Do you know the difference between alimony and maintenance support?

If you have children and have or are about to separate or divorce, you have probably come across the words alimony and maintenance support. Many find the terms confusing and difficult to keep track of what is what. Both alimony and maintenance support are about financial support for children, but what exactly is the difference between the two?

Alimony is paid by one parent to the other

Alimony is what one parent pays the other to cover the child’s living expenses. Alimony is paid when the child spends more time with one of you. This way, the financial responsibility for the child is balanced out. How much alimony one parent pays depends on their finances and the child’s needs. The alimony has to cover the costs of the child’s clothes, food, school fees, any leisure activities and such. At the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s website, you can calculate how much the alimony will end up being.

Maintenance support when alimony cannot be paid

If the child mostly lives with one parent and the other parent is unable to pay alimony, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency steps in and pays maintenance support to the parent who has the children most of the time. The maintenance support has to then be paid back to the Social Insurance Agency from the parent who owes alimony.

The maintenance support is always the same, regardless of your finances. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency pays out:

• SEK 1,673/month up to and including the month the child turns 7.
• SEK 1,823/month from the month after the child turns 7.
• SEK 2,223/month from the month after the child turns 15.

If you’re the one who has to pay back maintenance support, the amount you have to pay depends entirely on your finances. The Social Insurance Agency calculates how your finances look and then decides what you will pay per month. If your finances are strained, you can pay back a smaller amount a month without it affecting the maintenance support that’s being paid out. If, on the other hand, you have an economy that the Social Insurance Agency considers good enough, you pay the same amount back as they pay out.

When your child is old enough to work, it’s important to keep track of how much the child earns since it affects the maintenance support. Your child can have an annual income upto SEK 60,000 without it affecting the maintenance support. If your child earns more than that, the maintenance support will also be lower. And the amount you have to pay back also decreases.

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Have you and your partner established powers of attorney?

We usually recommend that everyone draw up an enduring power of attorney for the future, whether you are married or common-law partners. It’s a legal document where you state in writing how you want others to manage things for you if you become unable to do it yourself. This could be in case you become seriously ill or are in an accident. With an enduring power of attorney, you can ensure that your bills are paid on time, businesses and property are managed appropriately and that you get the healthcare you want. An enduring power of attorney can give you a sense of control and minimize uncertainty about the future, and you can be sure that your wishes will be respected.

If you don’t have an enduring power of attorney, it can lead to a lengthy and costly legal process. This is because a court will have to step in and appoint a guardian for you. And in that case, you can’t be certain that the guardian will handle your affairs the way you want. So it’s good to have an enduring power of attorney that gives, for example, your partner the right to make important decisions for you.

How do you draw up an enduring power of attorney?

When you draw up an enduring power of attorney, you first have to appoint someone to give power of attorney to. Usually, many people give power of attorney to their partner. But you can also give power of attorney to a close relative or a friend. The important thing is that the person you choose is someone you trust, who understands your wishes and needs and who you know will act in your best interest.

After that you need to define what authority the power of attorney will give and in which contexts. It’s important to be clear so that no one can misunderstand your wishes. Things that are important to address are, for example, issues you want the power of attorney to tend to. What authority the person gets? If you’re giving power of attorney to more than one person. Sometimes you might want to give power of attorney to different people. Then it’s important that you state the conditions for that clearly in the document stating enduring power of attorney.

In order for the enduring power of attorney to be valid, it must be in writing. You sign it together with two witnesses. The witnesses can not be the person you give power of attorney to. When the enduring power of attorney should come into effect is usually decided by the person who receives the power of attorney. That is, assuming that you’re unable to take care of your financial and personal affairs at the moment. In some cases, the court examines the question of when the enduring power of attorney comes into effect. This applies whenever it says so in the enduring power of attorney or if the person who has recieved power of attorney requests it.

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Do you know how a property division is done?

