Child Maintenance/support

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CAPS LOCK

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What's the going rate (maintenance) for a teenager?

I know that the amount will vary depending on each person's personal circumstances. I would like to get a "guage" on what the norm is nowadays.

I pay R2000.00 a month. Then I pay half for school books, extra-curricular school activities and school stationery etc.


P.S I did a search and these are the results I get :wtf:

cm.jpg
 
Last edited:
ShaunSA said:
/cue Celine
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wrong person shaun dearest. i didn't ask for maintenance from the ex. i did it on my own when i got my divorce and never asked for a cent from my child's father. my opinion would be for the woman to pay her fair share quite honestly and move on with her life. the only reason for maintenance is to annoy the man for the rest of his natural life. sure he has a child but don't hound him. the man must just pay his fair share is my opinion on the whole matter.

and i'm being truthful on this whole subject.
 
It varies greatly according to the parent's income, but for average middle-class earners it's a minimum of R4000 p.m. per child
 
Celine said:
wrong person shaun dearest. i didn't ask for maintenance from the ex. i did it on my own when i got my divorce and never asked for a cent from my child's father. my opinion would be for the woman to pay her fair share quite honestly and move on with her life. the only reason for maintenance is to annoy the man for the rest of his natural life. sure he has a child but don't hound him. the man must just pay his fair share is my opinion on the whole matter.

and i'm being truthful on this whole subject.
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I just want to know what "fair share" is, I have no compunctions paying, never have. I also don't want to subsidize her because she can't manage finances and usually spends beyond her means.
 
Celine said:
wrong person shaun dearest. i didn't ask for maintenance from the ex. i did it on my own when i got my divorce and never asked for a cent from my child's father. my opinion would be for the woman to pay her fair share quite honestly and move on with her life. the only reason for maintenance is to annoy the man for the rest of his natural life. sure he has a child but don't hound him. the man must just pay his fair share is my opinion on the whole matter.

and i'm being truthful on this whole subject.
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What is wrong with expecting the child's father to pay? I am all for mother's standing on their rights. Too many men doge this responsibility.

samr1wp said:
/waits for Blu
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:)

Chi Chi said:
It varies greatly according to the parent's income, but for average middle-class earners it's a minimum of R4000 p.m. per child
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Where do you get that figure from ? Sounds excessive.
 
I get €270p/m, and we are thinking of having that reassessed soon. My folks help out with some of the costs for extra murals etc (otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford any of it). Perhaps to move closer to €300-€320pm.

No idea how to put that on a sliding scale for cost of living in Europe vs SA, but I'm sure someone on here can draw a comparison (I have no clue about the costs in SA anymore).

Daughter is 9.
 
Assuming both parents earn equally: You're splitting school fees, medical aid, food, medicine, entertainment, clothes and a whole gamut of other expenses that add up quite quickly.

For a teenager, R2k is lowballing it a little to be honest. Why not simply ask for a breakdown of monthly kid related expenses and work from there?
 
xeslaro said:
I just want to know what "fair share" is, I have no compunctions paying, never have. I also don't want to subsidize her because she can't manage finances and usually spends beyond her means.
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from a guy who is going through a divorce, it's a standard thing that is put into a contract. they take the cost ofthe number of people living in a household(ie. parent and kid) and then factor that into it. i am still confused by all of it but there is no set fee, you take costs into account and you and your ex have to contribute to them equally, but if you are looking after a child then you are already contributing most of your money towards the child, so the other parent ahs to make up for what they don't spend being the primary caregiver
 
blunomore said:
What is wrong with expecting the child's father to pay? I am all for mother's standing on their rights. Too many men doge this responsibility.
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Nothing as long as it's fair. Would you want the father to foot the entire bill or would you prefer the fair route of 50:50? Or would you prefer a route of 150:50 where the mother takes the extra cash to buy shoes and wine?

I know there are some c**t fathers out there that don't pay anything but don't paint all of them with the same brush. I see a lot of fathers getting the short end of the stick and they are definitely not shirking their responsibility.

It takes two to have a child, I don't see why it should not be a 50:50 contribution in money and time for the child.

This thread just grates my ass (I don't have children, well not that I know of anyway :D ) but when I hear about divorce cases where the wife demands half of whatever her husband accumulated in his lifetime I wanna puke when she never had a high income to start off with before marriage, her household activities after marriage was basically shopping, having lunch & gossiping all day while the house was cleaned by two maids and the kids had full on school and aftercare. You basically have to sustain the lifestyle you provided to her in the first place, they don't even have to go work again as you do that for them. These woman do NOTHING exept bitch about their husbands because they are never home and working long hours to provide the life they are now having (yes I've witnessed it as I have been roped into a few kids parties where they are present).

I'm not saying all women are like this (I know few that got divorced and wanted nothing) but I reckon men get a bad deal these days. We're not all angels but I reckon the majority of fathers will move mountains for their kids yet they don;t get the same rights.
 
Icarium said:
Assuming both parents earn equally: You're splitting school fees, medical aid, food, medicine, entertainment, clothes and a whole gamut of other expenses that add up quite quickly.

For a teenager, R2k is lowballing it a little to be honest. Why not simply ask for a breakdown of monthly kid related expenses and work from there?
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I would gladly give all my salary if I could have 50% of his time with me too, as ordered by the court. Unfortunately she has moved to another province (few years ago), and as such, I now got to scrape to fly him in order to see him. Sucks balls.

What grates me too is the fact that I contribute to the boring uninspiring expenses like school fees and medical aid, her 50% is probably the "nicer things in life" the movie tickets, the clothes, the ice-creams. I know its a childish outlook, but still, a kid probably appreciates new clothes over medical expenses.

I know my amount is "lowballing it", I see her innuendos have are already begun. :whistle:

P.S Our relationship (ex and me) is good, amicable.
 
The parent who has custody of the child has additional hidden expenses (for example the need for a bigger house) so I'm not sure that a 50:50 division of the child's expenses is fair either.
 
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