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Each parent has the legal obligation to provide support to minor children born into the relationship between the parents. This obligation forms the basis for the provision of child maintenance, also called child support.
A maintenance enquiry is a 2-staged approach: first, the reasonable needs of the dependants (children) must be determined; and after, the affordability of each spouse is taken into consideration.
Only once the child’s reasonable maintenance (basic needs) have been determined will one be able to establish the contribution that each parent is required to meet those needs.
Reasonable maintenance is defined as:
The general rule is that a child’s common share of the common expenses in the household is determined by allocating one-part per child and two-parts per adult or older child.
The formula which is applied in practice to determine the contribution as follows:
(Parent’s gross income) (Child’s needs) ______________________ X _______________ (Total gross income of both parents)
For example: If the child’s combined expenses amount to R6 000 per month, maintenance is calculated as follows:
Total monthly expenses of child = R6 000 Parent A gross income = R40 000 Parent B gross income = R20 000 Total gross income of Parents (father & mother) = R60 000 Father’s contribution = R4 000 Mother’s contribution = R2 000
Therefore: Parent A will pay two thirds of the child’s expenses each month: R4 000 Parent B will pay one third of the child’s expenses each month: R2 000
Maintenance cannot be measured in monetary terms alone. Usually the parent who cares for the child on a daily basis indirectly contributes towards maintenance because of the time they spend together.
Notwithstanding this, both parents still have a financial obligation to pay maintenance in accordance with their means, income and expenditures.
Maintenance may also need to be adjusted regularly, for reasons such as the annual increase in accordance with the Consumer Price Index; the changing needs of the child; or a change in the financial position of the parents.
Once the need for change in maintenance arises, whether this be to file a new application; seek to vary an existing court order or settlement agreement, the applicant can request that the maintenance court:
A parent’s duty to support further also only comes to an end when the child becomes self-supporting.
However, a parents supporting duty could revive should the child cease to be self-supporting for reasons such as: ill health or disability. It must also be noted that a child having reached majority is not supported in the same manner as a minor child.
For child maintenance advice and more information about child maintenance court please contact Van Deventer & Van Deventer Incorporated today.
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