Late Service of Maintenance Plea Can Backfire on Wife

Question:

Can a wife lose out if she files a maintenance plea against her husband at the family court to safeguard her interests, but waits quite a time before serving it on him, incase their relationship improves and her husband decides not to fill for divorce at the rabbinical court ?

Answer:

Yes, possibly she could lose 'jurisdiction' at the family court over maintenance on the grounds of 'bad faith'. Where both parties are Jewish, for the family court to gain jurisdiction over her maintenance the wife must file for it there before the husband files for divorce at the rabbinical court and binds his wife's financial support to his plea. If she files first at the family court but waits too long and only serves the plea on him after he reveals his cards and files for divorce at the rabbinical court, and ties her maintenance and property matters to the plea, then this could backfire.

In a case before Rishon LeZion family court in November 2006, a wife waited two months before she served her husband with the maintenance file she opened there – in response to him filing for divorce the rabbinical court and tying in the subject. The family court said that filing first chronologically does not automatically win her jurisdiction, if she, herself, acts in bad faith.

Usually one should not delay serving a plea once filed for more than a couple of weeks.

Wife’s Maintenance – From When Claimed

Question :

I have been living separately from my husband for several months now. I wanted ‘time out’ before deciding whether to opt for divorce. I have decided to file for maintenance anyway – can I get it from when we separated  a few months ago ?

Answer:

No ! A wife is not entitled to get maintenance relating to a period before she files her plea. She is only entitled to get maintenance from the time she files for it. Sometimes when a couple come to an agreement the parties will agree on an earlier date from when maintenance is to be paid.

Wife’s Maintenance Plea - Husband Bears Legal Costs

Question :

I am filing my husband for maintenance. We are both Jewish. Can I include the legal costs involved in bringing the case in what I claim and am I likely to succeed in getting them ?

Answer:

According to Jewish law a husband must pay his wife maintenance and cover all her real needs. The crucial question is whether the costs involved in filing him for maintenance are included in his obligation. The Supreme Court has held that is a question of the husband’s personal law. Regarding Jews, where the maintenance plea was filed in connection with her genuine needs then the husband should reimburse her for the legal costs involving in bringing the action i.e. the lawyer’s fee and the court fees. In the particular case, the woman had paid these out first and then included them in her maintenance claim.

Husband Refuses To Support Wife

Question:

I can stand my husband’s mean behaviour no longer. He does not give me money for housekeeping. I have to keep borrowing from friends and family. I know that he is building up quite a substantial sum for himself in some secret savings account. He refuses to discuss financial matters. What can I do ? We’re both Jewish.

Answer:

Under Jewish law a husband has a duty to support his wife and children. If he does not fulfil his duty to give you “maintenance” you can apply for maintenance for yourself either at the family court, (usually preferable)  or at the rabbinical court.

Jewish Wife’s Maintenance – Husband Jewish

Question:

My husband has walked out and moved in with his girlfriend. I have no money to support myself. Does my husband have a duty to do so, and where must I apply for such support ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

Under Jewish law a husband has a duty to support his wife so long as they are married. You can choose to sue him for maintenance either at the family court or at the rabbinical court. Usually the civil system is more favourable to a woman.

‘Quasi- Rebellious’ Husband & Wife’s Maintenance

Question:

My husband left me to live with another woman. I want to file him for maintenance. Does his behaviour affect the amount of maintenance I will get? I work.

Answer:

A Jewish man who leaves his wife for another woman is a ‘quasi-rebellious husband’. He is entitled to deduct what his wife earns from the amount of maintenance he is obliged to pay her . However, his negative behaviour can ‘increase’ the amount of maintenance he pays if she has a certain work-related benefit with a fund in her name. In a case before the Tel Aviv Family Court the wife had a benefit from the army. Normally a husband is entitled to deduct the ‘fruit’ from such a fund from the amount of maintenance he has to pay his wife. Where the husband leaves his wife for another woman he is not entitled to do so – which effectively increases her maintenance.
 

Wife’s Maintenance – After Long Separation

Question:

Is a wife who has lived separately from her husband for many years entitled to sue him retroactively for maintenance , and can she sue him for maintenance while they are still married, if they are both Jewish ?