If you decide to separate or divorce, you have to go through a property division. In the property division, you and your lawyer will go through your joint assets and debts and divide them between you. This is often mentioned as your joint estate, which is what you own and owe together. For example, it can be everything from real estate, cars, accounts, companies and other things that you have acquired during your marriage or as common-law partners. A division of property ensures that your assets and debts are divided fairly.

How does a property division work?

1. Make an inventory of what you have

The first thing you need to do in a property division is to list all of your assets and liabilities. This includes properties, bank accounts, shares, vehicles, companies and any debts.

2. Do you have any individual property?

When dividing property, it’s important to clarify what is individual property and what is matrimonial property. Individual property are the assets that you each own before getting married or moving in together. While matrimonial property are the assets you acquire together during your marriage. Normally, individual property is not included in the division of property.

3. Value your shared property

When you have taken inventory of what you jointly own and owe, you need to value your shared property. You can do this by hiring a valuer or by agreeing on a valuation between the two of you.

4. Decide on how to divide your property

When you have valued your joint estate, you have to decide how to divide your assets and liabilities between the two of you. In most property divisions, everything is divided equally, but sometimes there are circumstances that can affect the divide so that it’s not exactly in half. How you choose to divide is up to you and the easiest way is for you to agree on this on your own. If you can’t agree, the court can determine how to divide your property.

5. Put it in writing

Finally, you need a property division agreement. The agreement is a written document where you go through the inventory, the valuation, how you want to divide everything and exceptions if any. By drawing up an agreement, you make sure to avoid any disputes in the future.

Talk to a lawyer

Do you need help with a property division? The easiest is to get in contact with a lawyer who can help you with the legal issues concerning a property division. At Kliently, you can choose to contact our lawyers to get answers to your questions or to get help with the property division.

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If you’re gifting a condominium you’ll need a deed of gift.

Did you know that you need a deed of gift if you’re going to give away a condominium to your children or grandchildren?

It may not be every day that you give away a condominium, property or shares, but when it does happen, it is important that it is done in the right way. Otherwise, the risk is that the gift will be invalid according to law. As long as your gift is not movable property such as money or loose things, you must have a deed of gift. Writing a deed of gift is not the same as writing a will where you specify who will receive what after your death. In the deed, you instead give away a gift where you were previously the owner. You can give the gift to a family member, a friend, an organization or someone else you think deserves to receive said gift.

What do you need to include in a deed of gift?

When you write a deed of gift, you need to specify which property or assets you want to give away and who will receive them. You also need to specify the value of the gift and when it should be given. If you’re giving away a condominium, a property or a plot of land, there are also certain legal requirements in addition to the deed itself that must be met.

You can also choose to give the gift with or without reservation. If you give a gift with reservation, it simply means that you set conditions for the gifting. For example, it may be that the gift should not be seen as an advance on an inheritance. In those cases it is especially important to review the deed to make sure it is correct . Otherwise, it could affect your will in a way you don’t want to.

In the deed of gift, you can also state whether the gift is meant as individual property of the recipient. That ensures that the gift stays with the recipient in the event of a divorce. Or you can specify that you will be able to use the gift for a certain period of time. If it is, for example, a condominium that you want to give away but want to be able to use, you need to state this in the deed.

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Are you prepared for the big day?

Having a civil wedding ceremony is a popular alternative to religious ceremonies. A civil ceremony is performed by a wedding officiant appointed by the county administrative board. The officiant is not religiously connected and the ceremony is usually held at the town hall or another public place. Only those appointed by the county administrative board are allowed to perform a civil wedding ceremony.

If you have decided to have a civil ceremony, there are some practical things you need to arrange in beforehand. These are the most important details you need to consider before your big day.

Reserve a spot for your civil wedding ceremony well in advance

Getting married in the City Hall is very popular. Therefore, it can be difficult to find a time slot on the day you want to have your wedding. In most cases, it is possible to make a reservation for your ceremony directly on the website of each city hall. So make sure to make a reservation immediately as soon as you have decided on when you want to get married. That way, you can make sure that you can get married when you want. If you want to get married outdoors instead, you need to check with the wedding officiant that they’re available that day and able to get to where your ceremony will be.

