How Much Maintenance Should A Father Pay On Social Welfare?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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At present, the District Court can award any amount up to €500 per week for a spouse/civil partner, and

€150 per week

for each child. If sums greater than these amounts are being sought, you will need to apply to the Circuit Court. The court order will specify how the maintenance is to be paid.

What do child maintenance payments cover?

What Does Child Maintenance Cover? Child maintenance covers

the cost of the everyday care of the child, such as food, clothes, and housing

. Expenses such as school fees do not fall under child maintenance – parents who are getting a divorce can make a “Family Based Arrangement” to deal with costs like this.

How much does a dad pay for child support?

Assuming you’re on the basic rate, you’ll need to pay:

12% of your gross weekly income for one child

. 16% of your gross weekly income for two children. 19% of your gross weekly income for three or more children.

How do you calculate child maintenance?

In the below example,

each child will be allocated 25% percent of the total expense shared by the three members of the household

. 25% for Child 1 + 25% for Child 2 + 50% for Adult = 100% of household expense.

Does a father legally have to pay child maintenance?

Arranging child maintenance

When possible, you should make sure your child is looked after by having an effective maintenance arrangement in place.

Both parents are legally responsible for the financial costs of bringing up their children

, even parents who don’t live with their children.

What age does a father stop paying maintenance?

Your fundamental responsibility to your children

Every parent has a primary responsibility towards their children; either they are still married or divorced. Parents have a fundamental obligation to provide for their kids

up until the age of 16

. After this age, it now depends on what the child decides to do.

Can child maintenance be reduced?


If payments are reduced or stopped (unless agreed between you), you will be in breach of the court order

. If you genuinely can’t meet payments because your income has fallen, you can ask the court to reduce the amount of child maintenance you need to pay.

Do I have to pay more than child maintenance?


Yes, you are not obliged to pay anything more than your child maintenance sum

. I would however encourage you to consider any requests on a case by case basis. Ultimately the money is to pay for your child and so you may want to pay a little extra on one-off occasions so that your child doesn’t go without.

Do I have to pay child maintenance if it’s 50 50 custody?


If you have shared care for at least 52 nights a year, you don’t need to pay any child maintenance

.

Do I still pay child maintenance if my ex remarries?

The answer is no.

When parents divorce, the absent parent (“paying parent”) is obliged by law to pay child maintenance to the parent caring for the child (“receiving parent”)

.

Does child maintenance include clubs?

Unfortunately,

the answer is usually “no”

. If the non-resident parent is paying child maintenance in accordance with the relevant child maintenance guidelines, there is no obligation on them to provide additional financial support to cover the cost of clubs and other activities.

Do I have to pay child maintenance if I’m not on the birth certificate?

If an unwed father is not listed on the birth certificate, he has no legal rights to the child. This includes

no obligation to paying child support

and no rights to visitation to custody or child support. If no father is listed on the birth certificate, the mother has sole legal rights and responsibility of the child.

How much maintenance Should a father pay in South Africa?

In our law

there is no set amount that a parent should pay for maintenance in respect of their child

, and each case is decided based on the situation of the specific family. The generally accepted principle is that each parent is obliged to maintain his/her child, pro rata in accordance with his/her means.

How much should a father pay for child support in South Africa?

Final child maintenance amount:

The Paying parent would pay two thirds of the child’s expenses which equates to R 666 – 00 per month. And the custodian parent would thus cover the balance of

R 334 – 00 per month

.

How do you win a maintenance case?

  1. Capable of working ( Add the info past and present job details )
  2. Well Qualified ( add the info of her education )
  3. Prima Face Case.
  4. Approach the Court with Unclean Hand.
  5. Deserted to Husband without sufficient cause.

What happens if a father refuses to pay child maintenance?


CMS can take you to court over unpaid child maintenance

. They can apply for a court order to take legal action. This is a ‘liability order’. If the court grants the order, CMS can then legal action against you.

What happens if a paying parent doesn’t pay child maintenance?

Under a child maintenance arrangement, child maintenance is usually paid by the parent who does not have day-to-day care of the child or does not usually live with the child. If this payment is not forthcoming,

the receiving parent could launch a civil legal claim

.

How much is child maintenance in the UK?

Gross weekly income Rate Weekly amount Unknown or not provided Default £38 for 1 child, £51 for 2 children, £61 for 3 or more children Below £7 Nil £0 £7 to £100, or if the paying parent gets benefits Flat £7 £100.01 to £199.99 Reduced Calculated using a formula

Does child maintenance affect benefits?


Child maintenance won’t affect any benefits you get

. For example, you won’t get less Universal Credit if you also get child maintenance.

Is child support mandatory?

By law,

all parents have a duty to support their children financially

. A parent who doesn’t have day-to-day care of their child must pay maintenance to the parent who does.

Can you go to jail for not paying maintenance?

If maintenance isn’t paid,

the court can take the money from the maintenance payer’s salary, their investment account, auction their property or issue a warrant of arrest

.

How much is child benefit for 2nd child?

Who the allowance is for Rate (weekly) Additional children

£14.45 per child

Do child maintenance take debts into account?


Any Child maintenance payment you make, weekly or monthly, will have been taken into account on your essential budget

before working out what payments you can afford to your debt solution.

Maria LaPaige
Author
Maria LaPaige
Maria is a parenting expert and mother of three. She has written several books on parenting and child development, and has been featured in various parenting magazines. Maria's practical approach to family life has helped many parents navigate the ups and downs of raising children.