Answer:

As a rule a wife is entitled to maintenance while she remains married to her husband, even if they are separated, under Jewish law. However, where she many years have elapsed since they lived together and she did not sue him for maintenance during this period, then she will probably be regarded as having forfeited that right to the ‘lost’ maintenance. Regarding the future, however, her right to maintenance will depend on the particular circumstances of their separation. If , for example, she committed adultery and left him for another man, then she will lose her right to maintenance, but if he drove her out of the home through his unreasonable behaviour, or he refuses to grant her a divorce, for example, then she will not lose her right to maintenance from him as long as they remain married.

Elderly Couple Divorce – Wife's Rights:

If married Jewish senior citizens who live off their state benefits, and the husband's private pension, divorce, will the wife be able to get maintenance from him?

Answer:

No – after divorce a wife is not entitled to maintenance from her husband under Jewish law. However, she will be entitled to a share of his private pension relating to the rights accrued during their marriage, as part of her property rights, even if she was a housekeeper and homemaker and did not work outside the home. In principle, she is entitled to half of his private pension rights relating to the years of their marriage.

Wife’s Maintenance Entitlement Independent of Custody Issue

Question:

I am in my second marriage. My husband and I are both Jewish. I have custody of my children from my first marriage , who are in their late teens, and it looks as if my current husband will get custody of our mutual son, who is nearing Barmitzvah age. Am I entitled to maintenance for myself from my husband if he gets custody of our son?

Answer:

Yes! A Jewish wife is entitled to maintenance from her Jewish husband throughout their marriage by virtue of her married status. Her right to be supported during the marriage, up until they divorce, is totally independent from the question of who gets custody of any mutual child/ren they have.

What A Wife’s Maintenance Includes – Jewish Couple

Question:

My husband has moved out to live with his lover. I have remained in our large villa. I want to file for maintenance. I am used to a very high standard of living – going out to the theatre and restaurants several times a week, having a subscription at the Israeli Philharmonic and membership at a country club, plus holidays abroad, daily domestic help and a gardener . Can I claim for these as well as for my basic needs ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

Yes!  Apart from basic needs associated with running a home (electricity, municipal taxes, water, phone, food etc), a court must also consider other costs associated with the lifestyle to which a wife has become accustomed. Where applicable, a wife can claim for a level of maintenance that takes into account the cost and frequency of holidays abroad, entertainment, country club /gym fees, studies,clothing, visits to the beautician and/or hairdresser and the salaries of domestic/maintenance staff etc.

Wife’s Rights To Separate Accommodation

Question:

My husband is making my life hell. He is a bully, is physically and verbally violent, insulting , and rude. We are both Jewish. Am I expected to put up with this or am I entitled to live separately, and does he have to enable this financially?

Answer:

A wife’s right to maintenance includes an element for her ‘accommodation’. She has the right to lead a peaceful home-life. She cannot be expected to put up with physical and verbal violence . This behaviour means that the husband is not fulfilling his marital duty to provide his wife with peaceful living conditions. In a situation like this the wife is entitled to live separately and be supported by her husband. In the Kasif case the Supreme Court held in the eighties that this ‘separate accommodation’ can be expressed in three different ways, by the husband:
a) making a separate home available for his wife and children.

b) leaving the family home.

c) making separate accommodation available within the family home.

Wife’s Wages Deducted From Her Maintenance

Question:

If a wife works does this mean she is entitled to less maintenance from her husband if they are both Jewish?

Answer:

Yes! A woman’s salary is taken off what her husband should has to pay her but it does not free him of supporting her. For example in a case before Tel Aviv Family Court in June 2002 the court held that a husband should pay the wife 2,500 shekels maintenance, which covered her basic needs. This took into account the fact that she earned 4,000 shekels. This salary, without maintenance from her husband, forced her to accept a considerable drop in her standard of living – and according to Jewish law she is entitled to maintain the standard of living she was used to . Together the maintenance her husband paid and her salary should allow her to live as she did before

Jewish Law-  Husband Cannot Force Wife To Work

Question

My wife and I are having marital problems because of financial pressure. She has threatened to sue me for maintenance. I said she should go out to work and help bring in money. She said I can’t force her to do that. Who is right?

Answer:

Yes! According to Jewish law a wife does not have to work outside the home and bring in a salary. If she does her salary will be taken off any maintenance obligation her husband owes her. However, a husband cannot demand that his wife work outside the home to relieve himself of his maintenance obligation to her during their marriage.

