony required for his young children until they reach the age of 6. The obligation stems from his paternity and not from the marriage, so it exists even after question ended.

The mother, on the other hand, is completely exempt from these alimony, regardless of her financial situation.

In other words, even if the father's condition is very bad and the mother's condition is benign and more, the responsibility for their economy still rests with the father. "

With regard to "minors", the alimony ruling at these ages should be divided into two time periods - the period that was before the Supreme Court decision given in 2017 (Ltd. 919/15) and thereafter.

Before the Supreme Court ruling, the family courts used to rule that Absolute alimony for the father up to the age of 15, except that in 2017 nothing happened in Israel: The Supreme Court ruled that in a situation where there is joint physical custody of a minor aged 15-6, and it is clear that the father carries alimony while staying with him, both parents will have child support. Equal under charity law, and the division will be determined according to the relative economic capabilities of the parents.This

ruling has become binding case law and the courts will rule accordingly even in cases where there is no joint physical custody, in which case the latter will take into account additional variables such as length of stay.

For "adults", it is customary to treat this age group in the same and equal way as the previous age group.

From this age onwards, the courts' ruling extended the obligation to pay alimony also to children who are in compulsory military service.

During this period, the duty imposed on the father is to bear the payment of one third of the amount of alimony in which the father was obliged prior to enlistment until its completion.

Adv. Dahan-Tovi: "A judgment for alimony does not create a final barrier against the resumption of the hearing and it is possible to return to the court, subject to the fact that it can be proven that there has been a material change in the circumstances justifying the change.

It is important to know that it is customary to interpret the term 'change of circumstances' in a non-facilitative manner so as not to upset the balance between the tendency to bring about the finality of the discussion, and the need to adjust the amount of alimony to changing life needs. "

"The binding starting point is the situation that existed at the time the judgment was given for alimony. It is not enough to prove a change, but to prove that it is such a substantial change of circumstances that it justifies intervention in prescribed alimony. The change will be made only in rare cases Good faith".

"It is important to understand that this is not a re-examination of everything, and the court does not examine what amount of alimony would have been decided if the alimony claim had been filed before it today. Instead, the court examines whether a material change of circumstances actually occurred and could not have been foreseen."

In other rulings, explains Adv. Dahan Toby, it was determined that such a possibility can also apply in the case of an agreement between the parties that has received the force of a judgment, and even there it is necessary to prove a substantial change and that the claim for change is filed in good faith.

The main areas of practice of the Hila Dahan Tovi Law Office are: tort law, execution, family law, labor law and real estate.

For more details and to contact us, you can contact us here or by phone

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077-9977462

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