Solothurn man ignores maintenance obligation Father owes 100,000 francs in alimony and a hefty fine
Because a father did not pay alimony for his son for 17 years, he has now been convicted by summary penalty order. In addition to the maintenance debt, he has now been ordered to pay a large unconditional fine.
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- A father has never paid a single centime of maintenance for his 17-year-old son: he owes a total of more than 100,000 francs in alimony.
- After the child's mother reported him to the police, he now also has to pay a fine.
- This is not an isolated case: in the canton of Zurich alone, the amount of maintenance owed is around 50 million francs.
More than 100,000 francs have accumulated over the years: A 59-year-old Swiss man from the canton of Solothurn has not paid a single centime of maintenance for his son, who is now 17 and lives in the Winterthur area. This is the result of a legally binding penalty order issued by the Winterthur/Unterland public prosecutor's office, as reported by the "Landbote" newspaper.
According to several court rulings, the father would have been obliged to pay alimony. In 2009, the Winterthur district court ruled that the man had to pay CHF 260 and later CHF 440 per month. In 2022, the amount increased to CHF 1,200 per month following a new ruling. In total, 105,000 francs were added up, which the man did not pay.
Court orders ignored
The neglect of maintenance obligations is not an isolated case. According to the "Landbote" newspaper, around 5,400 people owed alimony in the canton of Zurich alone in 2023. Across the canton, the amount of maintenance owed has been around 50 million francs for years.
The Solothurn father had previously ignored court orders - until the child's mother reported him. After examining the case, the public prosecutor found that the man could have paid at least part of the maintenance payments on an income of between 4,000 and 5,000 francs per month.
He has now been sentenced to an unconditional fine for neglecting his maintenance obligations and must pay 180 daily rates of CHF 80 each, i.e. a total of CHF 14,400. This includes several previous convictions in the canton of Solothurn that are not related to the maintenance case.