Apply for obstacle assessment

Before you get married, you need to apply for an obstacle examination at the Swedish Tax Agency. This prooves that you meet the requirements to be able to marry according to Swedish law. In the assesment you’ll have to state that you’re of legal age, that you’re not closely related to your partner and that you’re not currently married to someone else. After you have applied for the obstacle assessment, you’ll receive an assessment certificate and a marriage certificate. The certificates should be handed to your wedding officiant.

Who will you have as witnesses during your civil wedding ceremony

On the day of the wedding, you’ll need to have two witnesses present. Your witnesses can be family, relatives or friends and must be of legal age to act as a witnesses during the ceremony. If you don’t have witnesses, if you would marry without any close ones present, the marriage office in your municipality can in some cases arrange for witnesses. Whatever you choose to do, you have to have two witnesses present so it’s important you establish who will be witnessing before the ceremony.

Decide on a surname in advance

You don’t have to change your surname after having gotten married in a civil wedding ceremony. However if you want to, it can be convenient to apply for a name change before the wedding. You can change to your partner’s surname, or you can choose a completely new name formed from your previous surnames. If you decide to change your surname, you have to apply for a name change with the Swedish Tax Agency. Once they approve your name change, they will send you confirmation of the change. They will also notify of the change with other authorities and with many companies. If you don’t want to change your name, nothing will happen once you get married. You’ll just keep the names you have even after the wedding ceremony.

Consider prenuptial agreements

After your civil wedding ceremony and entering marriage, everything you own will belong to both of you. This applies to both the assets you had before getting married and the assets you acquire together during marriage. Many times it doesn’t matter and many married couples are fully in agreement that they own half each. But there are times when it’s to an advantage that certain assets and possessions are counted as individual property. This means that those particular assets and possessions aren’t regarded in what you share together. This could be, for example, if one of you inherits money, an apartment, property and such. Or if one of you owns a business.

At Kliently, you can choose to write a prenuptial agreement yourself for a small cost. You’ll get guidance in our agreement service, which makes it very easy to draw up a prenuptial agreement on your own. The only thing you need to remember is to register it with the Swedish Tax Agency for it to be valid.

If, on the other hand, you need the help of a lawyer to tailor the prenuptial agreement further, you can choose to fill in the information in our agreement service and then go through and review the document with one of our lawyers to make corrections based on your wishes. You can also simply book a consultation with our lawyers to discuss whether a prenuptial agreement makes sense in your case or whether you would benefit from another solution.

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A cohabitation agreement is more important than you think

When you and your partner decide to move in together, a cohabitation agreement may not be the first thing you think of. There are a lot of exciting stuff to plan and fix. And in the midst of it all, a cohabitation agreement might not seem as fun to deal with. Even if that’s true it is a really important agreement for many reasons. And it’s definitely something you should consider setting up.

According to Statistics Sweden, 1.6 million Swedes live as common-law partners. And yet, signing cohabitation agreements is not that common. And this despite the fact that common-law partners don’t have the same legal advantages as married couples. By setting up a cohabitation agreement you make sure to protect and secure your future and your childrens financial security.

How are you protected by a cohabitation agreement?

In 2022, the Supreme Court in Sweden decided that a woman should pay her ex-partner almost SEK 800,000 and just over SEK 100,000 in court costs for an apartment the woman had paid for. The apartment, which was a rental in the beginning, turned in to a condominium one year after the woman and the man had started to live together. The woman, who’s name was already on the lease, bought the condominium and thus owned it herself. When the couple chose to separate in 2017, the man claimed the apartement saying that the apartment was their common property since they had lived there for so long.

You can avoid situations like this more easily with a cohabitation agreement. You can set the agreement up yourself or write it with a lawyer. In the agreement, you should state how you want to keep your property divided. This applies, for example, to properties such as condominiums, houses, cottages and things that you’ve inherited and want to keep as individual property. And also if you want to inherit each other. This is specifically important if you have children. The cohabitation agreement doesn’t have to be registered. Also you can choose whether you write it before or after you move in together.

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