Maintenance during separation and divorce allowance: updated guide (2026)

In this updated 2026 guide, we explain how maintenance during separation and the divorce allowance work, when they are due, how they are calculated, and when they may be revoked.

“I am about to separate: will I be entitled to maintenance?”
“Do I still have to support my child even if they are over 18?”
“My income has changed: can I ask to pay less?”

If you recognise yourself in one of these situations, it is normal to feel confused, because the answers are not straightforward and are not the same for everyone.

Today, the rules governing maintenance and the divorce allowance are based on very different assumptions compared with the recent past, both because of the effects of the Cartabia Reform and because of Supreme Court decisions that have redefined the concept of self-sufficiency and solidarity.

This means there are no longer any automatic entitlements, and the criteria for granting or reviewing maintenance payments, both post-separation maintenance and the divorce allowance, are more concrete than in the past and based on real-life situations: they assess the level of self-sufficiency, the ability and opportunity to work, family choices, and the changes that have taken place over time.

Maintenance during separation is intended to preserve the same standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, which is still legally in existence and could theoretically be restored, whereas the divorce allowance, which applies after divorce, has an assistance-based, equalising and compensatory function, based on income, the duration of the marriage, and the professional sacrifices made by the financially weaker spouse.

During separation, maintenance still looks at the marital standard of living, whereas the divorce allowance is aimed above all at ensuring self-sufficiency and compensating for the sacrifices made for the family.

Maintenance during separation: what it is and when it is due

Maintenance is a periodic sum, usually paid monthly, that one spouse is required to pay to the other and, where applicable, to the children, in the event of separation.

With separation, the marriage is not dissolved: some effects remain.

For this reason, in practice, the financial arrangement may remain closer to previous family life, as far as realistically possible.

In Italy, during the separation phase, maintenance serves two different purposes depending on whether it is paid to the spouse from whom one is separating or to the children.

While the first is intended to ensure an economic balance between the spouses, the second is a mandatory obligation aimed at protecting the rights of the children.

It is based on an income disparity, but it is not due if the spouse who should receive it has been found legally responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.

There are no fixed amounts: it is calculated on the basis of the parties’ financial means, including income, property and investments.

It is due from the moment the application is accepted.

By agreement between the parties and with the court’s approval, maintenance for the spouse may be paid in a single lump sum, precluding future claims.

If you are negotiating a consensual separation, it is important to consider a sustainable agreement: realistic amounts, clearly defined extraordinary expenses, and review mechanisms.

Key aspects of maintenance after separation

Marital separation: it applies during separation, before divorce.

Purpose: to rebalance the spouses’ economic conditions, ensuring that the financially weaker spouse can maintain the previous marital standard of living.

Beneficiaries: it may be granted in favour of the financially weaker spouse, provided that spouse has not been found legally responsible for the separation, or for the children, whether minors or adult children who are not yet self-supporting.

Requirements for the spouse: lack of adequate income to maintain a standard of living similar to that enjoyed during the marriage.

Calculation: it is determined by the judge or by agreement between the parties, in the case of a consensual separation, on the basis of income, availability of the family home, earning capacity, and the duration of the marriage.

Child maintenance: a separate and specific payment is provided. In any event, both parents must contribute to the children’s support in proportion to their respective incomes.

Subject to review: it is not immutable and may be reviewed at the request of either party. The recipient may ask for it to be increased, and the payer may ask for it to be reduced or terminated.

In short, maintenance payable to the spouse from whom one is separating serves to protect the family’s economic balance after cohabitation comes to an end.

Child maintenance: criteria, amounts and duration

Maintenance during separation is also provided for children, for whom support is always due in proportion to income.

Under Article 337-ter of the Italian Civil Code, the criteria for quantifying it are:

• the child’s needs
• the standard of living
• the amount of time spent with each parent
• the financial resources of both parents
• compliance with care responsibilities

Characteristics of child maintenance

Obligation: it is an inalienable right of the children and cannot be waived.

Recipient: it is paid to the parent with whom the children mainly live or, subject to an agreement approved by the judge, to adult children who are not yet financially self-sufficient, provided this is not due to their own fault.

Criteria: it is based on the child’s needs, the standard of living enjoyed, the amount of time spent with each parent, and the financial resources of both.

Expenses: it covers ordinary expenses, such as daily living costs and school meals, through a fixed payment, while extraordinary expenses, such as non-reimbursable medical treatment, sports costs and non-routine school expenses, are usually split 50/50.

Direct maintenance: if the parents have similar incomes and the child spends equal time with each of them, each parent may directly cover the child’s expenses while the child is with them, without any maintenance payment being made.

