Question juridique clé
How far must the court examine the parties' financial situation when ordering assignment of a court-awarded maintenance claim under Art. 291 ZGB?
Solution extraite
As a rule, the court need not re-examine the financial situation already assessed in the maintenance judgment; the debtor must pursue changed circumstances through an action to modify the maintenance order. Restraint is only warranted if it is obvious that such a modification action would succeed.
Motifs extraits
The maintenance amount had already been set in earlier proceedings. A.G.'s current income was significantly higher than when the maintenance was fixed, and it was not clear that a modification action would succeed despite the burden of remarriage and the new wife's health problems.