FAMILY BREAKDOWN SUPPORT SERVICES
info@familybreakdown.ie/0860569822
Maintenance
In this article we will discuss maintenance. Maintenance is defined as a sum of money paid by one parent to another as a financial contribution towards that parents weekly expenses or that of their children’s. Maintenance is usually paid to the parent who has day to day care and control of the children. There is a general duty on each spouse to maintain each other and their dependent children.
For married couples it is usually determined by income and earning capacity of each spouse, who the children live with, the length of the marriage, the financial or other responsibilities of each spouse, and for unmarried couples, this is generally the same only the spouses are not required to maintain each other just the child. This of course is unless they have entered into a Civil Partnership which I will be discussing separately in the different article. In relation to dependent children, they include children born to either parent that the other has taken on to raise (in loco parentis), children adopted by either or both spouses. Furthermore a child is considered a dependent until they reach the age of 18, or 23 if they remain in full time education, and if a child suffers from a physical or mental disability they remain dependents for life or until they can financially support themselves.
It is advisable to settle maintenance issues outside of Court for many reasons. You will have a waiting list of months, you have to declare all your income and outgoings, and it’s always best to be amicable. If you have no choice but to go to Court, you may simply apply to the Family Law District Court in Dolphin House Dublin 2. You simply go in with photo id and inform the desk you want to apply for maintenance. If it’s your first time you will be asked to take a ticket and fill in a form with basic details of all involved and you will be called into an office with another clerk. They will print out your hearing date and give you one copy and serve your ex with the other. That’s the easy part.
Now you have to prepare for Court. You and your ex will have to fill out what’s known as a cash reconciliation form. This is where you write down all your weekly outgoings. Remember to be honest as you will require evidence of the figures you write down and in addition the Judge knows from all the other cases that for example ESB is not €50 per week for a 2 bed apartment. You will also have to document your weekly income. It’s very important not to catch yourself out here because if you go to Court looking for a sum of money above what you are allowed to claim for instance in one parent family payment it may result in losing a portion or all of that payment. So be careful not to cut off your nose to spite your face.
If you are the person being brought to Court I would advise that if you claim you can’t pay maintenance id simply reconsider. If you go into a Court claiming you can’t pay 1 cent to the upbringing of your child you are likely to anger the Judge. Even if you’re on a social welfare payment you should at least be paying even a small percentage of this towards the upbringing of your child. So if you’re not already I suggest you write to your ex partner and request her bank account details and set up a standing order each week to go into her account no matter how small it is at least your showing the Court your making an effort. Now if you are earning decent money your pay slips will reflect this and I wouldn’t be paying just €30 per week if you’re earning over €500 for example. Please always pay maintenance by direct debit or standing order or at least by bank draft or postal order. If you pay cash there is no record of this and it can be claimed you don’t pay at all and you have no record to prove otherwise.
If a maintenance order is already in place and circumstances change over a year either person may go back into Court and in the same way I described above and apply for a Variation of Maintenance. You must be able to show a sudden change in circumstances to necessitate your application. If either party refuses to pay maintenance as is ordered by the Court one may apply for a breach of a Maintenance Order. Again you must prove that payments have not been made at least twice.
Well as always if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at info@familybreakdown.ie or contact me on 0860569822. Next week we will be discussing Access to children so until then take care.
Paul Campbell (Diploma in Family Law)
Owner Family Breakdown Support Services
