Indicative tool
Child maintenance calculator
This tool applies, in simplified form, the two-step method with surplus distribution (ATF 144 III 481, ATF 147 III 265): each parent's minimum subsistence level, the children's base maintenance, then distribution of the surplus. The result is an indicative range — it is not legal advice, and the court retains broad discretion.
Calculation assumptions
- Monthly base amounts of the minimum subsistence level (2026 figures): CHF 1'200 for a single person, CHF 1'700 for a couple — a custodial parent in a relationship is allotted half of the couple base (CHF 850).
- Children's base maintenance: CHF 400 per child under 10, CHF 600 per child aged 10 to 18. Only the base is counted — no share of rent, no child's LAMal premium, no childcare costs.
- Each parent's minimum subsistence level: base + rent + LAMal premium only. Taxes, work-related expenses and the childcare costs of the extended minimum are not quantified here — including them reduces the surplus.
- Surplus distribution: 2 shares per adult, 1 share per child aged 10 or over, 0.5 share per child under 10.
- The childcare contribution (Betreuungsunterhalt, art. 285 para. 2 CC) is not quantified: it depends on the custodial parent's loss of earning capacity and is added where applicable.
Rules applied
- Cross-border maintenance (France–Switzerland) — currency, indexation and enforcement.
- Maintenance — practice area — legal framework, SCARPA, taxation.
- Art. 125 CC — maintenance between former spouses; art. 129 CC and art. 134 CC — modification.
The estimate above is indicative and does not constitute legal advice. The court's calculation includes additional items (taxes, work-related expenses, childcare costs, the childcare contribution, any hypothetical income) and the judge retains broad discretion.