Stopping Work Unjustifiably – Lack of Good Faith

Question:

My wife and I are locked in legal proceedings at the family court . Beforehand she had always worked (and  was always in demand as a mother-tongue English secretary). She has now given up her job and claimed maintenance for herself as well as the children. Is she entitled to act this way and suddenly have me support her ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

While in principle a Jewish wife is not required to work and is entitled to be supported by her husband, where she does not act in good faith she loses her right. So held a family court in 2002 when the wife suddenly resigned from her well-paid job when legal proceedings began between the Jewish couple - and filed for maintenance for herself and two of the couple’s children over whom she had custody. Her husband wanted to divorce but she claimed she did not.

Rejecting the wife's plea for her own maintenance, the court held that her resignation from work and conscious choice not to realise her earning potential showed a lack of good faith and indicated that she had filed her husband for financial support as a means of putting pressure on him regarding the division of their property. Furthermore, it held it was not consistent with her claim to want a marital reconciliation.

Leave Home - Lose Maintenance?

Question:

My marriage is at crisis-point. People scare me that if I leave the family home I will lose my right for maintenance for me and my kids. My husband and I are both Jewish. Is this so?

Answer:

No, there is some truth in the myth but it is misleading.

Children are entitled to maintenance irrespective of their mother’s behaviour and whether they leave the family home with her or not.

Regarding a wife’s right to maintenance, this exists as long as she is married, even if she leaves the marital home provided she is justified in doing so e.g. where her husband is violent. If, however, she leaves without justification, then under Jewish law she is likely to lose this right even if she is still married.

Wife's Maintenance Where She Owns Apartment

Question:

I am considering divorcing , second time round at the rabbinate . Am I obliged to provide my wife with accommodation if we are still officially married ? We both own apartments.

Answer:

Accommodation is one of the elements in a woman's maintenance that a husband is supposed to provide his wife with. If your wife has an apartment which is available for her use, then her accommodation needs are catered for, If, however, her apartment is rented out , and not available, but she gets rental income from it, then this amount can be deducted from the maintenance she is entitled to. The same result can be reached even if the apartment is not rented out – the potential rental income can be established and can be deducted from the maintenance she is entitled to.

Wife’s Maintenance – High Standard of Living

Question:

My husband has fallen in love with his secretary and wants to divorce me. To show me he is serious and to force me to agree he has almost stopped supporting me financially. He has fired our domestic help and gardener, taken my car and credit cards. I have never had to get a job and over the years I have been accustomed to a very high standard of living . Will I have to give it up ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

A Jewish husband owes his wife maintenance “according to her standing.” Jewish religious law even says that a husband should respect his wife more than himself.

Accordingly a couple’s standard of living is an important factor in determining the level of a wife’s maintenance. If for example, a wife’s present standard of living is lower than it was in the past e.g. because the husband has deliberately reduced the amount of money available to his wife for whatever reason, or because he has lost his job, and she can prove that she was used to leading a very comfortable life, then the court must take the higher standard of living into account when it sets the level of maintenance.

Level of Maintenance- Newly-wed Wife – Jewish Couple

Question:

If young Jewish newly-weds split up before having children , will the court take into account the fact that the wife is young and has only been married a short time when it sets her maintenance?

Answer:

Yes – but only in special, exceptional circumstances. As a rule, under Jewish law a husband is obliged to support his wife. A few Supreme Court rulings in the early 90’s seemed to start setting a trend whereby a young wife who had been married for only a short time or a woman who had worked but then ceased to do so would only be entitled to minimum maintenance. However, this was the exception, not the rule, stressed the Tel Aviv family court in December 2001, referring to the key Supreme Court ruling in the Mazor case . This affirmed that a Jewish wife was under no obligation to work outside the home. Even a woman who had never worked outside the home or who had worked and then stopped was entitled to maintenance , it said. Only in exceptionally rare circumstances should courts depart from this, it held.

In the case before the family court the young, childless couple had met through the internet and had been married for only a year. The wife had worked but lost her job. The husband left the family home. The court rejected the husband’s claim that a wife who had been married for just a year and claimed she could not find suitable work after being fired from her job was only entitled to minimal maintenance, if any. It set temporary maintenance of 5,000 shekels, and held that the wife would be entitled to permanent maintenance.
 

