The maximum amount of child maintenance a court can order is
€150 per week per child
. Parents can also seek one-time orders of up to €2,000 to cover the expense of a child's birth or funeral, as well as one-off lump sum orders of up to €6,350 for major expenses like Christmas or the start of a school year4.
What is child maintenance supposed to be used for?
Child maintenance is money
to help pay for your child's living costs
. It's paid by the parent who doesn't usually live with the child to the person who has most day-to-day care of the child. It's also called ‘child support'.
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”)
.
What is the average maintenance payment for a child in Ireland?
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.
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.
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 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.
How much child maintenance should a father pay 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.
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 half the mortgage and child maintenance?
Married:
If you are married to the child's parent then it does not matter who owns the family home
. If the child support does not cover the mortgage payments and household bills, your ex-spouse could apply for spousal maintenance.
Does marriage affect child maintenance?
Whether or not you have remarried, or your ex-partner has remarried,
does not affect the obligation to continue paying child maintenance
.
When Should child maintenance stop?
Sixteen is the minimum age when child maintenance stops
. If you have other children who are over 16 years old and are not in approved education (see below), you will still have to pay child maintenance for the child who is under 16.
What happens if child maintenance is not paid?
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.
Do I have to support my ex wife after divorce?
As long as the couple remains married, the court does not set a time limit on spousal support
. Maintenance on the other hand, is support the higher-earning spouse pays after the divorce is finalized.
How do you win a maintenance case?
- Capable of working ( Add the info past and present job details )
- Well Qualified ( add the info of her education )
- Prima Face Case.
- Approach the Court with Unclean Hand.
- Deserted to Husband without sufficient cause.
What should I bring to maintenance court?
Proof of physical work and residential address
. list of your expenditure e.g. water and lights bill, till slips for groceries, school expenses; medical and travel receipts, clothing accounts, etc., Provide the copy of the maintenance court order if there is a maintenance court order against you in another court.
What can I expect at maintenance court?
The court determines how much a child needs.
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
. The maintenance amount can increase or decrease depending on the financial circumstances.
How long does a father have to pay child maintenance?
If child maintenance has been paid under a Child Maintenance Service Agreement, then the law states that maintenance will be paid until:
The child is 16 years old
. The child is 20 years old if they continue in full-time education to the end of A- levels.
Does child maintenance include clothes?
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.
Does child maintenance affect child tax credits?
Receiving parent on benefits
If you are a receiving parent and get any social security benefits, you will be able to keep all child maintenance paid as it does not affect any of the benefits you claim.
It will also not affect any housing benefit or tax credits awards you receive
.
Do mothers have more rights than fathers UK?
The short answer to your question is yes,
fathers do have the same parental rights as mothers
. However, you should know that in the UK, whereas a mum automatically obtains parental responsibility as soon as her child is born, the situation is a bit more complicated for the dad.
Does child maintenance cover swimming lessons?
As well as the bare necessities,
child maintenance can cover
; childcare. activities like swimming lessons.
If both parents equally share the care of the children, then neither parent will make child maintenance payments or be responsible for child support arrangements
.
