In the event of separation of cohabitees

In the event of separation of cohabitees

I'm thinking of separating from my unmarried partner. I've heard that the new law provides that I can receive a contribution towards my maintenance in the same way as if I were married. Is this true? M, Vaud

Marriage creates solidarity between the spouses and the Swiss Civil Code provides, under certain conditions, that the wealthier spouse must make a maintenance contribution to the other spouse in the event of separation. A distinction should be made between two periods: the first during the marriage, even when the spouses are living separate and apart, and the second after the marriage. During the first period, the standard of living enjoyed by the spouses during their life together must, as far as possible, be maintained. Thereafter, during the second period, each spouse will theoretically have to provide for his or her own maintenance, in accordance with the "clean break" principle. Entitlement to maintenance contributions for the creditor spouse varies according to a number of factors, such as the length of the marriage and its influence on the spouse's financial situation. If there are children from the parental union, a maintenance contribution will also be due for them.

In the case of cohabitation, there is no rule creating a duty of solidarity between former lovers under Swiss law, so no contribution is due between spouses. However, if the couple has started a family and children have been born of their union, the custodial parent may, in principle, demand a contribution towards the upkeep of the children.

To this end, Article 276 of the Civil Code was amended at the beginning of 2017 and the legislator introduced the concept of taking care of the child. Previously, only the child's direct expenses were taken into account when calculating the child's maintenance contribution, including in particular housing contributions, health insurance and the minimum subsistence amount under the law on proceedings. The child support contribution now also includes the indirect costs incurred by the child, for example when the custodial parent forgoes an income to look after the child and this results in a shortfall for the child (i.e. the child's income is insufficient to cover the minimum subsistence requirement). This shortfall will then be added to the child's maintenance contribution.

It is therefore incorrect to say that the legislative amendment provides for a maintenance contribution to be made to one of the cohabiting partners in the event of separation; at most, it makes it possible to compensate for the shortfall of the custodial parent, who would have sacrificed part of his or her income to look after his or her offspring.