HOW MUCH SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE OR CHILD MAINTENANCE MUST MY HUSBAND PAY?
There’s a common misconception that your husband must pay whatever amount of maintenance that you demand regardless of the circumstances that you’re in. The reality is that the amount of spousal maintenance amount that the Court will award depends on a number of different factors such as your own income, employment and employability – this can sometimes result in an outcome where the Court will award nominal maintenance or no maintenance to you depending on your own financial circumstances.
For example, nominal maintenance can be awarded by the Court to preserve your rights to request for an increased amount in the future (such as if you later become ill, retrenched or unable to work) even though you may currently not need any spousal maintenance.
Monthly maintenance can be ordered for your husband to pay a fixed monthly sum (until such time that the amount is changed by mutual agreement or a Court Order).
Lumpsum maintenance can be ordered if you take the view that it is safer and smoother to take a lump sum amount upfront to have a clean break with your husband in terms of his financial support and if you prefer to avoid the risk of him failing to consistently pay monthly maintenance which may suddenly leave you in a more vulnerable financial position in terms of being able to continue paying for your expenses.
The Court can also order that no maintenance should be paid by your husband – this can be the case if your marriage is very short, if your level of income is enough to reliably sustain your own expenses or if you are being paid a salary significantly higher than your husband’s.
When it comes to Child Support and Child Maintenance, both parents are legally required to contribute towards paying for the children’s expenses – the Court will tabulate the reasonable expenses required for bringing up the children and often apportion the amount of each parent’s contribution proportionate to their own level of income and expenses.
Speak with our Family & Divorce Lawyers today
If you would like to understand more about this subject and how the issues discussed in this article may affect you, get in touch with our lawyers today.
Typical fee structure
- Basic - $4,500
- Intermediate - $6,500
- Advanced - $8,500
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