In the field of Private Investigations aimed at gathering information requested by private citizens, the AIRO Investigative Institute offers its resources and expertise for investigations related to the determination, modification, or cancellation of alimony.

The purpose of Private Investigations concerns the collection of useful elements and evidence usable in court. The investigation begins with the creation of an investigative project developed based on the information provided by the client, in order to ensure an efficient intervention in terms of results and the best effectiveness/price ratio.

The quantification of the maintenance allowance or the divorce allowance is up to the judge if they recognize that one of the ex-spouses is in an economically disadvantaged situation compared to the other, in order to ensure self-sufficiency and economic independence for both.

According to the law, the calculation is made in relation to the circumstances and the income of the obligor.

The amount of the maintenance allowance may also undergo changes over time through a request for revision when the financial conditions of the obligated party change. Depending on the circumstances, there may be an increase, a decrease, or the cancellation of the established amount.

In this case, it is particularly important that the private investigator demonstrates in court what the real assets and lifestyle of the spouse are.

The investigative activity allows for documenting:

  • the financial condition;
  • the actual work/income situation (even if not declared)
  • the standard of living;
  • the ascertainment of cohabitation more uxorio or of an affective relationship that binds two people in a life partnership without the bond of marriage.

All activities carried out, documents, testimonies, and photographs will be collected in an investigative report usable in court.

CHARGE OF SEPARATION

"With marriage, the husband and wife acquire the same rights and assume the same duties. From marriage arises the mutual obligation to fidelity, moral and material assistance, collaboration in the interest of the family, and cohabitation. Both spouses are required, each according to their own means and their ability to work professionally or domestically, to contribute to the needs of the family" (Art. 143 c.c.).

Being able to prove the violation of marital duties - including the spouse's infidelity - through certain evidence such as that provided by a private investigator can be useful in obtaining the attribution of separation to the subject under investigation.

The pronouncement of fault results in the loss of the right to maintenance and the right to social security assistance. It can also affect the calculation of alimony during divorce proceedings and the inheritance rights of the "guilty" spouse.

Supreme Court rulings on marital duties:

Cass. civ. no. 19450/2007

In matters of separation between spouses, for the purpose of determining fault, the behavior contrary to the duties arising from marriage committed by one spouse is relevant, even if tolerated over the years by the other; however, although tolerance is not an "objective justification," it can be an expression of a substantial cessation of marital affection and thus the conversion of the marriage into a prolonged merely formal cohabitation, with the consequence of excluding the relevance of the behavior in violation, for the purposes of the assessment referred to in Article 151, second paragraph, of the Civil Code.

Cass. civ. no. 5762/1997

(maxim no. 1)
According to Article 156 of the Civil Code, the right to maintenance allowance following personal separation arises in favor of the spouse to whom the separation is not attributable, if they do not have an income that allows them to maintain a standard of living similar to that which they had during the marriage and there is an economic disparity between the spouses. Therefore, the judge, in order to determine if the allowance is due, must primarily assess the aforementioned standard of living, and only subsequently examine whether the economic means available to the spouse who requested it are sufficient to maintain it independently of the allowance. If not, a comparative evaluation of the economic means of each spouse at the time of separation must be conducted to determine if there is an economic disparity between them that justifies the imposition of the allowance, as well as its amount.

(maxim no. 2)
In the event that, during marital cohabitation and before the request for separation, there has been a violation of the duties arising from marriage, the judge, to consider it irrelevant in relation to the attribution of the separation, must rigorously and precisely ascertain the merely formal nature of the cohabitation. To this end, the possible tolerance of one spouse towards the violation of such duties by the other is irrelevant, as this concerns a matter where rights and duties are non-negotiable.

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Separation: when the ex-spouse is not entitled to alimony or when the right ceases.