Parents are obliged to pay child support until their children reach adulthood or complete their first degree qualification or vocational training. In principle, both parents are obligated to provide for the children. Care responsibilities are taken into account when calculating child support payments. However, women are required to return to work quickly under the new divorce law. Previously, for marriages classified in Switzerland as "life-defining" (lebensprägende Ehe), the courts would generally order alimony to be paid until ordinary retirement. In the wake of recent rulings made by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, the situation is no longer clear and is largely dependent on the individual circumstances.