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In maintenance actions in Adana, the judge takes measures concerning subsistence of their own motion for the duration of the proceedings (Turkish Civil Code, TMK, Art. 169); the spouse who has not been granted custody contributes to the child's expenses in proportion to their means (Art. 182/3, 329, 330); the spouse who would fall into poverty because of the divorce may claim post-divorce maintenance (yoksulluk nafakası, maintenance for the spouse who would fall into poverty because of the divorce) under Art. 175. The Constitutional Court has annulled the phrase 'süresiz olarak' 'for an indefinite period' (unofficial translation) in Art. 175; the annulment will enter into force nine months after its publication in the Official Gazette dated 30.09.2026. Maintenance may be increased, reduced or terminated under Art. 176; for unpaid maintenance, coercive imprisonment (tazyik hapsi) is available under Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK) Art. 344. In its decision dated 11.06.2026, E. 2026/3365, K. 2026/6507, the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation emphasised that child support (iştirak nafakası, the contribution of the parent without custody to the child's expenses) covers education expenses.
This summary is provided for general information purposes. Specific legal matters require individual assessment.
Which Actions Do We Conduct as an Adana Maintenance Lawyer?
As an Adana maintenance lawyer, we conduct claims for interim maintenance (tedbir nafakası, maintenance ordered while the proceedings continue), child support (iştirak nafakası), post-divorce maintenance (yoksulluk nafakası) and family support maintenance (yardım nafakası, maintenance owed between relatives), actions for the increase, reduction and termination of maintenance, and enforcement proceedings for unpaid maintenance before the Adana Family Courts and enforcement offices. What is decisive in maintenance is that need and ability to pay are established with documents.
Maintenance disputes often begin within the divorce action, and they may also come up again years after the divorce. As an Adana maintenance action lawyer, at the first meeting we examine together income documents, the child's school and health expenses and the existing decisions. When choosing among Adana maintenance lawyers, we recommend that this examination be carried out in writing. We have explained the other consequences of divorce on our Adana divorce lawyer page, files conducted by protocol on our Adana lawyer for divorce by mutual consent page and files in which fault is disputed on our Adana contested divorce lawyer page.
Types of Maintenance: Interim Maintenance, Child Support, Post-Divorce Maintenance and Family Support Maintenance
The law divides maintenance into different types according to its purpose and the time at which it is claimed. Since the conditions and legal basis of each are different, the petition should state clearly which maintenance is being claimed.
| Type of maintenance | When it may be claimed | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Interim maintenance | While a divorce or separation action is pending | TMK Art. 169 |
| Child support | From the parent who has not been granted custody, for the child | TMK Art. 182/3, Art. 329 |
| Post-divorce maintenance | For the spouse who would fall into poverty because of the divorce | TMK Art. 175 |
| Family support maintenance | For ascendants, descendants and siblings who would fall into poverty | TMK Art. 364/1 |
Adana Interim Maintenance Lawyer: Subsistence for the Duration of the Proceedings
When a divorce action is filed, the judge is obliged to take, of their own motion, interim measures concerning the accommodation and subsistence of the spouses and the care of the children (TMK Art. 169). Interim maintenance is the most common of these measures and secures the subsistence of the spouse and the child for the duration of the proceedings. We submit the claim for interim maintenance in the statement of claim together with income documents.
Adana Child Support Lawyer: The Child's Expenses
"Velayetin kullanılması kendisine verilmeyen eşin çocuk ile kişisel ilişkisinin düzenlenmesinde, çocuğun özellikle sağlık, eğitim ve ahlak bakımından yararları esas tutulur. Bu eş, çocuğun bakım ve eğitim giderlerine gücü oranında katılmak zorundadır." "Küçüğe fiilen bakan ana veya baba, diğerine karşı çocuk adına nafaka davası açabilir."
"In arranging the personal relations with the child of the spouse to whom the exercise of custody has not been granted, the interests of the child, particularly in terms of health, education and morals, are taken as the basis. This spouse is obliged to contribute to the child's care and education expenses in proportion to their means." "The mother or father who actually looks after the minor may file a maintenance action against the other on behalf of the child." (Unofficial translation)
In child support files, we document the child's school, school transport, health and course expenses item by item. These documents are useful both in determining the initial amount and in subsequent requests for an increase. When looking for a child support lawyer in Adana, we recommend that you work with a lawyer who attaches importance to establishing the child's expenses with documents. We have explained to whom custody will be granted and the arrangement for personal relations on our Adana custody lawyer page.
Adana Post-Divorce Maintenance Lawyer: Subsistence After Divorce
"Boşanma yüzünden yoksulluğa düşecek taraf, kusuru daha ağır olmamak koşuluyla geçimi için diğer taraftan mali gücü oranında süresiz olarak nafaka isteyebilir. Nafaka yükümlüsünün kusuru aranmaz."
