What is the status of a single mother ? Many moms who raise children alone must pay close attention to the money. Usually they receive alimony from their ex-partner, but they are also entitled to state allowances. We list the most important aids.

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They face tasks that they could share with the partner before – earning money, raising children, running the household. 2.6 million lone parents .Most are women, whose everyday life is characterized by overwork and exhaustion. The example of a mother and her four children. Single parent? In reality this is no longer something out of the ordinary. But this normality has a high price: because in addition to the educational work, someone must ensure the maintenance of the “one-parent families”. And these are usually the single parents themselves.

To raise his child without the partner is hard work. But apart from family work, single parents often have to take over the money they earn for their nuclear family. We say what funding there is – and where the tax office helps. The balancing act between job and family is particularly difficult for single mothers and fathers. But state and society meanwhile offer a lot of support. FOCUS Online presents six monetary financial tips for single parents. In almost every fifth family today, the mother or father is the only caregiver. And although almost three-quarters of them work, single parents in have a particularly high risk of poverty. So much depends on additional financial help – and the government has responded.

Grants for single mothers

If you look after your divorced child after the divorce, your ex-partner will actually have to pay child support. Its amount depends on its income and is based on the Dusseldorf table. But only about half of the single parents actually get this regular cash injection. Many fathers simply refuse, some go under, others earn less than the legal deductible. But for single parents, it is costly and expensive to sue their rights in court. In enforcing legitimate claims, however, helps the state. For this, victims must apply to the youth welfare office for a “support” for their child. In addition, they can then receive a maintenance advance. If you live under the same roof as a child under the age of three, you also have a right of care from the other parent. The divorced father (or mother) must then forward three-sevenths of his net income to you. However, there are restrictions here: Before the paid child support is deducted. And the ex-husband does not need to provide maintenance, if he has no more than 1080 euros for his own living.

Maternity benefits

If you have worked before the birth  , you are also entitled to maternity allowance as a single mother. You will receive a salary payment of 80 percent of your previous income or a maximum of 196 Swiss Francs per day. This is valid for a maximum of 14 weeks and ends at the latest as soon as you start working again. For the maternity allowance, you must meet certain requirements. You must have been insured for AHV in the nine months prior to birth and worked as a self-employed person or as an employee for at least five months. 

pay less taxes

Single parents can deduct a “relief amount” of 1908 euros per year plus 240 euros from the second and for each additional child from your taxable income. You can also claim two-thirds of childcare costs for tax purposes, up to a maximum of € 4,000 per child per year. The child allowance totaling $ 428 is usually divided between both parents. However, under certain circumstances he can only transfer to the single mother or father. The tax savings from it will be charged later with the already received child benefit.

alimony

As a single parent  , you are responsible for your child alone. Especially with very young children, it is often not possible to work full-time. In order to cushion these financial losses, a single mother receives monthly child support. In certain cases, the child’s father may also pay you adult specimens, for example, if you can not or can not be sufficiently gainfully employed for child care or health reasons.

The amount of the alimony is determined by a court or in a maintenance contract. There is no uniform regulation for this. There are two ways to determine how much support a single mother and child is entitled to:

• Depending on how much your ex-partner earns, your child will receive a percentage of their income, for example, between 15 and 17 percent for one child, 25 to 27 percent for two children, and 30 to 35 percent for three children.
• As needed: It will determine how much you need to maintain your child on a monthly basis. This is often the recommendation of the Office for Youth and Counseling of the Canton of Zurich. 

The ex-partner is obliged to pay alimony until the child reaches maturity or until the completion of initial education. However, he only has to give up some of his income if this is above the subsistence level. 

If the father pays late, not completely or not at all, although he is obliged to do so, you can apply for public alimony assistance. For this you need a corresponding court ruling. The Alimony Assistance includes the collection assistance and an alimony advance. The regulations are different from canton to canton. Alimony, however, only benefits up to a certain amount and only if the income and assets of the dependent parent do not exceed certain limits. If these conditions are met, the alimony will advance up to a certain amount. The competent authority incurs outstanding child support payments and grants you a subsidy for future alimony, which it then collects from the defaulting father