Child support

Child support reflects the parents’ duty to provide for their child according to the child’s needs and the parents’ resources. In Switzerland it may include cash payments, contributions to care, health insurance, education, childcare costs, and sometimes support beyond majority while appropriate education continues. The amount is usually assessed through budgets and income capacity, with the child’s welfare as the guiding concern. Child support is separate from spousal maintenance, even though both may be decided in the same separation or divorce proceedings.