Question posted in the Divorce Law category relating to Gauteng
Question value: R 100.00
Good day
My question is about child maintenence subsequent to a divorce.
Background:
We got divorced in September 2017. The divorce settlement agreement and court order stipulated that our only son, aged 13 years old at present (a minor) should be cared for by myself and my ex husband in the ratio 20% and 80%, respectively. This ratio was based on our salaries at the time.
We were married in community of property, and we divided all our assets equally because of the divorce.
I was retrenched in October 2018 and did not succeed in getting a full time job since then. In the meantime, I have been trying to sell houses (without success) and I even attemoted an online business, However, the business sutained a huge loss now with the corona virus.
To date I have sold my townhouse in Midrand and approximatley 90% of my shares, in order to honor the court order and pay my child's school fees, medical aid, stationery, school uniforms and other costs.
However, I am not in a position to pay my share (20%) of my son's expenses any longer, due to the loss in my business and the inability to secure a full time job.
My question is:
How do I, in this time of lockdown, get to speak to a judge, and tell them of my predicament? I would like the court order to be changed to say that in times of me being unemployed, the father should pay the full fees for the child, as he is earning a salary of over R1,5m per annum currently; and he has never been unemployed.
Do I need a lawyer to assist me, and if so, how do I get pro bono services in this regard?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
Janine
Answer to the Question
Hi there,
I see that you haven't made a payment for the question, but I'm going to assist you a little. If you want to ask a follow-up question, please make the required payment.
In short, you can't simply go speak to the Judge.
What you need to do is to apply to the Maintenance Court for a variation of the maintenance order. The Maintenance Court will "move" the file from the High Court (or the Family Court) to the Maintenance Court and a Maintenance Officer will then assist you in varying the maintenance.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow-up questions please make the required payment, then use the REPLY button and ask your further question. I would like to continue assisting you, but I need to concentrate on people who make payments for their questions.