Maintenance: Husband Unemployed, Wife Employed, Both Jewish

Question:

My wife told me recently that she wants to divorce . I do not feel ready for this emotionally. My wife has worked in a bank for many years, bringing home a very respective salary. I worked as head of sales and marketing but was made redundant because the firm is being liquidated. My wife has told me that she plans to file a maintenance claim against me even though I will stop being eligible for unemployment pay soon. What are my wife’s chances of getting maintenance from me , given our circumstances ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

According to Jewish law which is adopted by civil law a Jewish husband has a maintenance obligation towards his wife.

Traditionally and according to Jewish law, a wife who worked outside the home had to give her salary to her husband. Over the years caselaw gave a more modern interpretation to this and held that a wife could retain her salary rather than handing it over to her husband, as against his maintenance obligation towards her.

If a woman earns a low or modest salary and she can prove in court that her needs exceed it, then she can get supplementary maintenance from her husband to meet the gap. If, however, her salary is high, and her husband is unemployed , then he will almost certainly be exempt from paying her maintenance, and if he does work but earns less than her he will probably have to pay very little maintenance.

Maintenance: Unemployed Husband & Housewife

Case

My wife and I have been quarrelling for years. She has not worked outside the home, devoting herself to raising the children and looking after the house. I became unemployed when the textile company where I worked for many years made cutbacks . My wife keeps complaining that I don’t bring home money to support her anymore. She has threatened to file me for maintenance. Is it possible that a court could order me to pay maintenance if I am out of work ? We are both Jewish.

Answer:

According to Jewish law and to Israeli civil law – The Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Act of 1959 - a husband has to pay his wife maintenance according to his personal/religious law, where applicable. When a maintenance plea is filed against a husband and the court will examine two parameters – (a) his actual earnings from his salary and (b) his earning potential.

Where the husband is temporarily out of work the court can still set maintenance according to his future earning potential.

An additional basis for his maintenance obligation in Jewish Law is the concept that a man’s wife ‘ ascends with him and does not descend.’ This means that if a wife has become accustomed to a certain standard of living and then her husband’s income drops she is not expected to suffer, and she is entitled to receive maintenance according to the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed.

Wife Takes Loan To Cover Maintenance

Question:

My sister hardly gets any money from her husband for housekeeping and any extras like clothing . She refuses to go to the rabbinical court and file for divorce. Although she has never asked me for money I’ve helped , ‘lending’ her several thousand shekels on a number of occasions, because I cannot bear to see her suffer. Do I have a right to get this money back from my brother-in-law who should be supporting her ?

Answer:

If a husband refuses to provide for his wife financially and a relative or someone else volunteers to support her without being asked, then that person has no legal grounds for legal action against either one of them. The fact that a husband has a duty under Jewish law to provide his wife with maintenance during their marriage does not confer upon someone who voluntarily supports her ( when he does not )a legal right to claim the money back from him. Furthermore, if the wife did not ask the person who gave her money to do so, then he is not legally entitled to getting it back from her. Using the same argument, he has no legal right to sue the husband for it if he or his wife did not request a loan.

However, if , for example, the husband leaves the home without providing his wife with any means of support, and she is forced to get a loan in lieu of maintenance which her husband has a duty to provide, then the situation may be different. The husband continues to have a legal obligation to support his wife and his maintenance debt grows all the time. Now, the person providing the loan, for example a relative or friend, probably has no legal right to claim the money loaned back directly from the husband. He/she would need to sue the wife for repayment of the loan and she in turn would be entitled to counter sue her husband for the loan taken out instead of the maintenance he should provide her with. In exceptional circumstances, and where the wife has no way of paying and cannot be located, the person providing the loan would be entitled to sue the husband directly.
 

‘Voluntary’ Maintenance- No Right To Claim Back From Husband

Question:

Our married daughter has been living with us in our home for several months now. We have been supporting her completely. Her husband will not give her money to support herself. We have told her time and time again to file for divorce at the rabbinical court but she does not seem to listen, saying she loves him. She did not ask for help; we offered it. Do we have any right to get the money we have spent supporting our daughter back from her husband ?

Answer:

No! Although according to Jewish Law a husband has a duty to support his wife financially (pay her maintenance), if he does not do so and her parents invite her to move back into their home and support her, they have no legal claim against their daughter or their son-in-law for money they laid out on her during this period. This is because she did not ask her parents to support her financially and nor did her husband – they just volunteered . Therefore, if they tried to sue him for the money they spent supporting his wife their plea would probably be thrown out
 

Precedent in Woman’s Maintenance – Jews & Civil Marriage

Question:

If a Jewish woman and man who are residents or citizens of Israel marry in a civil ceremony abroad is she entitled to maintenance ?

