# How much child maintenance is fair?



## Chucky (23 May 2020)

What is a reasonable amount of child maintenance to expect from my child’s father, he earns €700 a week. My son is 8 and his father has never given maintenance or money towards his care before.


----------



## cmalone (23 May 2020)

obviously you need support to raise the child -

expect father still has some involvement in your son’s life?

700 euro net or gross ?

Father has living expenses - mortgage / rent / new family?

best always is amount that is both required and reasonable -

are you working?

not looking for answers - this is private information to you...

would think something along lines of 100 euro per week might be expected ... at least ...

Hope all works out amicably ...

not acceptable that father hasn’t contributed to date - I would look for some contribution for bringing your son to 8 years on your own. That could be invested...


----------



## Chucky (23 May 2020)

Thanks for the reply. 
Up until now he wanted no involvement and we are currently trying to figure out access.
I work.

700 is gross pay, he has no mortgage/rent but pays €85 /week for his other child he has had since. 

He has offered to give €40 a week and pay half of school stuff as long he gets receipts but nothing else.
Unfortunately it’s unlikely to be amicable at this rate as I feel €40 is unacceptable.


----------



## cmalone (23 May 2020)

Doesn’t sound worth the effort —and asking for receipts...


700 gross probably equates to 500 per week- if he’s paying a small pension etc

He hasn’t much capacity in fairness to beat 40/ 50 euro .


----------



## Bern78 (23 May 2020)

If he pays 85 for the other child why can’t be match that- has he given a reason? It would seem the fairest


----------



## niceoneted (25 May 2020)

you need to put down what are your sons expenses, think of everything, then school stuff and extra curricular. when you get your total minus childrens allowance and divide by 2. It would be worth applying for court ordered maintenance. It shouldn't matter whether he has access or not. he still has a responsibility


----------



## Thirsty (25 May 2020)

@niceoneted - your first sentence is wrong.

Child maintenance is based on both parents income and expenditure.

Both parents are legally obliged to support their children.

It is not a charity 'offering'; you are not required to show receipts to the other parent.

You both need to complete affidavits of means.

You can apply through District Court yourself you don't need a solicitor.

You'll find the clerks very helpful but they can't give legal advice.


----------



## cmalone (25 May 2020)

So what typically might be offered -based on the scenario presented ?


----------



## Chucky (25 May 2020)

Bern78 said:


> If he pays 85 for the other child why can’t be match that- has he given a reason? It would seem the fairest



I agree. 
He wanted to split the money between both children. 
you would think taking responsibility for a second child means you need to spend more money.


----------



## Chucky (25 May 2020)

niceoneted said:


> you need to put down what are your sons expenses, think of everything, then school stuff and extra curricular. when you get your total minus childrens allowance and divide by 2. It would be worth applying for court ordered maintenance. It shouldn't matter whether he has access or not. he still has a responsibility



Making a quick list, extra curricular activities alone are €40, that’s before childcare, food,..

I will apply as soon as I can. Just seems it could be a waste of time if it’s decided he has to give €40/50 maintenance as he has already said he’ll pay this.


----------



## Thirsty (25 May 2020)

> So what typically might be offered -based on the scenario presented ?



Again:

1.  it's not an "offer", it's a legal obligation.  One doesn't "offer" to pay one's taxes.
2. Child maintenance is based on both parents income and expenditure.
3.  It is not 'charity' from the non resident parent, see item 1
4.  It is not a waste of time to get a court order for child maintenance, your child is entitled to be supported by both parents, it's your child's maintenance, not yours.  In all other respects, you will do whatever it takes to do your best for your child, this is no different.
5. The amount of maintenance paid for another child of this person is not relevant (except that it is listed as expenditure), guess why that is?  See item 2.


----------



## cmalone (25 May 2020)

Good advice and makes me think the mother should pursue matter to get court maintenance order /judgement on record


----------



## Neek01 (3 Jun 2020)

He's probably earning about €570 a week with no rent. Surely he could pay €85 per child. If one costs that much im not sure how a second one would be half the cost?! 40 a week is nothing towards a child's costs. If he's not agreeable you might be best off going through the courts.


----------



## Purple (3 Jun 2020)

The mothers income has to be taken into account when calculating what he should pay. If, for example, she is taking home €1000 a week and has no mortgage or rent then he should pay less. If she is on welfare then he should pay more.


----------



## Thirsty (3 Jun 2020)

@Purple - interestingly enough, the law in this country agrees with you.





Thirsty said:


> Child maintenance is based on both parents income and expenditure.


----------



## Purple (4 Jun 2020)

Thirsty said:


> @Purple - interestingly enough, the law in this country agrees with you.


Yep, the law wants both parents to end up with around the same disposable income. Seems reasonable although there is still an overhang from the time when women didn't work outside the home and, rightly, had to be protected more. There is also an overhang from the time when fathers were far less hands-on so the assumption is still there that the children would be better off with their mother. If anyone thinks otherwise consider that the marriage equality referendum was the first time that unmarried fathers were given automatic rights to their children. Until then they had to go to court to establish those rights.


----------

