Child Maintenance and Support
https://www.ourlawyer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Our-Lawyer-Consultation.gifEvery Child is entitled to have adequate child maintenance from his parents. This includes the provision of food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare. These provisions are to be provided by both his or her mother and father. If one parent cannot afford any support, then other the parent would be responsible for the time being. However, support can still be claimed from the child’s maternal and paternal grandparents. What follows are some answers to a few questions on child maintenance.
How much is the basic rate or amount of child maintenance?
There is no basic rate for child maintenance. The amount depends on various factors, which includes the needs of the child, the income of the parents, as well as their personal expenses. There are many other factors as well. The law expects parents to contribute based on their means. Therefore, in principle, but not easily applied in practice, if a mother earns double of that the father, and has the same monthly expenses, she would pay double in child support. What is best is for parents to sit down and work out what is fair.
What is covered by child maintenance?
A vast amount of provisions is included in the concept of child support. These are not only necessities, it can be luxuries as well. This all depends on the standard of living of the parents, and what the child was accustomed to. This would even more apply if the parents were married to each other, had the child, and then separated. The law would want the child to continue with the standard of living he or she had before the separation, or divorce.
How do you determine the amount of child support?
Determining the amount to pay for child support is not an easy one. If things were simple, both parties would earn the same and have the same expenses. However, this is seldom the case. Furthermore, one should also look at the means of the parents, assets and liabilities. Therefore, if a parent does not earn much, but own an expensive piece of real estate, that would be taken into account when determining the amount, he or she should contribute. Once all the figures are on the table, a fair amount should be allocated.
When do I stop paying maintenance?
Child maintenance should be paid until the child is self-supporting or sufficient. Although the child becomes an adult at the age of eighteen, many at time, the child is still at school, studying, or trying to find a job. He or she may still claim maintenance from his or her parents. However, once the child becomes self-supporting, maintenance should stop. if there is a child maintenance order in place, such order should be set aside should the child be self-supporting.
Sharing is Caring
This and other articles and posts found on this
website are written by
Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf to assist people with various family law related issues they may have. If you find any of our articles, free resources and posts interesting, or possibly useful to others, please like and share it on Social Media by clicking on the icons below. For more interesting articles and information on Family Law, view our
articles and Q&A page. If you have a family law related legal issue and you want someone to answer or reply to it, feel free to post it on our
Family Law Blog. Therefore, kindly like and share. Should you require any other legal services and advice, not related to family law, visit
Private Legal.
Ante – Nuptial/Pre – Nuptial Agreement
Our legal expert at our law offices is a professional legal drafter with years of experiences in legal drafting and offering expert legal advice on specific family law topics. These family legal topics range from:- Child Maintenance
- Ante-nuptial Contact
- Change Matrimonial Property Regime
- Child Adoption
- Child Custody and Access
- Domestic Violence Protection
- Family Trust Registration
- Fast Unopposed Divorces
- Non-Compliance with maintenance orders
- Parenting Plans
- Postnuptial Contract Registration
- Pre-nikkah Agreement
Do you require expert legal advice in any of these topics? Do feel free to give our law offices a call on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment today. Once parties have decided to enter into a marriage, they may do so by having an
Ante-Nuptial Contract legally drafted which will also be an indication of how they would want their assets to be governed. Should parties decide to enter without an ANC, they will automatically be married in community of property. Entering into an ANC allow parties to maintain financial independence without bearing the burden of debt incurred by the other party. Make an
online appointment with us today to find out more!
Registering an Ante – Nuptial Contract
First of all, it is crucial to note that if you get married without an
Ante Nuptial Contract, you are automatically married in community of property. But what exactly is the purpose of having an ANC? An ANC is an agreement in black and white between two parties before entering into marriage. The agreement stipulates how assets will be dealt with in the event of divorce or death. Having an ante nuptial contract benefits you in the following ways:
- Debt incurred by the other party, will not be affect you financially due to the ANC in place.
- The ANC allows the parties to remain separate in estates.
- Parties will not need each other’s consent in financial dealings.
- Parties can maintain their own financial independence.
Engage with our efficient
online appointment system and have us make an online appointment for you today!
Ante Nuptial Contract without Accrual
When being married in community of property, no ANC is required and this can be dangerous for both parties. When a couple decides to enter marriage without an ANC, they will automatically be married in community of property – meaning both parties will have equal right to each other’s assets and there is a joint estate. On the other hand, being married out of community of property will require an ANC and there will be no joint estate. Having said that, the parties will have their own financial independence and any debt incurred by the one party, will not affect the other. For more information on having your ANC professionally drafted or having your ANC registered, call our offices for an online appointment for a professional legal consultation.
Ante – Nuptial Costs at our law offices
To get an idea of price costing for our legal services, do click on our legal services page. Bear in mind that the prices on our legal services page are only doe those particular services. Legal services such as child custody, child maintenance, visitation rights for fathers and so forth, does not come with fixed prices and these are unique situations and circumstances with many factors at play. Make an
online appointment with us today
