The Provincial Court of Zaragoza has chosen to maintain alimony and distribution of expenses extraordinary benefits set in 2020 for the child of an ex-partner, after reviewing the economic circumstances of both parents.
The court thus resolved an appeal filed by the father, who requested to reverse the increase in the food quota issued in a ruling of February 2025. The decision, made public on February 20, 2026, means that the economic conditions previously established for the support of the young man, who is currently 19 years old, are maintained.
The pension increase approved in 2025 had no reason to exist
In the original ruling of 2025, the Court of First Instance No. 5 of Zaragoza had increased the alimony to 180 euros monthly and established the distribution of extraordinary expenses at 60% for the father and 40% for the mother, in addition to providing for automatic updates by the CPI and payments adjusted to the annual calendar. This modification was appealed by the father, who argued that there were no sufficient reasons to alter the previous agreement.
The mother, for her part, explained before the court that the new alimony quota was unaffordable due to an increase in her monthly expenses, estimated at 1,660 euroscompared to income that, according to their version, were around 1,100 euros from of his employment in a meat company. The alleged expenses included taxes, mortgage payments, renting and a credit card payment. stirringfor approximately 800 euros each month.
During the hearing, it was found that the mother had a second job as a waitress in the Cartuja Baja area, in addition to the main one, where the payroll amounted to 1,283.65 euros per month. The amount of income from part-time work was not proven nor the exact amount of his new remuneration, after having terminated his contract with the main company in January 2025. The documentation presented also included the receipt of a unemployment benefit of 359.52 euros monthly, without providing details about the reason for the termination of the contract or about possible compensation.
The court assessed that, when the original measures were established in 2020, the mother had a lower income – about 800 euros per month – and the family expenses were shared by remaining married. After the divorce was made official in 2022, the mother’s income increased progressively. The magistrates stressed that to modify the alimony there must be a substantial alteration of economic conditionssomething that, in the court’s opinion, had not been proven. In the words of the court, “the above evidence shows that the plaintiff enjoyed a higher income in 2024 (…) than at the time the 2020 sentence was handed down.”
The ruling adds that there is no evidence of a decrease in the child’s needs, nor that the added expenses – such as renting and revolving credit cards – existed before the new process. According to the judges, these disbursements “They are not a priority over the child’s foodTherefore, it was decided to maintain the previous distribution of extraordinary expenses at 50% for each parent and the pension set in 2020.
The father’s defense insisted that his financial situation had not changed with respect to the time of the base agreement, since the assets owned by him remained mortgaged since the beginning of the litigation. The court considered that there had not been sufficient economic changes in either the parents’ income or the child’s needs.
The sentence revokes the order of 2025 and dismisses the mother’s claim in all its points. The text states literally: “We must and do revoke it, and rejecting the claim made by Ms. Daniela, we must and do maintain the measures stipulated in the final judgment of September 8, 2020.” No legal costs were imposed on any of the parties and the deposit made for the appeal was ordered to be returned. The resolution can be appealed before the Superior Court of Justice of Aragon, after depositing 50 euros. The ruling will be notified electronically to the court of origin for its execution.
