Is Alimony Only Paid to the Woman After Divorce?

Pursuant to Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code, poverty alimony is the right of the spouse who will fall into poverty as a result of divorce, whose fault is not more severe, to demand indefinite alimony from the other spouse in accordance with his/her financial capacity...

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Divorce is one of the various reasons for the dissolution of marriage, which is a civil law contract. In other words, divorce is defined as the legal termination of marriage. Financial obligations are among the questions that come to mind when the marriage union ends. Alimony, like pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, is a financial consequence of divorce. In this article, the alimony that spouses may request from each other in terms of alimony will be discussed.

Contrary to popular belief, the Turkish Civil Code does not discriminate between spouses and allows either spouse to request poverty alimony from the other in the event of divorce in accordance with the principle of equality. Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code titled “Poverty alimony” is as follows Article 175- The party who will fall into poverty due to divorce may request alimony from the other party indefinitely in proportion to his/her financial capacity for his/her subsistence, provided that his/her fault is not more severe. Fault of the alimony obligor is not sought. As can be understood from the relevant article, the ability of one of the spouses to request poverty alimony from the other party is subject to various conditions. Undoubtedly, if these conditions are fulfilled, the spouse who will request poverty alimony will have this opportunity. The first condition is that the party falling into poverty must have such a request. In other words, if the spouse who falls into poverty does not make such a request, the judge will not be able to decide on poverty alimony automatically. Another condition understood from the article is that the spouse who will request poverty alimony must be faultless or less faultless, but the fault of the spouse from whom alimony is requested will not be sought. Another condition is that the spouse who will request alimony must have fallen into poverty. Although the criteria for evaluating the poverty is not included in the article, the poverty does not have to be great. The last condition is that the amount of alimony to be assessed by the judge must be proportional to the financial power of the spouse obliged to pay.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code, titled poverty alimony, lists the conditions and gives the spouse who falls into poverty the right to request poverty alimony if these conditions are met. However, it should be known that the judge is not the sole authority in determining the amount of poverty alimony. The spouses may also agree on the amount of poverty alimony. In the fifth subparagraph of Article 184 of the Turkish Civil Code, it is stated that “Agreements regarding the secondary consequences of divorce or separation shall not be valid unless approved by the judge”, and as can be understood from the wording of the provision, it is stipulated that the agreement on the amount of poverty alimony, which is a financial consequence of divorce, must be approved by the judge.

HOW DOES THE JUDICIAL PROCEDURE WORK?

The request for alimony can be made during the divorce case or it can be requested with a separate lawsuit after the divorce case. If the request for alimony is made during the divorce case, the competent and authorized court is the family court authorized and authorized to hear the divorce case. If this claim is filed with a separate lawsuit, the competent and authorized court is the family court in the place of residence of the alimony creditor according to Article 177 of the Turkish Civil Code. Article 177- In alimony cases to be filed after divorce, the court of the place of residence of the alimony creditor is authorized.