Maintenance variation order query

Senature

Hi, has anyone experience of getting a variation on their maintenance order where their financial circumstances unchanged? The kids are now at third level so the set up to pay all the money to mum is no longer suitable as the kids are paying for their own transport, clothes, activities, phone, a lot of their own food, are away a lot etc. Mum doesn't give them any contribution to these expenses at all despite good job, lifestyle and maintenance.

Would a court agree for the maintenance to be split where some goes to kids and some to mum? There's a concern that mum will react badly to the proposed changes and who knows what ruling a court/judge might make.

Henry Ford III

You can apply for a variation on a maintenance order certainly, but if your ex might not agree with it. You might end up in court and as you say who knows what might happen there.

The only way to avoid this is to talk to your ex and try and reach an agreement between yourselves. Good luck.

Ezeoul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058330356/maintenance-variation-order-query

Your own financial circumstances might not have changed, but the family circumstances have changed, as you said, kids are older and more self-sufficient.

It is recommended that maintenance be revisited every two years or so. Mum will need to justify why she still needs the same level of maintenance from you when kids are paying for their own stuff. so in your circumstances, I think you have a good chance at a variance. You might not get on until they are finished college though, and I personally have never heard of a court agreeing to maintenance being paid directly to adult children.

Senature

Belated thanks for the replies. It is a bit of a conundrum. It really needs to be easier and cheaper to revisit maintenance orders. There are totally different needs for kids who are 5, 15 or 20. All well and good to suggest revising every 2 years, but the legal costs and fear of flippant and unaffordable rulings prevent that from being realistic.

In this case, the coparenting relationship is tense at best. It just seems all wrong for there to be a court order on one party only while both parents are involved in providing day to day care. The 'kids' do live with their mum most of the time, so she is paying for household food and utilities for this. Almost all other costs such as school, medical, dental are divided between the parents. It is difficult to see how the maintenance is justifiable at the current level, especially with the monies not being made available to the kids for their transport, clothes, food etc.

I find the commonly held view that maintaining a good relationship with the mother depends on paying way above the costs involved for many years a bit ridiculous. It's not a personal attack on anyone to look at the costs and reassess, it's a financial transaction. Unfortunately I expect it would be viewed as a personal attack and no amount of reasoning or common sense would change that.

Ezeoul

I'm sure you probably know this already, but if its the District Court, you can represent yourself. I mention this for the sake of others reading the thread.

You will be asked to fill in an Affidavit of Means, pretty much as when the original order was made, and so will the mother.

Some more information here:

https://services.courts.ie/Family-Law/maintenance/change-or-appeal-an-order

Nothing ventured, nothing gained?