Grandparents: if the parents lack sufficient means, the obligation may extend to the grandparents.

Maintenance for adult children

As regards maintenance for children, the Supreme Court has made it clear that, for adult children, a concrete assessment must be made of self-sufficiency and of the path towards independence.

There is no automatic rule that ends the right to maintenance when the child turns 18. On the contrary, the common approach is to continue paying maintenance until the children become at least minimally independent.

Maintenance for adult children may therefore continue until they achieve financial independence, since there is no automatic age limit, unless the child is found to be inactive in seeking employment.

It is a general judicial guideline, rather than a true fixed ceiling, to end maintenance once the child reaches 30 to 35 years of age.

Key points on maintenance for adult children

Requirement: the obligation remains until the child becomes financially independent.

Direct payment: the contribution may be paid directly to the adult child, subject to an agreement approved by the judge.

Age limits: in case law, where there is culpable inactivity, courts tend not to recognise maintenance beyond the age of 30 to 35, but there is no fixed threshold that applies in every case.

Cases in which it ends:

• attainment of financial independence, such as stable employment
• culpable inactivity in seeking work or in fruitlessly continuing studies
• refusal of job offers

Important: to whom child maintenance must be paid

Child maintenance must be paid to the parent with whom the child mainly lives, usually by monthly bank transfer.

In the case of adult children who are not yet financially self-sufficient, the judge may order direct payment to the child.

The change of the so-called creditor, namely the person receiving the maintenance payment, from the parent to the child does not happen automatically when the child reaches adulthood, but must be ordered by a judge.

According to Supreme Court Order No. 9700 of 13 April 2021, the creditor of the payment, as indicated in the separation order, cannot be changed by the parties.

The possibility for the liable party, namely the parent who pays the maintenance, to pay directly to the child is conditional upon a court order modifying the terms of separation.

The already mentioned Article 337-septies, paragraph 1, of the Civil Code provides that only the judge may order payment of maintenance to adult children who are not financially independent.

How maintenance for the spouse is calculated

In the case of a consensual separation, the parties may agree and determine it amicably according to their possibilities and needs.

In the case of judicial separation, however, it is for the judge to determine the amount by assessing the assets of both spouses.

The payment may be modified or revoked if the economic circumstances change.

If the spouse requesting maintenance is unemployed, both the granting of the maintenance and its amount depend on an assessment of their actual situation.

Work capacity is also highly relevant: age, health, skills, experience, and how long the person has been out of work.

The most commonly used criteria are:

• actual income, including salaries, business income and pensions
• assets, including the home, real estate, savings and investments
• availability of the family home
• unavoidable expenses, such as rent, mortgage payments, health costs and expenses for the children
• actual earning capacity, not merely theoretical. If someone is a professional but has not practised for many years, re-entering the labour market may be difficult
• family choices that affected a career, such as childcare, sacrifices, relocations, dismissal or resignation

In practice, the judge, or the parties by agreement, assess:

• who needs support
• whether the other spouse has the means to pay
• to what extent payment can be made without creating unfairness

What to do to request maintenance

If you believe you are entitled to maintenance after separation:

• gather the essential documents proving it: tax returns, payslips, statements of main expenses
• reconstruct your work and family history: very often that is where the maintenance issue is effectively decided
• prepare a simple but complete list justifying the amount you intend to request: income, fixed expenses, housing, children, debts

Review of maintenance: when it can be requested and when it cannot

All maintenance payments may be reviewed, but only by applying to the court and only where there have been concrete and documented changes.

It usually makes sense to request a review in the event of:

• loss of employment or a stable reduction in income
• a new job or a significant increase in the other party’s income
• inheritance or other substantial new income
• a new cohabitation arrangement or stable relationship with concrete effects
• significant changes in the children’s needs

A former spouse who pays maintenance and then loses their job and finds lower-paid employment may request a reduction.

The drop in income must be real and documented.

Stopping payment without taking legal action may have legal consequences.

If you want to request a reduction in the maintenance you pay, or its revocation, gather evidence of work, income and actual independence.

If you receive it and want to preserve it, document studies, active job searching, and objective obstacles.

Divorce allowance 2026: requirements, calculation and equalising-compensatory Function

The divorce allowance is a periodic financial contribution, or a lump-sum payment, ordered by the court in divorce proceedings, payable by one former spouse in favour of the other where the latter does not have adequate means and cannot obtain them for objective reasons.

In 2026, the divorce allowance in Italy is not automatic, and a mere disparity in income is not enough to obtain it.

