Advice needed on maintenance payment from ex-husband which has not increased in 12 years despite requests

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Eloah123

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I am a divorced mother, with 3 dependents going to college.

My ex-husband has not increased maintenance in 12 years despite repeated requests. He gives me €190 per week and 50% of some expenses (he decides). Given the cost of living and inflation over the past 12 years, do you think this sum is fair? I work in Admin with a salary of €33,000 pa. I am always struggling financially and live from week to week, my children all work weekends to help pay for their social life, clothes etc.

I understand maintenance varies on circumstances but I feel very frustrated with my situation and cannot afford to take him back to court. He is not involved in their lives, so all the parenting is left to me. He meets them for lunch every now and then. Do you think his contribution is too little?
 
What we think doesn't matter to be brutally honest.

Sorry, post closed on me before I'd finished.

Child Maintenance is based on both parents income & outgoings.

You don't need to pay legal fees to get an order for Child Maintenance.

Go to your local district court and ask them for the required forms. You'll need to also complete an Affidavit of Means & an Affidavit of Welfare.

The court clerks are very helpful, though of course they can't give legal advice.

Edit to add: max available in District Court is €150 per week per child. Which amount hasn't changed in decades - but thats another day's discussion.
 
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Eloah123 said:
cannot afford to take him back to court.
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Maybe the Legal Aid Board, FLAC or the Courts Service might be able to assist should the need arise to go back to court?

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You have a few options:

Can you afford an initial meeting with a solicitor who should help you understand the costs of going back to court for an adjustment order. This would be really helpful to you in laying out the costs and potential complexities.

We don’t know if €190 per week is fair because we don’t know your ex spouse circumstances, but there is no need to tell us here either.

If the 3 kids are adults (older than 18) can they ask their parent directly for financial support? Easier said than done and they sound like great kids with part time jobs etc. Have you laid out to them your income and expenditure and can the 4 of you decide together the best use of the household income. I assume you have all the Suzi grants etc.

And finally can you look to earn more, change job, upskill, work longer hours. I have no idea of your circumstances so these are only suggestions.
 
Thanks for your advice. I have talked with 2 solicitors over the past 5 years, the last was 2 years ago about bringing him back to court and was advised that there was no guarantee of an increase and it was up to me to take the risk. I have to go back to the Circuit Court for any amendments to my Divorce Decree, it can not be resolved in the District Court, so costs are a major factor.

My ex is a self-employed engineer and runs another retail business with his partner. Whenever I ask for an increase in maintenance he tells me the State will look after me, that is what I am dealing with. I have asked my kids to raise this matter with him, but it didn't work. The whole process of going back to the circuit court is very daunting for me. Like many others in my situation we will probably just struggle on.

Maintenance payments should be automatically increased in line with annual inflation and rising costs, without having to go back to court.
 
Eloah123 said:
so costs are a major factor
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What about the options that I mentioned above?

Advice needed on maintenance payment from ex-husband which has not increased in 12 years despite requests

I am a divorced mother, with 3 dependents going to college. My ex-husband has not increased maintenance in 12 years despite repeated requests. He gives me €190 per week and 50% of some expenses (he decides). Given the cost of living and inflation over the past 12 years, do you think this sum...
www.askaboutmoney.com
Eloah123 said:
I have asked my kids to raise this matter with him, but it didn't work.
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In my opinion it's very unfair to make the children piggies in the middle in this context but each to their own I guess.
 
By and large settlement orders in divorce are not revisited.

Child maintenance can be dealt with in District court; nothing to do with divorce. Don't even need to be separated to get a child maintenance order.
 
As others have said you should do the paperwork and apply to the courts. Costs nothing. They can decide whether your ex has sufficient means to up the payment which 12 years ago when it was set doesn't look at first glance to be an inappropriate amount. It all depends on Affadavit of means for both of you and what he can reasonably afford to contribute. Without that information no one on a public forum can offer a definitive opinion.
 
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