(1) The reasonable maintenance of the family includes everything that is necessary, depending on the circumstances of the spouses, to pay the costs of the household and to satisfy the personal needs of the spouses and the necessities of life of the joint children entitled to maintenance.
(2) Maintenance is to be provided in the manner mandated by the conjugal union. The spouses are reciprocally obliged to advance for a reasonable period of time the means necessary for the collective maintenance of the family.
(3) The provisions of sections 1613 to 1615 governing the duty of relatives to provide maintenance are to be applied accordingly.
(4) If a spouse is not in a position to bear the costs of a legal dispute which relates to a personal matter, the other spouse has a duty to advance the spouse these costs, insofar as this is equitable. The same applies to the costs of defence in criminal proceedings in which a spouse is the defendant.