2 Private Law - Civil Procedure - Execution - 21 Supplementary and Executory Provisions of the Civil Code - 213 Family Law (ARACE)

The Collection and Advance Payment Office for Maintenance Contributions, hereinafter referred to as "the office," is available to individuals residing in the canton who are unable to regularly obtain the maintenance contributions to which they are entitled.

1 The office has the following responsibilities

a) It informs applicants about their rights and the steps to be taken to enforce them;

b) Upon request, it drafts letters, demands, prosecution requests, debtor information requests, requests for the application of the New York Convention, or necessary criminal complaints;

c) With a power of attorney, and as an agent, it undertakes any actions it deems useful;

d) In matters of enforcement, it undertakes any actions concerning the arrears accumulated in the twelve months preceding the date of the signing of the power of attorney.

2. It provides advances under the conditions set by law and this decree and undertakes any useful civil, criminal, or administrative actions to recover State claims resulting therefrom.

[2] The employment service is the entity responsible for conducting inspections regarding the conditions for granting advances, the compliance with the use of such advances, or the conditions for the repayment of the advances provided (Art. 7a LRACE).

[3] In the examination of advance requests, the office relies on the economic reference unit (ERU), the unified determining income (UDI), as well as the assets, established in accordance with the Law on the Harmonization and Coordination of Social Benefits (LHCSB), of February 23, 2005 [4].

2. Repealed.

3. Advance requests are examined by the office in accordance with the general principles of law, in particular the abuse of rights.

[5] 1. The applicant is required to provide all relevant documents.

2. The applicant is also obliged to provide any information likely to facilitate interventions with the debtor.

3. Advances may be refused or withdrawn if the applicant conceals important facts or withholds relevant documents.

[6] Advances are in principle granted for maintenance contributions due from the month in which the application is submitted.

[7] 1 The amount of the advances corresponds to the sum fixed by the maintenance title but is capped at a maximum of 2,000 francs per month and per contribution.

2. Advances may be granted if the annual determining income does not exceed the following limits

Reference Economic Unit (REU)

Income Limit

Fr.

Single person

34,000.―

Couple

50,000.―

+ single-parent family supplement

2,000.―

+ per child

9,000.―

+ per adult child in education

17,000.―

3. From the determining income, deductions are made for alimony paid or received.

4. An applicant whose financial situation has significantly deteriorated compared to their reference assessment may request reconsideration of their right to advances based on their actual situation.

5. Within the framework of provisional measures, the amount of the advance represents the equivalent of a minimal full orphan's pension.

6. Repealed.

[8] Advances shall only be granted when

a) the assets do not exceed 55,000 francs, if the applicant's household unit (hereafter "HU") includes only one adult (excluding adult children). This amount is doubled when the assets are wholly or partly represented by real property occupied by the applicant or commercial property operated by them as a source of income;

b) the assets do not exceed 88,000 francs, if the applicant's HU includes two adults (excluding adult children). This amount is doubled when the assets are wholly or partly represented by real property occupied by both adults of the HU or commercial property operated by either as a source of income.

[9] 1 Advances are, in principle, granted initially for a period of twelve months.

2. They are then, in principle, renewable from 12 months to 12 months.

3. Advances are terminated as soon as one of the legal conditions is no longer met.

4. Advances cease when the overdraft related to the advances corresponds to 36 monthly payments.

5. Repealed.

The office only grants advances insofar as the applicant and the beneficiary children actually reside in Switzerland.

[10] 1 The creditor is obliged to return any advances unduly received.

2. Except in cases of manifest hardship, the office may offset the advances unduly received against the advances to which the applicant may still be entitled.

Arrears collected on pensions are used primarily to reimburse the advances granted and, if applicable, the expenses incurred.

The office may also intervene within the meaning of Article 2, letters a, b, and c, at the request of a competent Swiss or foreign authority that grants reciprocity, against a debtor domiciled in the canton.

[11] 1 Paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 8 shall come into effect on July 1, 2021.

2. Until June 30, 2021, advances are renewable every 6 months.

3. Until June 30, 2021, advances shall cease when the overdraft related to the advances corresponds to 24 monthly payments.

The ordinance concerning the collection and advance of maintenance contributions, dated December 11, 1996 [12], is repealed.

[13] The Department of Economy and Social Cohesion is responsible for the execution of this order, which shall enter into force on July 1, 1998, will be published in the Official Gazette, and inserted into the Neuchâtel Legislation Compendium.