What is child maintenance?
According to the Department of Justice, maintenance is the obligation to provide another person, for example, a minor, with housing, food, clothing, education, and medical care, or with the means that are necessary for providing the person with these essentials. This legal duty to maintain is called ‘the duty to maintain’ or ‘the duty to support.
Playing a role in one’s children’s lives should be something that each parent takes seriously. Each parent should take responsibility for their children. From a young age, children need love, they need parents to be present in their lives and they need to be financially supported by both their parents. However, this is not always the case as we often find one parent running away from their responsibilities. This then forces the other parent to take legal action and go to court to claim for the child’s maintenance.
Two major reasons why parents run away from taking care of their children:
- A father might be prevented access to his child by the mother and therefore think that he doesn’t have to pay child support. This is not true, regardless of how the relationship is between the parents, the father is still required to pay maintenance.
- The parent is unemployed, and therefore cannot afford to pay maintenance. In this case, the grandparents of the parent who cannot pay child maintenance because they are unemployed need to step in and pay the maintenance for the child(ren).
What steps should you take to claim child maintenance?
The parent making the claim must consult and apply for a maintenance order at her or his local magistrate court. The application form must be accompanied by the following documents:
- A certified copy of your Identity Document, certified copies of the child/ren’s birth certificates;
- A maintenance budget schedule;
- Proof of your monthly income and expenses;
- Three months’ latest bank statements and payslips;
- The full name and proof of the physical and/or work address of the person responsible for paying the maintenance amount; and
- If you were married, and are now divorced, a copy of the divorce order.
How much maintenance are you required to pay?
There is no set amount for maintenance. The court looks at the needs of the child and looks at the affordability of the parent being brought to court and decides how much the parent is expected to pay.
If you take your ex-husband, ex-fiancé, or ex-boyfriend to court, you should not be greedy and ask for excessive amounts. Your main focus should be for the benefit of your child and not for yourself. It becomes apparent in court when you are being too greedy and this might be at your disadvantage.
Whatever amounts the court orders to be paid should be for the child.