Maintenance advances

According to the Maintenance Advance Act (Unterhaltsvorschussgesetz, UVG), the state of Liechtenstein grants advances on the statutory maintenance of children and spouses if the maintenance debtor is insolvent or is unable to pay maintenance for other reasons.

With respect to the enforcement of this law, the interests of the state shall be safeguarded by the Government Legal Services as the representative of public law. Specifically, the Legal Services exercises the state's right of appeal against decisions of the Court of Justice concerning the granting or continued granting of advances on maintenance payments (Art. 15 UVG).

Furthermore, the Government Legal services is responsible for submitting applications for the reimbursement of wrongfully granted advances on maintenance payments (Art. 23 UVG) and for the repayment of advances on maintenance payments pursuant to Art. 4 let. d UVG (Art. 28 para. 2 UVG).

The compulsory collection of maintenance claims from the debtor (Art. 30 para. 1 UVG) is carried out by the Office of Finance (Amt für Finanzen). It is also responsible for agreeing on repayment and instalment modalities.