Child Custody and Relocation – Live Questions taken and answered by Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf

What is child maintenance / child support?

The terms “child maintenance” or “child support” is pretty much self-explanatory. To put it simply, it is when both parents sees to the needs and well-being of their child / children. Needs can be classified as food, clothes, education, medical expenses and other general maintenance of the child’s living costs.

Child Maintenance Law

This is where the guidance and help of a family law legal professional comes in handy. To understand the rules and regulations that govern child maintenance/child support, expert legal advice is required from a professional. The Child Support Act is there to ensure that both parents fulfill their legal obligations towards their child/children. In other words, the Act ensures that parents continue taking care of their children even after divorce. Child Maintenance includes the basic necessities such as:

• Shelter
• Clothing
• Medical Care
• Schooling
• Food

Any legal executions regarding maintenance shall be carried out in accordance with the Child Maintenance Act.

Maintenance Court Procedure

• Birth certificate of your child/children.
• Your identity document.
• Proof of residence.
• A divorce settlement.
• Proof of your monthly income and expenses.
• The personal details of the parent required to pay maintenance such as their name, surname physical and work address.
• Copy of your bank statement.

Maintenance Court Procedure

Child maintenance calculator

• To have an idea on how much maintenance you should be receiving from the other parent of your child;
• How much maintenance you should be paying; and
• Assist in reaching a mutual agreement with the other parent due to having a more accurate idea of how much either parent should be contributing to the child or children’s living expenses.

Child Maintenance office numbers

Non Compliance with Court Order Divorce

All parents ought to see to their children’s needs whether married or unmarried. The court however, need not intervene when parents have informally agreed to see to the maintenance of the child. Most times however, divorced parents do not see eye to eye and seek the court’s intervention for child support. [caption id="attachment_4485" align="alignleft" width="300"] Call our law offices on: 0211110090
Email: [email protected][/caption] Our law offices boast a well experienced family legal expert who can offer you quality legal advice in child maintenance, child custody and divorce legal matters. During our years of experience, we’ve found that parties usually resort to a maintenance order when they don’t see eye to eye. A maintenance order is a direct legal instruction for the parent to pay child support – failure in doing so is a serious offense. For free professional, legal expert advice on non-compliance with maintenance orders, click on our child maintenance articles below:

• Child maintenance questions: how much should I pay or contribute as a parent?
• Child maintenance support claim and answers.
• Child support or maintenance claims: does an unemployed father pay?
• How to apply for child maintenance at court: a step by step guide.
• Maintenance defaulters
• Non-compliance with maintenance orders – civil and criminal

[caption id="attachment_4499" align="alignleft" width="300"] Call our law offices on: 0211110090
Email: [email protected][/caption]           Our law offices are situated in the heart of the buzzing CBD at Suit 702, 7^th floor, The Pinnacle, corner of Strand and Burg Street, Cape Town. Feel free to call our offices and have our friendly receptionist make an online appointment for you for a professional legal consultation today.

Breach of Court Order

• A formal complaint must be laid at your closest maintenance office
• The maintenance office will hold a record of a series of payments that’s been made previously and this record will automatically reflect a lapse payment as well.
• If the parent happens to be employed and still refuse to pay maintenance, the court may enforce an order to get the maintenance from the work directly.
• When a court order is in place and the other party refuses to pay regardless, the court will call them in. On this day, the court will hear them out as to why they have disobeyed the maintenance order and it will be expected for the other parent to pay all maintenance owed. Failure to comply with the maintenance order means that they will go to jail.

Maintenance Arrears Enforcement

Happy Father’s Day 2020

Father’s are special, and that is why we have Father’s Day. To all the father’s out there – Happy Father’s Day!