You have your maintenance order now what?
In previous articles, we highlighted who can seek maintenance, and who is legally obligated to maintain persons in need. Our first article in the series referred to persons having unsuccessfully sought monetary contribution from a delinquent father. We now know that having established paternity, the assistance of the Court can be sought to obtain a maintenance order. Oftentimes persons obtain a maintenance order from the Court, but nothing changes since the person still does not pay. They give up thinking that’s it and nothing else can be done. That’s not so. You can go back to the Court to have the order enforced and doing so is not limited to child maintenance.
What is one thing love-birds do not want to hear?
Answer: Consult a lawyer before marriage/cohabitation. Did someone just throw a tomato? I hope not.
Consulting a lawyer might not be romantic but it is useful. The law allows spouses, and persons thinking of getting married, or cohabiting with each other to make a written agreement. This agreement may cover matters such as the obligation to maintain each other, and or any unmarried minor child, or unmarried child in need of maintenance due to physical or mental infirmity or disability. Each person signing this agreement must have independent legal advice, and the document should contain all the formalities required by law.
A maintenance agreement will generally be enforced unless the Court is satisfied that it would be unjust to enforce the agreement. In assessing whether it would be unjust to give effect to the agreement the Court will consider matters such as:
- the time that has passed since the agreement was made;
- whether there has been a change in circumstances which would classify the agreement as unfair or unreasonable;
- whether the arrangements made regarding a child are proper.
Maintenance order: ♥ Money:⊗
For those who do not have a maintenance agreement but got a court order that has not been complied with, there is hope.
In a previous article, we highlighted how to go about enforcing maintenance orders against a parent who lives overseas, and enforcing a maintenance order made in a foreign country against a parent in Jamaica. In both scenarios the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade would be needed, and if relevant, reliance placed on the reciprocal agreement Jamaica has with certain countries to have these maintenance orders enforced. If the foreign country involved does not have an agreement with Jamaica, consultation regarding enforcement of Jamaican orders in that country and vice versa is needed.
Maintenance payments made directly/ to your bank account
Where there has been non-compliance with a court order in this scenario, the delinquent person can be summoned before the court to address the issue of non-compliance with the order. If the person fails to appear at Court, a warrant may be issued to secure the person’s attendance on another date. The decision of the court will be based on the specific circumstances. Possible outcomes include the Court making an order for a sum of money to be paid forthwith. If the Court is of the view that a delinquent person has disobeyed the court order due to a willful refusal or deliberate neglect, the Court may also imprison the person. Contrary to what some delinquent persons believe, being imprisoned will not remove the obligation to pay the outstanding sum that led to the imprisonment.
Maintenance payments made to a Collecting Officer at the Court
Having payments made to the court has its benefits. For example, if payments are in arrears for 14 days, the Court may allow a levy to be placed on the delinquent persons goods to recover the sums owed. If there aren’t enough goods, the Court would issue a warrant to bring the delinquent person before the Court. As with the scenario above, the outcome will be based on the specific circumstances. A decision to imprison a delinquent person would be based on whether there was a willful refusal or deliberate neglect to comply with the order.
Whatever the scenario is, having the assistance of the Court is useful and can reduce unpleasant exchanges.
Disclaimer by the author: Nothing in this article is to be taken as legal advice. You should consult an attorney regarding your specific case. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article are hereby expressly disclaimed.