Child support and a new partner in France: what counts and what does not
Moving in with someone neither raises nor lowers support automatically, but it changes the balance of costs.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
A new spouse, PACS partner or cohabitant is one of the situations that raise most questions about child support in France. The basic rule is simple: their income is not added to that of the parent who pays support, and they have no obligation towards their partner’s children. Support is always calculated on the paying parent’s income alone: on €2,200 with one child and standard visiting, the table gives €209, whether the new partner earns little or a lot. What changes is costs: a couple sharing rent and bills has more left to live on than a person alone, and the judge can take that into account. On the receiving parent’s side, living as a couple ends the ASF. Blended families, common among internationally mobile parents, often meet both situations at once. The calculator shows the effect of sharing household costs.
New partner: support and what you have left
Indicative support (1 child, standard)
€209
| Partner’s income in the calculation | none |
| Costs left for you | €500 |
| Left after support and costs | €1,491 |
What counts and what does not
| Factor | In the table’s calculation | Before the judge |
|---|---|---|
| New partner’s income | no | not as income; yes through shared costs |
| Shared rent and bills | no | yes: more left to live on |
| Child from the new relationship | no | yes: a new cost |
| Receiving parent re-partnering | no | can be raised; ASF stops |
What is left to live on: the judge’s key reading
The family judge sets support according to the paying parent’s resources and costs and the child’s needs. A parent who lived alone and paid €900 rent alone does not have the same capacity as after moving in with a partner who pays half. It is not the partner’s income that is counted, it is the lighter costs of the paying parent. The difference is concrete: it explains why a parent cannot obtain a reduction by pointing to rent they no longer pay alone.
A worked example
| Situation | Support (table) | Costs paid by the parent | Left after support and costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lives alone | €209 | €1,000 | €991 |
| As a couple, costs shared equally | €209 | €500 | €1,491 |
| As a couple, partner pays 70% | €209 | €300 | €1,691 |
Support is the same in all three cases: only what is left changes. That remaining income is what a receiving parent can point to if the other asks for a reduction, and what a paying parent must document when asking for a review.
When the receiving parent re-partners
For the parent the child lives with, a new relationship has two separate effects. On support, no automatic effect: it is paid for the child. On benefits, an immediate one: the family support allowance, reserved for a person raising the child alone, stops being due. If support was low and topped up by the ASF, the household budget falls by that amount. It is worth anticipating, and checking whether the support set still matches the table before reporting the change to the CAF (see ASF).
Who needs to know
A new relationship does not change the amount of support by itself, so nothing happens on the support side until a parent asks for a review. The CAF, on the other hand, must be told, because living as a couple affects benefits such as the ASF. If a review is later requested, each parent will have to describe their household honestly to the judge, with evidence of costs; hiding a shared household to obtain a reduction would undermine the whole application.
What if the new household’s income is used to pay support?
Nothing stops a couple organising its budget as it wishes, but legally the debt remains the parent’s. If the paying parent does not pay, the receiving parent cannot turn to the new partner; they act against the paying parent through ARIPA, direct payment or a seizure. The procedure is on unpaid support, and children from several homes on two families.