Thursday, 28 November 2013 - 04:37
Alimony payment increasingly late
Child support is increasingly being paid late. Between 2007 and 2012 the number of reports of late payments has risen by almost 50 percent. The expectation is it will increase even further this year, according to figures that NU.nl requested from the National Bureau for collecting support allowances. (LBIO).
broken family
Martin Börjesson
Flickr If the alimony, determined by the court, is not paid for at least one month, the LBIO can be enlisted to claim the money. The amount due must be at least 10 euros . In 2007 the LBIO received 7,706 requests for collecting unpaid child support. That number increased in 2012 to 11,356. Since August 2009, the LBIO may also be called upon to help collect unpaid partner alimony . In 2010, this occurred 2,093 times, in 2012 it increased by almost 23 percent to 2,573. For 2013, a further increase of more than 12 percent is expected. LBIO does not have a clear explanation for this increase. In 2008 and 2009, the crisis seemed to be the main reason for the large number of reports, according to LBIO director Leo de Bakker, but in recent years, the number of applications kept rising. Bakker thinks the increase in the number of reports indicates a social problem. There needs to be more clarity and understanding about how the amount for alimony is determined, to decrease the aversion. In recent years the LBIO increasingly tried to help parents reach a settlement themselves. The organization listens to arguments from both sides, and then strives to settle the payment within the statutory period of two weeks, states Baker. In more than two-thirds of cases this works and more stringent measures are not needed. If the debtor still does not pay after two weeks, payment can be collected through wage disposal. This automatically leads to a minimum period of six months during which the defaulter makes payments through LBIO. Defaulters are subjected to a temporary alimony increase of 15 percent, which to the LBIO, and is used to cover the costs of the organization. In 2012, the agency collected nearly 22 million euros with the 15 percent extra. This year, the bureau expects a slightly lower amount of about 21.5 million. Despite an increase in the number of reports, the organization expects the amount collected to remain about the same. LBIO reports more success in getting partners to reach mutual agreements, and that is done free of charge.
Martin Börjesson
Flickr If the alimony, determined by the court, is not paid for at least one month, the LBIO can be enlisted to claim the money. The amount due must be at least 10 euros . In 2007 the LBIO received 7,706 requests for collecting unpaid child support. That number increased in 2012 to 11,356. Since August 2009, the LBIO may also be called upon to help collect unpaid partner alimony . In 2010, this occurred 2,093 times, in 2012 it increased by almost 23 percent to 2,573. For 2013, a further increase of more than 12 percent is expected. LBIO does not have a clear explanation for this increase. In 2008 and 2009, the crisis seemed to be the main reason for the large number of reports, according to LBIO director Leo de Bakker, but in recent years, the number of applications kept rising. Bakker thinks the increase in the number of reports indicates a social problem. There needs to be more clarity and understanding about how the amount for alimony is determined, to decrease the aversion. In recent years the LBIO increasingly tried to help parents reach a settlement themselves. The organization listens to arguments from both sides, and then strives to settle the payment within the statutory period of two weeks, states Baker. In more than two-thirds of cases this works and more stringent measures are not needed. If the debtor still does not pay after two weeks, payment can be collected through wage disposal. This automatically leads to a minimum period of six months during which the defaulter makes payments through LBIO. Defaulters are subjected to a temporary alimony increase of 15 percent, which to the LBIO, and is used to cover the costs of the organization. In 2012, the agency collected nearly 22 million euros with the 15 percent extra. This year, the bureau expects a slightly lower amount of about 21.5 million. Despite an increase in the number of reports, the organization expects the amount collected to remain about the same. LBIO reports more success in getting partners to reach mutual agreements, and that is done free of charge.