Asked by the Customer on 25-12-2015 00:06:27
Question posted in the Family Law category relating to Gauteng
Question posted in the Family Law category relating to Gauteng
Hi, this question is with regards to Child Maintenance
I am a 19 year old university student & my father has not been paying regular maintenance. Back when I was born my mother applied for child support where he had to pay R700 a month. He did not pay for this however he paid for my primary school education and gave me R500 in high schoolsporadically - every 2 or 3 months or so. This cancelled out his maintenance cost. I know this because my mom tried taking him to court earlier this year but lost because of the aforementioned information as well as the fact that I am over age now.
He was not paying for my school fees during my high school years as I received a full & comprehensive scholarship to a private school that covered books, clothing, fees, boarding etc... I do not know if this is of any relevance but the total cost per year was around R190 000 on average. (Tuition & Boarding was R140 000 on average). Consequently, he barely pitched in for anything but my mom and I did not mind much as I was covered for.
This year was my first year in university. I live in Gauteng but school at the University of Cape Town. I also got a comprehensive bursary here that covers everything (tuition, residence, books, stipend) except extramurals and travel. Now my living expenses have increased to R5000 a month. This includes societies, clothes (as a boarder I dressed in school clothing the majority of the time), meals, entertainment etc...
After the court procedures, he said that he doesn't want to go back to court so I should just send him my expenses. I did so and managed to compress everything down to R4032. He then proceeded to send me only R1000 a month of that R4230. This made my first year less enjoyable as I couldn't afford to do much. If it wasn't for the R900 stipend from my bursary and generous contributions from my aunt (who is in no way liable for me), I do not know how I could have managed. Whenever he paid, he would usually take his time and only pay if my mother called him - he seems unwilling.
Important informationL He is a general practitioner who has his own practice. I do not know the salary however GPs usually earn around R500 000 a year before tax.
My mother is unemployed and has been for the past 8 years or so.
Back story aside, my questions are these:
Can I take him to maintenance court?
Are my expenses reasonable for him (a GP) or can I increase/decrease them?
I know maintenance costs are split proportionally, but since my mother is unemployed how does that work?
How can I get him to pay every month and on time?
Does the fact that he asked for an expenses list and that I sent them to him mean anything? Is it binding in any way?
Thanks for your help
I am a 19 year old university student & my father has not been paying regular maintenance. Back when I was born my mother applied for child support where he had to pay R700 a month. He did not pay for this however he paid for my primary school education and gave me R500 in high schoolsporadically - every 2 or 3 months or so. This cancelled out his maintenance cost. I know this because my mom tried taking him to court earlier this year but lost because of the aforementioned information as well as the fact that I am over age now.
He was not paying for my school fees during my high school years as I received a full & comprehensive scholarship to a private school that covered books, clothing, fees, boarding etc... I do not know if this is of any relevance but the total cost per year was around R190 000 on average. (Tuition & Boarding was R140 000 on average). Consequently, he barely pitched in for anything but my mom and I did not mind much as I was covered for.
This year was my first year in university. I live in Gauteng but school at the University of Cape Town. I also got a comprehensive bursary here that covers everything (tuition, residence, books, stipend) except extramurals and travel. Now my living expenses have increased to R5000 a month. This includes societies, clothes (as a boarder I dressed in school clothing the majority of the time), meals, entertainment etc...
After the court procedures, he said that he doesn't want to go back to court so I should just send him my expenses. I did so and managed to compress everything down to R4032. He then proceeded to send me only R1000 a month of that R4230. This made my first year less enjoyable as I couldn't afford to do much. If it wasn't for the R900 stipend from my bursary and generous contributions from my aunt (who is in no way liable for me), I do not know how I could have managed. Whenever he paid, he would usually take his time and only pay if my mother called him - he seems unwilling.
Important informationL He is a general practitioner who has his own practice. I do not know the salary however GPs usually earn around R500 000 a year before tax.
My mother is unemployed and has been for the past 8 years or so.
Back story aside, my questions are these:
Can I take him to maintenance court?
Are my expenses reasonable for him (a GP) or can I increase/decrease them?
I know maintenance costs are split proportionally, but since my mother is unemployed how does that work?
How can I get him to pay every month and on time?
Does the fact that he asked for an expenses list and that I sent them to him mean anything? Is it binding in any way?
Thanks for your help
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