Current case law has identified its assistance-based, compensatory and equalising function, seeing it as recognition of the contribution made by the applicant to family life.

After divorce, the allowance is not intended to reconstruct the life previously enjoyed.

Rather, it serves to:

• help the person who does not have adequate means, which is its assistance-based function
• rebalance the position where the disparity stems from shared family choices and sacrifices, which is its equalising and compensatory function

Since 2018, following the Joint Sections decision of the Supreme Court, No. 18287/2018, the judges’ interpretation of the legitimacy of receiving a divorce allowance has limited its award to specific cases.

On the one hand, the courts seek not to reward a passive attitude on the part of someone who asks for it but does nothing to become self-sufficient despite having the means to do so. On the other hand, they recognise that family wealth may also have been generated by the person who “worked in the shadows”, enabling the other spouse to earn and achieve professional success thanks to those sacrifices.

In 2023, Supreme Court judgment No. 35385 extended the scope of that function to the period of premarital cohabitation as well.

For the purposes of granting and quantifying the allowance, the judge must also take into account the period of cohabitation before the marriage, provided it was stable and continuous.

Common life project: if the couple had already embarked on a shared life project before marriage, the professional sacrifices made in that period, for example giving up a career to follow a partner or care for children, also have compensatory value.

Unity of the family nucleus: cohabitation and marriage are seen as phases of a single family history, making it unfair to ignore the contributions made before the formal marriage ceremony.

If you find yourself in such a situation, reconstruct the facts and the evidence, such as changes of city, interruption of work, care activities, and support for the other person’s career.

Only in this way can the claim be regarded as well-founded.

Key points on the divorce allowance

• Requirements: it is not automatic, but it is due if one of the spouses does not achieve financial independence for reasons beyond their control.
• Functions:
  • Assistance-based. It guarantees support to someone whose income is insufficient.
  • Compensatory/Equalising. It recognises work-related sacrifices made for the family, such as childcare, and the contribution made to the formation of the other spouse’s wealth.
• Difference from maintenance. Unlike maintenance during separation, it is not intended to preserve the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, but to ensure financial self-sufficiency.
• Calculation criteria. The judge assesses the parties’ economic conditions, the personal and financial contribution made to the family, both spouses’ income, and the duration of the marriage.
• Duration and revocation. It is usually paid monthly, but it may also be paid in a single lump sum if the court considers that fair. The obligation may come to an end in certain circumstances.

Lump-sum divorce allowance: when it makes sense and what it involves

The divorce allowance may also be paid in a single lump sum if the parties agree.

This choice may have significant consequences, for example no further claims in the future and different tax rules.

A lump-sum allowance may be useful for definitively closing all financial relations and having nothing more to do with the former partner.

It must be assessed with great care: a wrong choice is difficult to correct.

When the obligation to pay the divorce allowance may end

The obligation to pay the divorce allowance may end for several reasons linked to changes in the parties’ circumstances.

The main situations provided for by law and the most recent case law are as follows:

1. New marriage or civil union. Termination is automatic if the beneficiary enters into a new marriage or civil union. The right to the allowance is definitively extinguished and does not revive even in the event of a later divorce from the new spouse.

2. New de facto cohabitation that is stable. According to the settled approach of the Supreme Court, confirmed again in 2024 and 2025, the formation of a new de facto family, characterised by stability and material and emotional sharing, may cause the assistance-based function of the allowance to fall away, though not its compensatory component.

Please note: if the allowance has a strong compensatory component, due to sacrifices made during the previous marriage, the judge may decide not to eliminate it entirely, but only to reduce it.

3. Achievement of financial self-sufficiency. The obligation may end if the beneficiary obtains stable employment or an increase in assets, such as a substantial inheritance, enabling them to live independently and with dignity. At that point, the ability to provide for oneself becomes decisive.

4. Finding employment, or unjustified refusal of employment. If the beneficiary is still of working age and has usable qualifications, but does not actively seek work or refuses suitable offers without justified reason, the liable party may ask for the allowance to be revoked.

5. Death of one of the parties. The obligation ends upon the death of either the beneficiary or the liable party. In the latter case, however, the surviving beneficiary may be entitled to a share of the survivor’s pension or to an allowance charged to the estate, if they are in need.

6. Deterioration in the liable party’s circumstances. If the person paying the allowance suffers an involuntary financial collapse, for example loss of employment or serious illness preventing them from earning an income, they may ask the court to revoke or suspend it.

Warning: in all these cases, except where there is a new marriage, the end or reduction of the allowance is not automatic. An application to vary the conditions under Article 9 of Law No. 898/1970 is required.

