How are children's expenses paid after a divorce? 2026

One of the main concerns of spouses who are going to divorce is how they will face the expenses of their common children from that moment on. Well, the Civil Code includes the figure called alimony, which is a measure that is always regulated in divorce procedures when there are minor or financially dependent children.

What is alimony, what concepts does it include and what does it not?

Alimony is regulated in article 142 et seq. of the Civil Code, and is a monthly amount that is set in favor of the children and that the non-custodial parent must pay to the custodial parent, in order to contribute to the payment of the ordinary expenses of the common children. Ordinary expenses of children are understood to be school expenses, rent, housing supplies, food, clothing, pharmacy, etc.

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It must be made clear that dental treatments of any kind, speech therapy, psychology, psychiatry, extracurricular classes, etc., are not included in child support, but are extraordinary expenses which are regulated in another way, the general criterion being that they are paid 50% between the parents.

Mortgage expenses are also not included in the alimony, which must be paid as stated in the title of constitution. And regarding the IBI, home insurance, extraordinary contributions from the community of owners, taxes or fees that levy the ownership of the family home will be borne by both parents (in the event that they were both owners) in the proportion corresponding to the ownership that each one has.

Who receives alimony and when must it be paid?

The alimony must be paid to the custodial parent, that is, the person with whom the children live, being the one who manages their destiny. And it must be paid by the person obliged to pay within the first five days of each month, into the bank account designated by the custodial parent.

How is alimony calculated?

Article 146 of the Civil Code provides that "the amount of food will be proportionate to the wealth or means of the person who gives it and the needs of the person who receives it."

As we can see, there are two parameters that are usually used to determine the amount: the needs of the children and the financial means of the parents. Although the theory seems simple, the truth is that calculating the appropriate amount is not an easy task, and this issue is the one that generates the most discrepancies between parents. And this is because either one considers that the amount is excessive or the other understands that it is scarce.

In order to facilitate the possibility of agreement on this issue, the General Council of the Judiciary has prepared some guiding tables to determine child support in family proceedings. As indicated, they are guiding, that is, their application is not mandatory.

Is alimony updated? When?

Yes, the general criterion is that the alimony is updated according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which is an official index.

Regarding when the update should be done, there are two possibilities:

a) With effect from January 1 of each year, that is, if the ruling was issued on April 1, 2018, the first update will have to be made on January 1, 2019, and so on.

b) With effect from the date of the resolution, that is, if it was issued on April 1, 2018, the first update must be made on April 1, 2019, and so on.

In this way, the ruling issued in the contentious procedure will expressly indicate the manner in which the aforementioned update must be carried out. For its part, in mutual agreement procedures, the general criterion is that it is agreed that the first update is carried out one year after the Regulatory Agreement is signed, regardless of the date on which the ruling approving the aforementioned agreement is issued.

Until when should alimony be received?

Alimony must be paid until the children become financially independent; therefore, it does not expire when they reach the age of majority, as many parents believe.

Economic independence is understood when the child has his or her own fixed income, and even when he or she has already completed training and there are real and certain possibilities of obtaining a job with a fixed income.

As an exception to the previous rule, courts may terminate child support for an economically dependent adult child due to lack of academic performance. Specifically, when the child is constantly changing his studies for others without completing any, he fails, repeats a course repeatedly, etc., that is, he has an attitude of laziness regarding his studies.

Could alimony be established when shared custody is established?

The answer is affirmative, although only in certain specific cases. Specifically, the establishment of shared custody does not prevent the establishment of alimony as long as the income of both parents is very disproportionate. In this case, the parent who has more financial capacity will pay child support to the other parent.

In short, when one is considering getting divorced or is already immersed in a divorce procedure, it is essential not only to know but to correctly quantify the children's expenses, with the aim of establishing alimony according to their needs.

Article written by Anna Salort, a lawyer specializing in Family Law at ABA Abogadas.