—Maintenance
It is arithmetic before it is an argument.
A maintenance enquiry weighs what a parent can afford against what a child actually costs. Both sides are proved with documents, and the parent who arrives with the documents does better than the parent who arrives with a grievance.
01What goes on each side
Two columns, and the court weighs one against the other.
Means
What the parent can afford, proved.
- Salary, before deductions
- Payslips for the last six months
- Commission, bonuses, overtime
- Averaged, not taken at the best month
- Business income and drawings
- Financial statements, not a stated figure
- Rental and investment income
- Statements and lease agreements
- Benefits paid on your behalf
- A company car and a petrol card are income
Needs
What the child actually costs, proved.
- Housing, apportioned to the child
- Bond or rent, rates, water and lights
- School fees, aftercare, transport
- Invoices, not estimates
- Medical aid and what it does not cover
- The scheme certificate and the shortfalls
- Food, clothing, toiletries
- A realistic monthly figure, per child
- Extramurals and the things children ask for
- Reasonable, and proved
Both parents contribute in proportion to what each can afford. A parent who earns twice as much carries roughly twice the share — not the whole of it, and not half of it regardless.
02When it stops being paid
Five ways to collect, and they are not equal.
An order that is not being obeyed is not the end of it. The only question is which instrument fits the payer.
Free
A complaint at the maintenance court
You lodge it where the child lives and it costs nothing. Bring the order, proof of what was paid, and your own expenses.
Most effective
An emoluments attachment order
The amount comes off the salary before it ever reaches the payer. Where there is an employer this is usually the answer, and usually the end of it.
No employer
Attachment of a debt
A bank account, a rental due to the payer, or money somebody else owes them.
Assets
A warrant of execution
The sheriff attaches movables for the arrears. Slower, and it does not fix next month.
Last
Criminal prosecution
Failure to pay maintenance is an offence. It is available, it is occasionally necessary, and it rarely produces money quickly.
03When the amount no longer fits
An order can be varied. Very few people ever do it.
Years have passed and the amount has not moved
Maintenance is not indexed automatically. An order from 2019 is still paying 2019 prices, and nobody will point that out to you.
A child started school, or changed school
A recognised change in circumstances, and one of the most common grounds there is.
Somebody lost a job, or gained a much better one
It runs both ways. A payer whose income genuinely collapsed should apply to reduce rather than simply stop, which is how arrears become a criminal matter.
A medical condition has appeared
Shortfalls the scheme does not cover are a need like any other.
Bring us the payslips and the school invoices.
We will tell you what the number ought to be before you commit to anything.