Maintenance

On 1st January 2008, a comprehensive reform of the maintenance law came into effect, one of the primary purposes of which is the equal treatment of marital and non marital children in the area of custody support and the strengthening of the principle of post marital personal responsibility.

The question of whether the claim for the amendment of existing maintenance orders has any prospect of success primarily depends on whether it is to be reasoned or the entitled person is at risk of losing or suffering a cut in their maintenance. The reasoning in this case depends among other factors on the duration of the period of maintenance, meaning that the moment in time plays an important role and further period of waiting has a negative effect on the prospects for success.
Whether and to what extent maintenance is owing depends on the circumstances of the income of the participants, which is assessed as being higher or lower depending, for instance, on whether income-reducing debts owing by the party responsible for the maintenance are taken into account, or if the personal income of the person entitled to the maintenance remains discounted as being ‘beyond what the obligation requires’ because they are gainfully employed and care for young children at the same time.

This area does not only depend on the actual income of the participants, but also upon whether they could be expected to be able to earn a higher income (e.g. through changing their job, through taking a second job, or through working full time instead of part time basis); the answering of these questions strongly depends on the judicial appraisal of the previous and current living circumstances of the participants.
For this reason, the result of a maintenance dispute frequently varies depending on whether it is possible to successfully portray the income situation and personal living circumstances of the participants to the family court. It is therefore a good idea to seek and receive professional advice from a specialist solicitor in the early ages of a maintenance dispute.

It is frequently the case that a person entitled to the maintenance who lacks their own income and to whom no maintenance is being paid, will also lack the means to pay for legal advice and representation. In this case, counselling aid can be requested in court for the legal advice, and legal aid can also be subsequently requested for the legal representation during the maintenance proceedings, or an advance on the costs of litigation can be asserted against those responsible for paying the maintenance.

For the entitled person, engaging the services of the solicitor may be completely or partly free of cost. I will be pleased to check as to whether you are entitled to assistance with the cost of legal advice or legal aid, or whether claiming an advance on the costs of litigation would make sense in your case.