MAINTENANCE LAW IN PAKISTAN FOR CHILDREN

According to Pakistan's family laws, fathers are legally obligated to support their children financially until they reach adulthood. For boys, this is 18 years of age and for girls, this is until they get married. If a father defaults on paying child support, a lawsuit can be filed against him in Family Court. The court will then determine how much child support the father should have been paying from the date of the default and render a final judgment accordingly. Additionally, the Family court also fixes the annual increase in maintenance. Law requires a 10% increment per annum in the maintenance fixed by the court payable to children. If Father still fails to pay maintenance as determined by the court, his assets are attached by the court and are auctioned to recover the arrears. In absence of assets owned by the father, the court can also issue non-bailable warrants after which Father can be arrested. Father cannot, therefore, excuse from paying the maintenance to children on the plea that he is unemployed or he has limited income. However, if the father genuinely does not have any source of income and is unemployed, the responsibility for maintaining the children shifts to the grandfather. The grandfather is then obligated to provide financial support for the children.

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WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING CHILD MAINTENANCE IN PAKISTAN?

In Pakistan, fathers are legally required to support their children financially. This includes daughters until they get married, and sons until they turn 18. However, if a son is not working and is dependent on his father, he can claim maintenance for things like academic fees and foreign studies. Biological fathers have always been legally obligated to financially support their children, but in recent years, this has been extended to foster and adoptive fathers as well. Generally, it is the father's responsibility to pay child support, but in some cases, the mother may also be ordered to pay if she is working or has her own business. If a mother has the means to support her children but refuses to do so, she may be held liable. Fathers are usually the ones who are legally required to support their children financially, but this doesn't mean that the mother is exempt from child support if she is the one with custody of the child. In fact, mothers can file a lawsuit against the father in order to receive child support payments to help cover necessary expenses for the child like educational costs, milk, clothing, travel, and recreation.

WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF MAINTENANCE AMOUNT PAYABLE PER MONTH TO THE CHILD BY THE FATHER?

The monthly maintenance value payable to minors is not mentioned in the law. Maintenance payable to minors can be fixed by an act of law, which means the decree or order of the court. The amount of maintenance is generally based on the financial soundness of the father.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMING MAINTENANCE OF A CHILD IN PAKISTAN?

Under Pakistani law, child maintenance is either consensually agreed upon or can be claimed in Family Court or before the Chairman of a Union Council. The monthly amount of maintenance a father is obliged to pay is based on their financial stability as well as other important factors that the court or Union Council takes into consideration. The exact expense of the minor is to be established so as to decide the exact value that the minor requires for financial support in order to meet daily necessities. As the case may take time till it is decided, the court or Union Council during the pendency of the case fixes interim maintenance of minor which is increased or decreased after a full examination of the facts and circumstances of each case.

CAN A MOTHER SEPARATED BUT NOT DIVORCES CLAIM MAINTENANCE FOR A MINOR FROM A FATHER?

A mother does not have to be divorced in order to claim child maintenance from the father - this has nothing to do with the status of marriage. As discussed before, the father cannot avoid his responsibility to support and maintain the child just because custody is with the mother.

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WHAT IS THE AGE LIMIT FOR A CHILD TO CLAIM MAINTENANCE FROM THE FATHER?

Daughters in Pakistan are legally entitled to maintenance from their fathers until they marry. This is because the responsibility for their upkeep shifts from their father to their husband once they marry, and husbands cannot claim maintenance from their wives after marriage. However, if a daughter gets divorced and has no income of her own, her father's obligation to support her cannot be ignored. In this case, the daughter can still claim maintenance from her father until she remarries.

FOR SON

A father is required by law to support his son until the age of 18 years. The rationale behind this is that once a person reaches the age of majority, they are expected to be self- sufficient; however, if the son wants to continue his education and is still dependent on the father, the father cannot refuse to provide maintenance. As a result, there is no set rule or formula that the father can use to get out of his obligation to support his children simply because the son has turned 18 years old. Each case is unique, each one must be decided based on its own specific facts and circumstances.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE WHEN THE FATHER FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THE MAINTENANCE ORDER /DECREE?

If the father fails to comply with the court-ordered child support payments, the court can order wage garnishment or attach other assets. In cases where there are no assets to attach, the court can also order the father's arrest. If arrested, the father will have to spend 6 months to 1 year in jail. Grandfathers are also liable to satisfy decrees of maintenance payable to minors, in addition to maintaining the minors themselves. This includes attaching any assets of the grandfather to the decree, in order to satisfy it.

MAINTENANCE LAW IN PAKISTAN FOR CHILDREN

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING CHILD MAINTENANCE IN PAKISTAN?

WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF MAINTENANCE AMOUNT PAYABLE PER MONTH TO THE CHILD BY THE FATHER?

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMING MAINTENANCE OF A CHILD IN PAKISTAN?

CAN A MOTHER SEPARATED BUT NOT DIVORCES CLAIM MAINTENANCE FOR A MINOR FROM A FATHER?

WHAT IS THE AGE LIMIT FOR A CHILD TO CLAIM MAINTENANCE FROM THE FATHER?

FOR SON

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE WHEN THE FATHER FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THE MAINTENANCE ORDER /DECREE?

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