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

Family breakdown is a major problem in the Ireland today and affects people from all walks of life especially in the current times in which we live. Be it married or unmarried parents, grandparents, step parents, extended families, and most importantly the children. Unfortunately the out dated legislation in Ireland and the Irish Constitution do not recognise the diversity of family life in today’s Irish society however things will change and these issues are currently being debated at both government level and that of organisations that specialise in this area following the launch of the Proposed Children’s and Parental Responsibility Bill 2010 from the Law Reform Commission. I will discuss this Bill in later articles.

Furthermore, given the nature of this area of law, many people are so traumatised emotionally, that they cannot even begin to think of the practical issues that need to be dealt with, not to mention telling the children. This is why people engage the services of a solicitor to take care of these practical issues or in the event of lack of funds the legal aid board which can take months. There are also D.I.Y. companies similar to my own to assist you.

Over the next number of articles I aim to provide people with a basic understanding of family breakdown, and all the issues that are associated with. These articles will give people an opportunity to sit down at their own convenience and read through them. The articles will assist people to deal with their own litigation issues either by understanding what is required in attempting to come to an agreement or knowing the basic principles of the family law court, and tips on representing yourself successfully or indeed having a better understanding of your solicitor’s actions.

Each article will consist of definitions of each topic, the options associated with them, and likely outcomes based on previous case law. At the end of the series there will also be paperwork involved in drafting agreements as well as making applications to court in order for the reader to compile their own paperwork. There will be no laws or complicated jargon, just simple step to step guides to the topic of the article.  The topics covered will range from access and custody issues to maintenance, the family home, domestic violence, and pensions. I will also cover separation agreements, judicial separations and divorce and finally international child abduction.

If any reader would like to make contact with me on any issue regarding family breakdown I would be happy to assist you. I can be contacted at info@familybreakdown.ie or 086 0569822. In the next article I will be discussing Maintenance Issues and all that is associated with it so if you have a query please make contact but until then take care