Spousal Maintenance

Have you been left without proper financial support after a separation from your partner?

Struggling to pay the bills, while your partner keeps all their income to themselves?

You need to seek urgent expert legal advice from the Accredited Specialist in Family Law at Henniekrs.

The Family Law Act recognises that in some circumstances a separated party may be entitled to spousal maintenance. These are payments made by one party to another (normally made as weekly payments) to ensure that after separation both parties are able to properly maintain themselves.

A claim for spousal maintenance often can arise where during the relationship one party has taken on a homemaker role, while the other party has advanced their career to the extent that they are on a significant income at the time of separation. However, you still could be entitled to spousal maintenance even if you are working and earing an income.

The Family Court first must consider whether one party has a need for spousal maintenance. That is, does that person not have enough money to meet their weekly financial needs. The lack of ability to support oneself needs to be due to:

(a)  having the care and control of a child of the relationship who has not attained the age of 18 years; 

(b)  by reason of age or physical or mental incapacity for appropriate gainful employment; or 

(c)  for any other adequate reason.

The court then must consider whether the other party has sufficient income to meet the needs of the other party.

If any of the above factors sound similar to your situation, you should seek urgent legal advice.

Our experienced Family Law Lawyers can help you every step of the way. If you are concerned that assets are being hidden or undervalued we can investigate for you. We have experience in obtaining financial information to ensure you are fully informed, even when the other side are trying to hide things. We can even help with getting expert valuations on your home or business. A property settlement is a financial decision that will impact on the rest of your life. Take the guess work out of the decision and contact us today.

We are here to take the stress out of your settlement and guide you through the complex Family Court system. While it may be a daunting and new experience for you, our experienced Family Lawyers do this every day. Let Hennikers share our wealth of experience and knowledge with you to achieve the result you want.

Seek advice from the best. You can rest assured that at Hennikers you will getting the absolute best advice and legal support in your case.