Maintenance is the obligation to provide another person with housing, food, clothing, education, and even medical care or at least contribute to a dependant’s living expenses.
The court will consider the following facts in adjudicating maintenance matters, namely whether the person is legally obliged to maintain the applicant, the need of the applicant to be maintained as well as the financial ability of such a person to contribute towards the maintenance of the Applicant.
Obligation to pay maintenance
The obligation to maintain another person usually stems from the blood relationship between the parties, adoption, or the fact that parties may have been married to each other.
Maintenance is traditionally classified as either spousal maintenance or child maintenance, but children are just as much obligated to support their parents and grandparents as they are obliged to maintain their children and grandchildren.
The obligation to pay maintenance may, in certain cases, also apply to cohabitation agreements and same-sex partnerships and marriages.
How to Apply for Maintenance
Spousal Maintenance is usually granted to a spouse during divorce proceedings whilst child maintenance is either granted during divorce proceedings or by application to the maintenance court. Applications for the increase or reduction of existing maintenance orders are, in turn, usually considered by the maintenance court.
When applying for a maintenance order or the reduction of a maintenance order, the dependant or his/her parent should approach the magistrates’ court in the area where the children reside and present the maintenance officer with a certified copy of his/her birth certificate, a copy of any existing maintenance order, his/her monthly budget, his/her proof of income, three month’s bank statements as well as the name and address of the person that is responsible for the payment of the maintenance.
The parties will be called upon to attend an inquiry by the maintenance officer, who will attempt to assist the parties to settle the matter. If the parties are unable to settle the matter, the matter may be remanded for a formal inquiry by the court, who will adjudicate the dispute by granting a maintenance order.
Failure to Pay Maintenance
Maintenance is typically granted in the form of a monthly monetary contribution and may include an obligation to make certain payments, for example, medical expenses, medical aid contributions, or even school fees.
Failure to comply with a maintenance order is a criminal offense and the responsible party may be imprisoned for a period of up to one year and/or be fined.
The dependant may also apply to the maintenance court for an order, in terms of which, the salary of the responsible party may be attached or even that his/her assets be attached and sold by the sheriff of the court.
