Maintenance, Child Support & Spousal Maintenance

Maintenance is the payment of regular financial support to a spouse or previous spouse in respect of the living expenses either of the spouse/ ex-spouse and/or the dependent children of the union.

Spousal maintenance is generally payable where there is a spouse/ex-spouse who does not have the financial resources to support themselves adequately. In may cases the spouse will not be working outside the home or may only be capable of working on a part-time basis for whatever reason.

Child support or child maintenance which is for the financial support of children is payable to the spouse who is looking after the children on a day-to –day basis.

The amount of maintenance whether child support or spousal maintenance will depend on the respective financial resources and needs both of the separating parties and of their dependent children.

A dependent child is one who is under the age of eighteen years or between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three years and attending full-time education.