"The party who would fall into poverty as a result of the divorce may, provided that their fault is not greater, claim maintenance for an indefinite period from the other party for their subsistence, in proportion to the other party's financial means. Fault on the part of the person liable for maintenance is not required." (Unofficial translation)
By its decision dated 04.06.2026, E. 2025/156, K. 2026/131, the Constitutional Court annulled the phrase "süresiz olarak" "for an indefinite period" (unofficial translation) in this article. The decision was published in the Official Gazette dated 30.09.2026, and the annulment will enter into force nine months after its publication. During this period, we follow the regulation to be made by the legislature, and we inform our clients who will file a post-divorce maintenance action or who pay maintenance in line with the new regulation. The full text of the decision is available in the Constitutional Court's decisions database.
Family Support Maintenance
"Herkes, yardım etmediği takdirde yoksulluğa düşecek olan üstsoyu ve altsoyu ile kardeşlerine nafaka vermekle yükümlüdür."
"Everyone is obliged to provide maintenance to their ascendants, descendants and siblings who would fall into poverty without their assistance." (Unofficial translation)
How Is the Amount of Maintenance Determined?
The amount of maintenance for a child is determined having regard to the child's needs and to the living conditions and ability to pay of the mother and father; the child's own income is also taken into account (TMK Art. 330). Maintenance is paid monthly in advance. The documents we submit to the court are as follows:
- The parties' payslips, rental income and bank account transactions.
- Necessary expenses such as the rental agreement, invoices and loan payments.
- Documents showing the child's school, school transport, health and course expenses.
- Where necessary, a request for a social and economic inquiry.
To gain a preliminary idea of how much maintenance may increase over the years, we recommend that you use our maintenance calculation tool; the court's discretion, however, is shaped by the circumstances of the specific file.
Adana Maintenance Increase Lawyer: Actions for Increase, Reduction and Termination
Even after the finality of the judgment awarding maintenance, maintenance may be reconsidered when the parties' circumstances change. As an Adana maintenance increase lawyer, in files concerning both an increase and the termination of maintenance, we show with documents when and how the change arose.
"İrat biçiminde ödenmesine karar verilen maddi tazminat veya nafaka, alacaklı tarafın yeniden evlenmesi ya da taraflardan birinin ölümü halinde kendiliğinden kalkar; alacaklı tarafın evlenme olmaksızın fiilen evliymiş gibi yaşaması, yoksulluğunun ortadan kalkması ya da haysiyetsiz hayat sürmesi halinde mahkeme kararıyla kaldırılır." "Tarafların mali durumlarının değişmesi veya hakkaniyetin gerektirdiği hallerde iradın artırılması veya azaltılmasına karar verilebilir."
"Maintenance or pecuniary compensation ordered to be paid in the form of periodic payments ends automatically if the receiving party remarries or if either party dies; it is terminated by a court decision if the receiving party lives as if actually married without marrying, if their poverty ceases or if they live a dishonourable life." "Where the financial circumstances of the parties change or where equity so requires, an increase or reduction of the periodic payment may be ordered." (Unofficial translation)
The point we pay attention to in the file: In the event of remarriage or death, maintenance ends automatically; in the event of living as if actually married or the cessation of poverty, however, a court decision is required. Discontinuing payment of one's own accord without observing this distinction may expose the paying party to enforcement proceedings. The general explanation of the subject is in our article on the action to increase maintenance and its calculation.
Unpaid Maintenance: Enforcement Proceedings and Coercive Imprisonment
For unpaid maintenance, enforcement proceedings based on an enforceable judgment (ilamlı icra takibi, enforcement on the basis of a court judgment) may be initiated. Where no payment is made despite the proceedings, the law has also granted the creditor the remedy of coercive imprisonment (tazyik hapsi).
"Nafakaya ilişkin kararların gereğini yerine getirmeyen borçlunun, alacaklının şikayeti üzerine, üç aya kadar tazyik hapsine karar verilir. Hapsin tatbikine başlandıktan sonra kararın gereği yerine getirilirse, borçlu tahliye edilir."
"A debtor who fails to comply with decisions concerning maintenance shall, upon the creditor's complaint, be ordered to undergo coercive imprisonment of up to three months. If the decision is complied with after the imprisonment has begun, the debtor is released." (Unofficial translation)
If the debtor has filed an action for the termination or reduction of maintenance, the application of coercive imprisonment may be deferred until the end of that action, having regard to the grounds put forward (İİK Art. 344/2). If, as the party paying maintenance, your ability to pay has changed, we recommend that you consider the route of an action before ceasing payment.
How Is a Maintenance Action Filed and Which Court Hears It?
Maintenance actions are heard by the family courts; in Adana, these actions are heard by the Adana Family Courts (Law No. 4787, Art. 4). The answer to the question of how a maintenance action is filed depends on whether the claim is to be raised together with the divorce action or as a separate action. The stages we follow are as follows:
- Collecting documents: Documents showing income, expenses and the child's needs are gathered.
- Statement of claim: The type of maintenance, the amount claimed and its legal grounds are stated clearly.
- Inquiry into the economic circumstances: The court investigates the parties' income and expenses.
- Judgment and enforcement: If no payment is made after the judgment, enforcement proceedings based on the enforceable judgment are initiated.
We do not give a definite duration in answer to the question of how long a maintenance action takes; the duration is determined by the completion of the inquiry into the economic circumstances, the number of witnesses and documents, and applications for legal remedies.
