Checklist for Maintenance

Transcription

1 Checklist for Maintenance Supporting documents to be provided by you in connection with maintenance If possible, provide us with a full overview of your entire income and recurring expenditures a week before your appointment. Apply the same number to the supporting documents used below (this makes it easier for us to process these). This list is not intended to be exhaustive and no rights may be derived from it. The better informed we are, the better we are able to advise you on child or partner maintenance. Precedence of child maintenance Child maintenance takes precedence over all other maintenance obligations. This means, among other things, that when determining financial capacity to pay child maintenance, not all of the above expenses will be taken into account. We can provide more information about this. You may also read about this in the TREMA report on alimony standards (TREMA Rapport Alimentatienormen) mentioned below. What income and which expenditures are known for the near future? It is, of course, very well possible that your income and your expenditures will be very different after the divorce. For example, you may have different finance costs or no longer have to include premiums for insurances which will be cancelled. Your living costs will also change. Start by giving your lawyer some indication of where you intend to live. Do you intend to rent / buy something? What price do you have in mind? You need to inform your lawyer of this the best you can. General information regarding maintenance For general information on maintenance, you can visit sites such as These allow you to perform a keyword search. You may also want to visit TREMA report on alimony standards (TREMA Rapport Alimentatienormen) Individual judges often use the TREMA report on alimony standards, which explains the calculations often used by courts for maintenance-related issues. You can download this from rechtspraak.nl through the following link: The alimony standards report (also known as the "Trema standards" or the "Trema report") contains standards and guidelines which courts may apply when giving a concrete interpretation of the legal concepts of financial capacity and need when determining the amount of maintenance. The report intends to foster legal equality and legal certainty and to increase the individual's acceptance of the court's decision. The TREMA report often serves as the basis for calculating financial capacity for maintenance, as judges often do themselves. Judges may deviate from the alimony standards. This report may also

2 help you gather the necessary supporting documents concerning your income and recurring expenditures. BOX 1: INCOME FROM WORK AND HOME Wages 41. Gross income from labour income from employment (supporting documents wages, overtime, 13th month, etc., gifts, (year-end) bonuses, taxed reimbursements for expenses): All of last year's pay slips All of this year's pay slips Employer's last three annual statements Income tax filings for the last three years (including provisional assessments) 42. Gross state pension (AOW): Benefits statements for the current year and granting decision 43. Gross payments under other social security acts Granting decision provided by the benefits agency Benefits statements provided by the benefits agency Bank statements containing evidence of /specification of benefit(s) received during the current year 50. Gross pension Payment statements of the pension provider for the previous year and this year Annual statements for pension(s) Employee's deduction 62. Travel deduction Specification of any tax deduction regarding travel expenses by public transport Specification of any compensation received from the employer for travel expenses Business profits 65. Profits of sole proprietorship (no. 65) or wage potential director/majority shareholder of a B.V. (no. 41):

3 Annual statements (provisional, if necessary) for at least the current year and the past 3 to 5 years, including: Balance sheet Profit and loss statement Notes on the balance sheet and profit and loss statement The business' tax filings, including: Vpb, corporate taxation (for a B.V.) VAT, Value-added taxes (current year and the year before) The entrepreneur's tax filings, including IB, Income tax Tax assessments (final) Valuation report(s) of business premises / business assets Entrepreneur's deduction ("Ondernemersaftrek"): Overview of entrepreneur's deduction, past years and estimate for current year and next year, including: 71. Self-employed deduction ("Zelfstandigenaftrek") 72. Research and development deduction ("Speur- en Ontwikkelingsaftrek") 73 Cooperation deduction ("Meewerkaftrek") 74. Cessation deduction ("Stakingsaftrek") 76. Revenues from other activities: Supporting documentation for the past three to five years, as well as the current year: Notes: The concept of revenues from other activities must be interpreted broadly. It includes, among other things, income from any kind of labour performed in economic life which is not considered to be taxable wages or taxable profits. In such cases, no untaxed compensations and allowances may be received (consider the holding of lectures, freelance activities, political functions as a municipal council member).

4 Revenues from other activities also includes allowing an own business to make use of personal assets, e.g. a director/majority shareholder renting a building he owns to his own limited liability corporation. All income is taxable and all expenses (to the extent that they are permitted) are deductible. 77. Limitations of deductions: Statements showing limitations of deductions Notes: The revenues from other activities are calculated in the same manner as business profits. However, a number of expenses may not be deducted, for example regarding expenses that are somewhat private in nature. For cases like these, please consult a tax guide. 79. Recurring benefits and allowances: Payment statements provided by the benefits agency for the past year and the current year Documents stating start and end date of benefits (in support of claims) Notes: This concerns, among other things, payments received from annuities, pensions, (pension) apportionments, maintenance and benefits received from a voluntary AOW or ANW insurance. 80. Deductible expenses: Overviews in support of claims. Notes: The expenses incurred to obtain, collect and keep a recurring benefit or allowance are deductible. These expenses are often incurred but once, and should therefore not be included here. 82. Notional rental value Decision on the WOZ value of the own home Recent assessments for municipal property taxes Income tax assessments for the past three years 83. Interest and costs of (mortgage) debts related to the own home