Answer:

Yes, in principle, according to a ground-breaking Supreme Court Precedent of December 2003. In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court Precedent panel of 3 judges unanimously accepted an appeal by a woman against a judgment by the District Court rejecting her right to maintenance from her husband whom she had married by ‘proxy’ in a civil marriage conducted in Paraguay. Both parties were Jewish. Until this precedent, a Jewish woman who married a Jewish man in a civil ceremony abroad was not entitled to maintenance because such a marriage was invalid according to Jewish law. This ruling, however, held that such a woman was entitled to maintenance – basing the obligation on contract law. When a man and a woman who are Jewish and both citizens/residents of Israel marry in a civil ceremony abroad, they enter into a contract which gives rise to mutual rights and obligations , including maintenance.

Maintenance and Validity of Marriage – Jews

Question:

Is a woman’s right to maintenance from her husband dependent on the validity of her marriage where both parties are Jewish ?

Answer:

Until December 2003 the answer was yes. Where both parties were Jewish, the woman was entitled to maintenance from her husband if her marriage was valid according to Jewish law. A woman who married in a civil ceremony abroad was not entitled to maintenance from her husband even if they were both Jewish.

However, the answer is now no – even a Jewish woman who chooses to marry her Jewish husband in a civil ceremony is entitled to maintenance. A ground-breaking judgment of the Supreme Court severed the connection between status/validity of the marriage and the woman’s right to maintenance when it held that a Jewish woman who ‘ marries ‘ a Jewish man in a civil ceremony abroad is entitled to maintenance from him where they are citizens/residents of Israel.

Jewish Immigrants– Civil Marriage and Maintenance Obligation

Question:

What maintenance law applies to a Jewish woman who married a Jewish man in a civil ceremony abroad and then made ‘aliyah’ to Israel?

Answer:

Jewish law, and not the Israeli law of contracts which can give rise to a maintenance obligation where a Jewish couple marry in a civil ceremony abroad. This point was made very clear by the Supreme Court in December 2003 when it held that civil marriage abroad between a Jewish man and woman gave rise to a maintenance obligation arising from the law of contracts. Before this, a Jewish woman’s right to maintenance from her Jewish husband was dependent on the validity or status of her marriage in the eyes of Jewish law., mention was made of equality. This remains the case where the couple are Jewish but immigrated to Israel after first marrying in a civil ceremony abroad.

The Supreme Court said:  “ This(ruling) does not apply in the case of Jews who underwent a civil marriage where they were residents or citizens of a foreign country, and afterwards made ‘aliyah’ to Israel. In this situation the ruling in the Shmuel case applies, according to which the laws of maintenance are set according to Jewish law ”.

Jewish Wife Admits Adultery – Loses Maintenance

Question:

My wife has told me she has been having an affair. I don’t know whether to believe her or whether it is a trick because she wants a ‘get’ (Jewish divorce) . Do I have to support her financially if she admits to having an affair?

Answer:

If a wife tells her husband that she had sex with another man he is not automatically ‘forbidden’ to be with her according to Jewish law, unless it is established that she is telling the truth. She may be lying but be tricking him into agreeing to divorce. If she really has committed adultery then according to Jewish law the husband has to divorce her and is freed from paying her maintenance. She can be ordered to divorce her husband and if she refuses sanctions can be taken against her to enforce the rabbinical court’s Judgment . If she refuses to accept a ‘get’ the rabbinical court can even allow the husband to ‘take a second wife’.

Adultery & Maintenance: Wife Has Benefit of Doubt

Question:

My wife has filed me for maintenance at the family court. We are both Jewish and married in a traditional religious ceremony. I believe she has a lover and that under Jewish law she will lose her right to maintenance if she has committed adultery. Who bears the burden of proof about adultery?

Answer:

The woman has the benefit of doubt and is presumed to be faithful towards her husband and retain her right to maintenance under Jewish law unless he manages to prove that she committed adultery.

Photo of Wife Kissing – Maintenance

Question:

Is a photo taken of a wife kissing another man enough to cancel her right to maintenance under Jewish law?

