Maintenance (financial support)

When a couple separates, the law encourages each person to become financially independent as soon as possible ( the “clean break” principle). But in some cases the Family Court may require one ex-partner to pay maintenance (financial support) to the other for a limited period.

Any person claiming maintenance will have to show the Family Court that their case comes within one of the situations where maintenance can be ordered. Also, a person can’t claim maintenance if they’ve married someone else, or entered into a civil union or de facto relationship with someone else.

If the couple were in a short-term de facto relationship (less than three years), usually the Court can’t award maintenance at all. Even if the case fits a situation where maintenance can be awarded, the Family Court can decide not to award maintenance if the person claiming it has acted in such a way that this would be “repugnant to justice”.

Situations when the Courts will order maintenance

After your marriage, civil union or de facto relationship has ended, you’re entitled to be paid maintenance by your ex-partner if you can’t meet some or all of your reasonable needs because of one of the following factors –

your limited ability to become self-supporting, taking into account how things like who looked after the children while you were together, your likely earning capacity, and any other relevant factors
the arrangements the two of you have made for the care of your children
the standard of living you and the other person had while you were together
the fact that you’re doing a reasonable period of study or training to increase your earning capacity. This justifies maintenance only if it would be unfair for you to have to meet the costs of this study or training immediately –
- or because of how the two of you divided functions while you were together, or
- or because of the arrangements the two of you have made for the care of your children, or
- or because you previously supported the other person, even if only partly, while they were studying or training.

Extra restrictions for short-term de facto relationships

If your relationship lasted less than three years, extra restrictions apply. As well as you having to show one of the grounds for maintenance (see above), the Court can’t award you maintenance unless –

you and your ex-partner had a child, or
you made a substantial contribution to the relationship, and the Family Court thinks it would be a “serious injustice” not to award you maintenance.

Maintenance: how much and how long for

How much maintenance will be paid?
If the Family Court orders one ex-partner to pay maintenance to the other, the amount will depend on –

each person’s financial situation, including their potential earning capacity, and taking into account any division of relationship property
each person’s reasonable needs, which includes taking into account the couple’s standard of living while they were together
whether the person paying maintenance is also supporting anyone else
each person’s financial and other responsibilities (including any child support paid by the person paying maintenance)
any other relevant factors, including anything the person claiming maintenance has done to try to prolong their inability to meet their own reasonable needs.

For how long will maintenance be paid?
Usually maintenance will be granted only for a period that the Court decides is reasonable in the particular case. By the end of that time, the person receiving maintenance is expected to have taken responsibility for supporting himself or herself.

In what form will maintenance be paid?
The Family Court can order maintenance to be paid as a lump sum, or in regular instalments.

Can I get both maintenance and a benefit?
The fact that you’re receiving a benefit from Work and Income doesn’t take away or limit the liability of your ex-partner to pay maintenance to you.

Information on maintenance can be found at www.lawaccess.lsa.govt.nz/Lrm_V2.aspx?BookId=67&ChapterId=5