Wife and Children Maintenance

Wife and Children Maintenance

(i) Wife Maintenance

Section 78 Law Reform Act 1976 generally provides that in determining the amount of any maintenance to be paid by a man to his wife or former wife or by a woman to her husband or former husband, the court shall base its assessment primarily on the means and needs of the parties, regardless of the proportion such maintenance bears to the income of the husband or wife as the case may be, but shall have regard to the degree of responsibility which the court apportions to each party for the breakdown of the marriage.

Many spouses, primarily the wife, ask: “In a divorce, what is a fair amount of maintenance to ask for? or “how much can I get?” To determine the wife’s entitlement of the maintenance, the Court will take into consideration of various factors such as the wife’s health, duration of marriage, the wife’s role in the marriage, financial means of the husband, standard of living the wife enjoyed during marriage.

Our divorce team in Mark Law Chambers have vast experience in handling divorce cases. We ensure that our clients obtain what they rightfully should as they move forward to their next chapter of life.

(ii)Children Maintenance

Section 93(1) Law Reform Act 1976 generally provides that the court may at any time order a man to pay maintenance for the benefit of his child. The duty to provide for a child mainly lies with the father. However, the Court may also orders a mother to contribute child maintenance if she has the financial means to do so as per Section 93(2) Law Reform Act 1976 that the court shall have the corresponding power to order a woman to pay or contribute towards the maintenance of her child where it is satisfied that having regard to her means it is reasonable so to order.

The Court will consider the financial means of the parents, the needs of the children and standard of living the child enjoyed during marriage. The children’s welfare and needs are always our concern. Our vision is to ensure that tour clients and their children’s lives are financially supported as they move forward with their lives post-divorced.