Answer:

At the family court a photograph of this nature will probably not be sufficient, unless it is really explicit and intimate, and it clearly cannot be mistaken for a social gesture. However, if the maintenance proceedings are at the rabbinical court, and not the family court, the risk of the wife losing maintenance based on evidence short of direct evidence of explicit sexual acts, is arguably greater.

In January 2005 Tel Aviv Family Court rejected a husband's claim that his wife's behaviour had resulted in her losing her claim to maintenance. It held that "the wife did not admit in cross-examination that she had committed adultery, and the husband did not prove his claim to the required standard by law and case-law." Furthermore, a picture of the wife kissing another man cited as an example of an "ugly act" , or unbecoming/immodest behaviour for a married woman, under Jewish law, was insufficient to result in her losing her right to maintenance, it held.
 
Editor's Note:
 
Unmistakable evidence of adultery is both grounds for divorce under Jewish law, at the rabbinical court, and grounds for a wife losing her right to maintenance while she remains married, at the rabbinical court or the family court, wherever the claim for financial support is being heard.
 

Adultery, Equality & Woman’s Maintenance

Question:

I have filed my husband, who left me, for maintenance. We are both Jewish. After staying at home for ages I have started having a social life. My husband warned me that if I start dating someone I will lose my rights to maintenance. This seems unfair as he is living with another woman – is it true?

Answer:
 
Yes! Under Jewish law if a wife has been proved to have committed adultery then she loses her right to financial support from her husband. This is so even if he himself has committed adultery – or does so now on a regular basis .
 
In the 1990’s the Supreme Court adopted a more liberal approach and recognised in the Gal case that a wife who is separated from her husband need not lock herself up at home, but can have a social life without losing her right to maintenance. However, an intimate relationship with a man can result in her losing this right if adultery is proved.
 
In September 2000 the Tel Aviv family court tried to impose ‘modern’ concepts of equality to Jewish law by way of its controversial but non-binding comments in a maintenance case. The family court has indirect jurisdiction to rule on whether a Jewish wife committed adultery for the purposes of deciding on her maintenance plea. In the particular case the couple had lived separately for years and the husband admitted that he had fathered twins from an extra-marital affair. He claimed that his wife had lost her right to maintenance because she was having an affair, or alternatively, because she was leading an active social life, defined in Jewish law as ‘ ugly behaviour ’. The wife was awarded temporary maintenance as the husband had failed to prove adultery. However, it commented that even if she had committed adultery, she would not have lost her right to maintenance because the husband had also had committed adultery. This non-binding remark contradicts Jewish law. A Jewish wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband under Jewish law, but not vice versa, if she behaves correctly.

Adultery Blocks Jewish Wife's Alimony - Even At Family Court !

Question:

I filed for maintenance at the rabbinical court but lost as my husband persuaded the religious judges there that I was having an affair. They then ordered me to accept a divorce from him. Am I still entitled to maintenance at the family court in the meantime?

Answer:

No! Once a rabbinical court rules that a wife has committed adultery then she loses her right to maintenance from her husband completely. It is final and she will be prevented from being entitled to maintenance at the family court even if she actually opens a file there.

Rabbinical Findings & Wife's Maintenance At Family Court

Question:

When will a man be able to persuade the family court to stop him paying his wife maintenance because of divorce proceedings at the rabbinical court, based on his allegations of her adultery ?
 
Answer:

Only after the rabbinical court makes positive findings about her adultery. It is not sufficient for it to oblige her to divorce . It must decide that she must divorce her husband, and reach clear decisions of fact relating to her adultery. The ruling must become final – i.e. no longer appealable. This means that either the time for the wife to appeal against the finding of adultery has already gone by , or if she did appeal against it in time, she actually lost. Then, only when she refuses to obey the final , unappealable ruling to actually divorce will the husband be entitled to be freed of his obligation to support her set by the family court in maintenance proceedings she opened there previously.

These points were stressed by Haifa Family Court in February 2007 when it rejected an attempt by a husband to relieve him of maintenance payments to his wife after she refused to divorce him although the rabbinical court had ordered her to do so. It had not yet made positive findings against her which would have relieved him of his obligation to support her under Jewish law, and the finding was not yet final.

Fornicating Wife Reimburses Maintenance Paid By Husband

Question:

Is a Jewish husband entitled to get back maintenance he paid his wife, who is also Jewish, if it is held by court that she committed adultery while they were married ?

