Expenses
Ordinary and extraordinary child expenses in Spain: what goes in each and how to ask for your share
Published on · Updated on · 7 min read
This guide is about Spain. The legal references are to Spanish law, and “ordinary” and “extraordinary” expenses are a distinction used in Spanish agreements and court orders. If your order is from another country, use it as a way of thinking, not as law.
“The child maintenance covers that” and “that has to be split” are two sentences you hear a lot after a separation, and often both people are partly right. Here is how ordinary and extraordinary are told apart, what usually goes in each, when to warn first, and how to ask for your share without it becoming an argument.
What the law says and doesn’t say
In the Spanish Civil Code, child maintenance (alimentos) isn’t just food. It covers what is essential for sustenance, housing, clothing and medical care, and also education while the child is a minor (art. 142). The judge sets each parent’s contribution (art. 93). If two or more people are obliged, payment is shared in proportion to their means (art. 145), and the amount is proportionate to the means of the person who gives it and the needs of the person who receives it (art. 146).
What the Civil Code doesn’t do is define “ordinary” and “extraordinary” expenses of children. That distinction comes from agreements and court orders, and there’s no official list. If your agreement or court order has a list, that list is the one that applies.
What usually goes in each
This is guidance, not an official list. If you doubt a specific expense, see how your agreement treats it.
| Type | Ordinary expenses | Extraordinary expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Idea | Predictable and repeated | Occasional or unexpected |
| Who pays | Child maintenance, or each parent in their own home | Shared on top, as the agreement says |
| Examples that usually go here | Food, everyday clothes, hygiene, school supplies, regular transport | Medical or dental treatment not covered by public health care, glasses, orthodontics, speech therapy, a special trip |
| Examples that depend on the agreement | School meals, textbooks, enrolment, activities that already existed | After-school activities, camps, private lessons, languages, a phone, a school trip |
The “depends on the agreement” items are the ones argued about most. Some agreements include them in child maintenance, others split them as extraordinary, others ask for prior agreement.
Necessary and optional
Many agreements tell extraordinary expenses apart:
- Necessary or urgent (medical treatment, glasses). They’re usually shared even if there was no time to ask. You still warn as soon as you can.
- Optional (a new activity, a camp, a language). Best agreed beforehand. If one parent decides alone, that parent may end up paying.
That’s what is seen in practice, but every agreement says its own thing.
Consent first: warn before, always
Even if your agreement doesn’t require it, warning first saves almost all arguments. A message is enough:
‘Hi Laura. Lucía needs braces. The quote is €1,200. I’m sending you a photo of it. Can we talk this week and decide?”
That says what it is, how much it costs and that you count on the other person. If they say yes, go ahead. If they don’t answer, write again proposing a date. If they disagree, better to talk it over (or go to mediation) before paying. If it’s urgent, warn anyway as soon as you can.
How they’re split
The most common is 50/50, but it’s also frequent to agree a percentage based on income or on the time the children spend with each parent. With a made-up example, braces costing €1,200:
| Split | Parent A | Parent B |
|---|---|---|
| 50/50 | €600 | €600 |
| In proportion to income (A earns €2,000, B earns €1,000: 66.7% and 33.3%) | €800 | €400 |
If A pays the whole bill with a 50/50 split, B owes A €600. With the proportional split, €400.
How to ask for your share
A short message, with the figure and the proof. No backstory and no adjectives:
“Hi Laura. On Thursday I took Lucía to the optician and the glasses cost €120. The receipt is attached. With what we agreed (50%), your share is €60. When you can, send it by bank transfer. Thanks.”
What makes it work:
- The expense, with a date. What it was and when.
- The amount and the receipt. A photo of the proof, not “I’ll show you later”.
- The agreed percentage. So the sum can be checked.
- Your share, in euros. Nothing to calculate.
- A way to pay and no threatening deadline. “When you can” is fine. If there’s a date, make it reasonable.
What to avoid: reproaches from the past (“as always”), lumping several old expenses into one message without a breakdown, and any sentence that sounds like an order. If the other person doesn’t answer, send a second message just as calm, and if there’s still no answer, talk by phone or with a mediator rather than keep writing.
Keeping track of the money
- Warn first in writing.
- Keep the receipt the same day (a photo is enough).
- Note who paid, how much and which split applies, with a date.
- Ask for your share soon, while everyone still remembers the expense.
- Check the balance now and then so it doesn’t pile up.
If you can’t agree
If you don’t agree on whether an expense is ordinary or extraordinary, or on who pays, start by talking and writing it down. Family mediation can help you agree. If circumstances have changed, the agreement can be modified (Civil Code art. 90.3). For that and for any claim, speak to a lawyer.
Keeping track with Vaivén
In Vaivén you log each expense with its receipt (the photo is read on your iPhone), pick the split (a fixed percentage or in proportion to each parent’s days), and the app tells you how much is pending, in neutral wording (“Pending from Laura: €60”). With “Ask for my share” it prepares a short message like the one above, with the amount and the receipt; you decide whether to send it. The first three expenses are free. Unlimited expenses come with Full Vaivén (€9.99, once).
In Vaivén
You log each expense with its receipt and ask for your share with a message already written. 3 expenses free. See: Money
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary child expenses in Spain?
Ordinary ones are predictable and repeated (food, clothes, school supplies) and are covered by child maintenance or by what each parent spends at home. Extraordinary ones are occasional or unexpected and are paid on top. The Civil Code gives no list: what counts is what your agreement or court order says.
Do I need the other parent's consent before an extraordinary expense?
It depends on your agreement and the type of expense. In general, urgent or necessary costs (medical treatment) are usually shared even if there was no time to ask, and optional ones (a new activity) are best agreed beforehand. The prudent thing is to always warn in writing, with the approximate amount.
How are extraordinary expenses split?
Usually 50/50 or in proportion to each parent's income. The Civil Code says maintenance is shared in proportion to the means of each person obliged to pay (art. 145) and that the amount should fit the means of the payer and the needs of the recipient (art. 146). Your agreement may set another percentage.
How do I ask for my share without it sounding like a reproach?
With a short, neutral message: what it was, what it cost, the receipt attached, the agreed percentage and the figure you're asking for. No adjectives and no backstory.
Are after-school activities extraordinary expenses?
There's no single answer: it depends on your agreement and on whether both of you agreed to them. If the agreement says they're shared, they're split; if it says nothing, talking it over in writing beforehand avoids the problem.
Sources
Sources checked in October 2026.
- BOE. Código Civil (consolidated text, in Spanish), arts. 93, 142, 145 and 146 (each parent's contribution, what child maintenance covers, proportional sharing and amount)