Precedent: Child Support Covers Education Expenses
In a file coming from the Adana Regional Court of Appeal, the Court of Cassation emphasised that a vague school expenses clause in a protocol for divorce by mutual consent was not capable of enforcement and that child support also covers education expenses.
Summary of the facts: In the protocol for divorce by mutual consent, the parties agreed to share equally all school and school transport expenses of their joint child. Stating that this arrangement, whose amount was neither specified nor ascertainable, could not be enforced and that a judgment should be given having regard to the fact that child support covers education expenses, the Court of Cassation reversed the decision of the regional court of appeal.
In its decision dated 11.06.2026, E. 2026/3365, K. 2026/6507, the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation determined the scope of child support and the enforceability of a vague protocol clause as follows:
"O halde çocuk yararına hükmedilecek tedbir ve iştirak nafakası çocuğun bakım, barınma, giyim eğitim masraflarını kapsamaktadır. ... Ancak bu düzenleme, borç konusunun belirli olması en azından belirlenebilir olması ilkesine aykırı olup icra kabiliyeti yoktur. ... Temyiz olunan Bölge Adliye Mahkemesi kararının BOZULMASINA, ... 11.06.2026 tarihinde oy birliğiyle karar verildi."Unofficial translation
"That being so, the interim maintenance and child support to be awarded in the interests of the child cover the child's care, accommodation, clothing education expenses. ... However, this arrangement is contrary to the principle that the subject matter of the obligation must be specified, at least ascertainable, and is not capable of enforcement. ... The REVERSAL of the decision of the Regional Court of Appeal against which an appeal to the Court of Cassation has been lodged, ... was decided unanimously on 11.06.2026."
Commentary by Av. Yakup Buğrahan SEVDİ: The decision shows that sentences of the kind "we will cover the expenses together", written in good faith in a protocol, may later prove incapable of enforcement. For this reason, in protocols for divorce by mutual consent, we write the child's education expenses as a specified monthly amount together with a criterion for increase. If your existing protocol contains a vague clause, we assess together with you the route of an action for the readjustment of child support.
Our Office and the Lawyer's Fee in Maintenance Actions in Adana
When choosing a maintenance lawyer in Adana, we recommend that you work with a lawyer who tells you clearly at the first meeting to what extent the documents support the claim. As the YBS Hukuk office, we carry out this assessment at the first meeting together with our clients, whether maintenance creditors or maintenance debtors, on the basis of the documents. We do not promise a specific amount of maintenance; we bring into the file, in full, the factors that affect the court's discretion.
The lawyer's fee in a maintenance action is determined by a written agreement according to the type of action and whether there is an enforcement stage; under Attorneyship Law Art. 164, it may not be agreed below the minimum attorneyship fee tariff. For a meeting, we recommend that you write to us via our contact information page. Maintenance files are handled personally by Av. Yakup Buğrahan SEVDİ.
Adana Maintenance Lawyer: Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the fee of a maintenance lawyer?
We determine the fee by a written agreement according to the type of action and whether there is an enforcement stage. Under Attorneyship Law Art. 164, the fee may not be agreed below the minimum attorneyship fee tariff. We give fee information in writing after hearing about your file.
Which lawyer handles maintenance actions?
Any lawyer may conduct maintenance actions; however, documenting need and ability to pay, the conditions for increase and termination, and the enforcement stage require knowledge of family law and enforcement law together. As the YBS Hukuk office, we conduct these files in Adana with this integrated approach.
In which court is an action for interim maintenance filed?
Interim maintenance is mostly claimed from the family court within the divorce action, and under TMK Art. 169 the judge takes interim measures of their own motion. In Adana, these claims are heard by the Adana Family Courts.
How is a child support action filed?
Under TMK Art. 329, the mother or father who actually looks after the minor may file a maintenance action against the other on behalf of the child. We recommend that you attach to the statement of claim documents showing the child's school, school transport, health and other expenses.
How long does a post-divorce maintenance action take?
It is not possible to state a definite duration. The duration is determined by the completion of the inquiry into the economic circumstances, the number of witnesses and documents, and applications for appeal and appeal to the Court of Cassation. Submitting the documents in full from the outset prevents unnecessary adjournments.
How is the lawyer's fee in an action for increase of maintenance determined?
The fee is determined by a written agreement and so as not to fall below the minimum attorneyship fee tariff (Attorneyship Law Art. 164). The presence of enforcement proceedings or a counterclaim alongside the claim for increase affects the scope of the fee.
In which circumstances may an action for termination of maintenance be filed?
Under TMK Art. 176/3, maintenance is terminated by a court decision if the creditor lives as if actually married without marrying, if their poverty ceases or if they live a dishonourable life. In the event of remarriage or death, on the other hand, maintenance ends automatically.
Is there a prison sentence for unpaid maintenance?
Under İİK Art. 344, upon the creditor's complaint, coercive imprisonment of up to three months may be ordered against a debtor who fails to comply with a maintenance decision. If the debtor pays, they are released; if an action for the termination or reduction of maintenance has been filed, its application may be deferred until the end of that action.