Answer:

Yes. In October 2003 Tel Aviv Family Court gave judgment ordering a wife to pay back her husband maintenance she had received from him during the last three years. It did so on the basis of evidence she gave to it relating to this, including confirmation of her admission in 2000 in rabbinical court proceedings that she was having an affair even though the husband , who did not want to end the marriage, had said he didn’t believe her right up until March 2003 , when he applied to the rabbinical court to have her declared a “rebellious wife” .

Connection Between Sex and Jewish Wife’s Maintenance

Question:

My marriage has deteriorated and my wife has avoided having sex with me for a long time. She has been hinting about divorce lately and has now filed me for maintenance. I suspect she may have a lover. If she has been committing adultery do I still owe her maintenance ? My wife and I are both Jewish.

Answer:

In certain circumstances a wife may lose her right to maintenance under Jewish law if she refuses to have intimate relations with her husband. If she refuses on purpose to cause him sorrow without any reasonable cause, or because she has her eye on another man, then she can lose her maintenance rights. However, if her refusal is due to her husband’s negative behaviour towards her she will not lose her rights.

Wife Bound By Promise Re Maintenance

Question:

My husband and I signed a divorce agreement in which we both agreed to divorce. I agreed to lose my right to maintenance if I did not appear at the divorce ceremony at the rabbinical court. I decided not to divorce. I understand that my husband cannot force me to divorce. Do I have a chance of succeeding in a plea for maintenance at the family court instead?

Answer:

No. A Jewish wife who undertakes to forego her maintenance if she fails to turn up at the rabbinical court for her divorce ceremony is not entitled to file for her maintenance at the family court if she does not appear to receive her get as she undertook. While nothing can be done to enforce a Jewish spouse’s consent to divorce ,even if written , as this would invalidate the ‘get’ which must be given and accepted out of free will, a wife’s obligation to forego her maintenance will still hold.

No Divorce – Reduced Maintenance

Question:

In my divorce agreement I agreed that if the divorce ceremony did not go through, my husband would be entitled to pay me less maintenance. I did not turn up at the ceremony. Is my undertaking really binding, if I can’t be forced to divorce?

Answer:

Yes!  Although it is true that a spouse cannot be forced to give or accept a ‘get’ for fear of interfering with the validity of the divorce which must be freely given and freely accepted, a wife is bound by her contractual undertaking to forego part of her maintenance. She will be entitled to the reduced amount referred to in her divorce agreement, although her actual consent to divorce in the same agreement cannot be enforced.

Alternative Accommodation Plea - Wife’s Share From Sale of Home

Question:

Our home was sold as part of a division of our marital property and the proceeds were divided between my wife and I. She refuses to divorce. For the last two years I have been paying her maintenance according to a court judgment. After our home was sold she filed for an increase in her maintenance because of the need to rent an apartment and pay associated costs. I feel she got a considerable sum of money from the sale of our home and can afford to rent an apartment or make a down payment on the purchase of one. Is the court supposed to take into account money that my wife got from the sale of our home when it decides on her plea for increased maintenance?

Answer:

Yes! The Supreme Court has held that in principle a wife is entitled to alternative accommodation as part of her maintenance after the family home is sold, but her financial situation afterwards should be taken into account .
 

Alternative Accommodation Plea – Number of Inhabitants

Question:

I brought action against my wife to divide up our marital property at the family court and divorce proceedings at the rabbinical court and, on the advice of my lawyer, tied in her maintenance. The family court decided on the division of the family home which was sold. After the sale, and before the house was vacated, my wife applied to the rabbinical court for an increase in her maintenance, relating to the need to rent a villa like the one we sold. My wife does not work outside the home. What are her chances of succeeding in getting the rabbinical court to make me subsidize her renting expensive property like that?

Answer:

The Supreme Court has held that alternative accommodation should matched to the previous level of housing, but it is possible to take into account that the number of inhabitants will be smaller following the marital rift, when deciding on the size of the new home, or the number of rooms. In other words, the new home may be smaller.

Wife’s Maintenance - Earning Power and Intention To Live Abroad

Question:

After a long dispute with my wife, I left home. We have no children. My wife filed me for maintenance and won, although the court took into account the fact that as a university lecturer she has a relatively high salary. My wife has recently stopped work and I know she plans to return to the States where she grew up. This week she filed me for an increase in her maintenance. Can her desire to live abroad influence her right to maintenance? 

