FAMILY LAW Problems with child-maintenance payments

When child-maintenance payments become an issue


Family Law
Brid Manifold

I have two children with my ex-husband, one toddler one school-going. We separated while  I was pregnant with our youngest. While my ex-husband pays maintenance fine for a few months, then without any notice, he stops my money. Sometimes it can go three and four weeks without a payment. What do I do?

You must address the matter of maintenance as a matter of urgency. Couples who manage to agree these matters on their own are to be admired, but if the agreement repeatedly breaks down, then it is clear that it is not working, causing you stress and probably not helping the co-parenting relationship either. 
You must tell your husband that he is legally obliged to maintain his children, and that you expect him to honour whatever agreement you reach. Ask for the maintenance to be paid by standing order to your current account on a specific day each month, generally a couple of days after he would be paid. The standing order is the only reliable arrangement that ensures payments are sustained regardless of what may be going on between a couple from time to time.
If your husband is unwilling to set up a standing order, you will need to let him know that it will then be necessary for you to obtain a maintenance order through the courts. The amount of maintenance can be agreed between you and the application can then be made on a consent basis. If you cannot agree the amount yourselves or through your solicitors, you will both be required to present to the court a Statement of Means, summarising your present financial situation, in terms of income and expenditure, debts and liabilities.
The court will then decide what level of maintenance would be appropriate, taking into account your children’s and your circumstances and in particular your husband’s disposable income. If he has other financial commitments, such as a new family, that will also be taken into account. In the case of very straitened circumstances, maintenance can be set as low as €5 per week per child, and at the upper end, the courts do not often makes orders greater than €100 per week per child. Less commonly, the courts have the power to order a lump sum payment in special situations. The maximum amount the District Court can order per week, per child is €150.
The court can order the maintenance to be paid by standing order, or indeed through the office of the District Court Clerk. In the case of large assets, the application may be brought in the Circuit Court where there are no limits set. You can also agree or ask the court for an order to share educational and other costs such as medical and dental.

The above is generalised information and may not apply to you. You should always get individual legal advice on your own particular circumstances from an experienced family law solicitor.

Brid Manifold is a family-law solicitor and mediator based in Galway City. Her monthly columns will cover a range of family-law and mediation issues. Email your questions in confidence to Brid at familylaw@mayonews.ie.