5 Annual statements for the past two years as well as the current year of current overviews of the interest paid for the own home. In most cases this is interest paid on the mortgage. 84. Recurring payments for leaseholds and such Supporting documents proving that leaseholds are owed and proof of payment 86. Premiums for annuities Annuity insurance, overview of premiums paid, proof of payment of premiums (bank statements) Premiums for annuities to compensate a pension deficit may be deductible in certain circumstances. 87. Premiums for benefits in case of invalidity, sickness or injury Mainly work disability Policy, overview of premiums paid, proof of payment of premiums (bank statements) 91. Exception expenditures Expenditures for sickness, invalidity, birth and death of the taxpayer, his partner and his children below the age of 27 are tax-deductible for the amount in excess of the threshold. 92. Educational expenses Expenses for taxpayer to receive an education aimed at earning income from work or home are tax-deductible for the amount in excess of the threshold. BOX 2: INCOME FROM SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST Substantial interest is present if, among other things, one is a shareholder owning at least 5% of the issued capital either directly or indirectly, jointly with his partner. 96. Regular benefits (dividends in particular) Supporting documents for the past years and forecast

6 BOX 3: INCOME FROM SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS If you have assets other than, for example, your own home, these assets may generate a net income. For example, the net revenues of renting out your second home in France. To calculate maintenance, in addition to the income tax in box 3, the income that is (or will be) actually received in box 3 (in other words, the actual results of your assets in box 3) also matter Actual income (after deduction of expenses) from: a. (rights to) real property (+) Such as payments received from renting out a second home (minus expenses). b. (rights to) certain movable property (+) c. rights to money (and other intangible assets) (+) d. interest and costs of debt (-) NET INCOME 119. Net income a. Child-based budget: specification, also perform the sample calculation at b. Low income / additional earnings: overview, with a specification if possible EXPENDITURES 123. Living costs: Rent: Rent agreement and proof of current rent (landlord's letter) and payment of rent (bank statements) Rent allowance: Proof of rent allowance and bank statements showing rent allowance: perform sample calculation at Mortgage interest: see above under 83. Mortgage repayments / premium life insurance: supporting documents showing repayments of mortgage loans and/or premiums for endowment or savings mortgages. Leasehold payments, see above under 84/ 124. Healthcare

7 Policy ZWV (Health Care Insurance Act) showing premium, divided into: o Nominal premium basic ZWV insurance o Premium for supplemental health care insurance Income-dependent ZVW-contribution paid by tax assessment Bank statements showing premium payments Supporting documents showing care allowance ("zorgtoeslag") and the expected care allowance (perform sample calculation on Premiums for benefits to be received in case of sickness, injury or invalidity, retirement provisions (for employees to the extent not deducted by employer but paid directly, for example to repair the WAO/WIA deficiency) 126. Costs of childcare Real and necessary costs of childcare, made to earn the income, will be included in the calculation in full after deduction of the employer's contribution and the childcare allowance. Proof of costs of childcare Proof of employer's contribution Proof of childcare allowance, perform sample calculation at Costs of visitation agreement Please provide as realistic an estimation as you can of the visitation agreement that you would prefer: how often will you see the children and on which days? During vacations and public holidays, at birthdays? To calculate the financial capacity, we will calculate the standard amount of 5.00 per child per day of visitation. If you have to travel certain distances for the visitation agreement because you live further away from your former partner, the costs of public transport are generally used for the calculation (please specify). If use of a car is necessary, the costs will be based on a price per kilometre of per driven kilometre Other exceptional expenses Other exceptional expenses may apply, such as the costs of a car if it has a social and/or medical necessity, even though no compensation can be received.

8 130. Actual costs of earning Supporting documents showing real and necessary costs incurred to earn to income and supporting documents showing any compensation received for these from the employer. Some examples might be: Actual, recurring costs for travelling to work and back. When travelling by public transport, please include proof of the amounts of receipts of payments. When travelling with your own car, please provide place of employment, home town and number of kilometres travelled. We can take per driven kilometre into account in the calculation. If it was necessary (to perform the work) to take out a loan to purchase a car, the repayments on this loan may generally be taken into account. In that case, please provide proof (loan agreement, proof of repayments). "Unavoidable" and recurring professional expenses (such as professional clothing which is mandated by the employer and which is not reimbursed by him) Education expenditures Proof of recurring education expenses: Education expenses may be considered if these are done with the real prospect of the income and therefore the financial capacity increasing in the near future. To the extent that some tax benefit was received from educational expenditures, please also provide proof of these tax benefits Interest and repayments on debts Proof of interest payments and debt repayments. Interest payments and repayments on debts which were taken on for the benefit of the combined household prior to the cohabitation of the spouses being terminated and other obligations dating back to such time are generally always taken into account. There may still be problems regarding the division of assets and liabilities between the spouses at the time of determination of maintenance. These will often relate to apportioning existing debt. If it is likely that these will ultimately have to be paid from the income of the party paying maintenance, these will be taken into account, even before the division of the community property has been finalised. This may be a different matter for debts incurred after the cohabitation was terminated. While these are existing obligations at the time of determining the amount of maintenance, the question is whether incurring these debts was necessary to such an extent that repayment of these should prevail over the obligation to pay maintenance.

9 133. Costs of refurbishment The costs of refurbishment incurred by the partner leaving (the majority of) the household inventory to the other partner may, depending on the circumstances, be taken into account in full or in part, to the extent that it has been necessary to incur debt for this purpose (not if the costs could be covered by e.g. savings). A debt of a maximum of 5,500 with a monthly payment of 125 is generally considered reasonable, if it has been shown to be likely that such costs have actually been incurred or will have to be incurred. When the necessity of refurbishment has been established and there are no savings present, costs of financing may be taken into account up to 125 a month Other costs, including lawyer's fees This is a miscellaneous category for costs which normally do not occur, including - sometimes - repayments of lawyer's fees. The lawyers' fees for a family law procedure are (unfortunately) generally not considered to be a necessary expense taking precedence over the obligation to maintain. This may be different under exceptional circumstances. If there are expenses which have not been listed above, but which should, in your opinion, be included, you may list these. We will then assess whether there is a chance of these being taken into account.