The compensatory component of the divorce allowance: a separate story

The amount of the divorce allowance may be determined by combining two components: assistance-based and compensatory.

Part of the allowance, depending on the former spouses’ personal history, may be awarded as compensation for sacrifices made during the relationship.

This share does not depend on present economic need, but on choices and sacrifices made for the common good, for example giving up a career for the family. In practical terms, this means that if the person’s financial circumstances improve in future, or if they begin a new stable relationship, the assistance-based part will probably fall away, but not the compensatory part.

Achieving financial self-sufficiency causes only the assistance-based component to cease, whereas the compensatory component may survive.

New developments and main criteria for 2026

Recent case law, including Order No. 1999/2026, has reiterated that a simple economic disparity between former spouses is no longer sufficient to obtain the allowance.

• No automatic entitlement: the fact that one spouse earns much less than the other does not automatically trigger the right to the allowance.
• Burden of proof regarding sacrifices: the person requesting the allowance must provide strict evidence that they gave up career or work opportunities during the marriage in order to devote themselves to the family or to support the other spouse’s career.
• Causal link: it is necessary to prove that the current economic imbalance is the direct consequence of shared choices made during married life, which is the compensatory function.
• Financial self-sufficiency: if the applicant is able to work or has an income that guarantees financial independence, the allowance is generally denied.

Repayment of sums received

One of the most significant developments in 2026 concerns the possibility of recovering amounts already paid.

If it is established that the legal requirements for the allowance did not exist from the outset, the beneficiary may be required to repay all sums unduly received.

Maintenance during separation vs divorce allowance: the differences

At present, the key difference between maintenance during separation and the divorce allowance lies in the nature of the claim: maintenance during separation aims to preserve the standard of living of a marriage that has not yet ended, whereas the divorce allowance, according to Supreme Court judgments No. 1999/2026 and No. 300/2026, has an equalising and compensatory function and recognises the sacrifices made by the financially weaker spouse to support the other spouse and their career.

In the second case, income disparity in itself is irrelevant: both the award and the amount of the divorce allowance depend on proving that professional sacrifices had to be made for the family.

Failure to pay maintenance: when it is a criminal offence (article 570-bis of the italian criminal code)

Failure to pay maintenance ordered by the court for a spouse or children is a criminal offence.

The omission constitutes a breach of family support obligations under Article 570-bis of the Criminal Code, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine, especially where failure to pay deprives the beneficiaries of the means of subsistence.

Anyone who evades the obligation to pay any type of allowance due in the event of dissolution, termination of civil effects or nullity of the marriage, or who breaches economic obligations relating to separation of spouses and shared custody of children, may be punished.

The offence of failure to provide maintenance:

• It arises where the liable person, despite having financial means, voluntarily decides not to pay. Mere financial difficulty is not enough to justify non-payment: there must be an absolute impossibility to comply.
• Replacing the payment with gifts, such as clothes or toys, does not avoid criminal liability, because the allowance covers primary needs.
• Failure to support minor children is a criminal offence even in the absence of a formal judgment.
• It is often prosecuted automatically, especially in cases involving failure to support minors.

No criminal offence is committed only in the case of absolute, objective and persistent indigence not caused by one’s own fault.

In addition to criminal sanctions, civil enforcement action, including attachment of assets, is always possible.

Why it is important to be assisted by a lawyer in these cases

Maintenance payments and reviews may seem to be “just numbers”, but in reality they are a way of simplifying the management of life after former spouses decide to go their separate ways.

They can affect both financial stability and family peace of mind.

Legal assistance is especially important when:

• there is a new cohabitation arrangement or stable relationship
• there are adult children and doubts as to their financial self-sufficiency
• income has changed or is difficult to reconstruct
• there are assets, property, relocations, or work abroad

Our advice is to seek an agreement, but to avoid hasty and unfair settlements and, more generally, to avoid impulsive decisions driven by emotion.

Targeted legal advice often immediately clarifies the real room for manoeuvre, the risks and the alternatives.

Do you want to understand what you can claim, or what you can challenge, in your specific case?

Our Family Law Department handles separations and divorces throughout Italy and also for those living abroad.

Our firm specialises in family law and assists clients in Italy and abroad in separation and divorce proceedings.

We can support you in the calculation, recognition and review of maintenance payments and divorce allowances.

If you would like a personalised assessment, contact our Family Law Department.

We can also assist you remotely, by analysing documents, income, expenses and possible review scenarios in a clear and practical way.

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Calogero Boccadutri

Calogero Boccadutri is the Managing Partner of Boccadutri International Law Firm. He has trial experience in Forex, Personal Injury and Administrative litigation.