Answer:

An intention to live abroad permanently does not, in itself, deprive a wife of her right to maintenance. On the other hand it does not reduce her earning potential, and that is the main test the court uses to determine the level of maintenance it will set for a wife. The court will take into account the circumstances for the wife stopping work – whether she was fired, or handed in her notice- and whether she is entitled to unemployment benefit when it sets a sum.

Jewish Wife’s Maintenance - Foreign Judgment on Civil Divorce Unrecognised

Question:

Can a Jewish man use a civil divorce judgment by a foreign court to free him of supporting his Jewish wife who has filed for her maintenance in Israel?

Answer:

No! In May 2003 the Tel Aviv Family Court refused a Jewish husband’s request to recognize a civil divorce judgment by a Tennessee court as part of his defence against a maintenance plea filed by his Israeli-resident Jewish wife. The couple had married both according to Jewish law and civil law in the United States. The family court held that as the couple were still married according to Jewish law , the husband was obliged to support his wife according to his personal law – Jewish law. Also, the wife, who was an Israeli citizen and resident, and who had only been in the United States for 7 months, did not have American citizenship or a U.S. work permit, it said.

Maintenance When Consumer Index is Negative

Question:

I have to pay my wife maintenance linked to the cost of living. Usually this rises and so does the actual sum I pay her. But what happens if it goes down?

Answer:

In theory the linkage of maintenance to the cost of living should work both ways ; when the cost of living index goes up, so should the absolute amount of maintenance paid and when it does down, so should the amount of maintenance paid.

Jewish Wife Refusing Divorce or 'Shlom Bayit'  Loses Maintenance

Question:

Is a Jewish woman who refuses to divorce her Jewish husband, and yet will not agree to marital conciliation, still entitled to maintenance from him ?
 
Answer:
 
Not according to a judgment by Tel Aviv Family Court in December 2003 which refused a plea for maintenance from a separated wife who on the one hand refused to divorce her husband and on the other refused to reconcile the marriage by filing for ‘shlom bayit’ at the rabbinical court. The husband had left home a few years previously, allegedly because of the wife’s shouting.
 
It said: “ A demand for the payment of maintenance and a refusal to live together do not gel. Such a viewpoint of the plaintiff shows us that she wants to get the rights that derive from the marital connection (maintenance) but is not willing to undertake the basic obligation of the marital connection, that is living together.”
 
In its judgment the court referred to two Supreme Court precedents which refused to grant Jewish wives maintenance in the above situation. In one, the Chaham case, it was held : “ If a wife is not willing to live with her husband because of matter of outlook on life or finance, she must file for divorce or agree to it and if she refuses marital reconciliation she will not be entitled to maintenance.”
 

Wife’s Maintenance – Husband Faces Extradition Order

Question:

I am separated. I filed my husband for maintenance for myself and my children at the family court. Now I have heard that he is facing extradition proceedings. He is wanted abroad for criminal charges. Do I have much of a chance of getting an order to stop him leaving so that my case can be heard here ?
 
Answer:
 
Ultimately, no because according to the Civil Procedure Rules of 1984 an extradition order will take precedence over an order to prevent someone leaving Israel given within the framework of civil proceedings. If the husband has filed a defence to the maintenance plea already, then the wife could file for temporary maintenance, and even ask for an emergency decision, in the light of the extradition proceedings. Even if the husband is extradited, if even a temporary decision is made on maintenance, and the husband has not left property in Israel, from which maintenance can be paid, the wife can file his family for maintenance, based on the ruling.

Rabbinate Must Accept Wife's Request to Strike Out Plea

Question:

Can a rabbinical court refuse to strike out a plea for a wife's maintenance which she herself filed – and then asked to be struck out?

Answer:
 
No! The rabbinical court cannot refuse to wife out a plea filed by a wife, herself, for her own maintenance at any stage in the proceedings, if she requests it, but especially when no defence has even been filed. Furthermore, even if the husband objects this is irrelevant – where the wife filed the plea and asks for it to be struck out. However, sometimes, despite all this, the rabbinical court does not rush to strike out a plea, or close the file, so that jurisdiction remains with it. The husband – the defendant – may object to the withdrawal of the plea/closure of the file, to try and preserve jurisdiction at the rabbinical court.

Married Woman’s Maintenance- non-Jewish Husband

Question:

Does a Jewish woman whose husband is non-Jewish have a legal obligation to be supported by him financially? 

Answer:

Not an automatic one - it could depend on the relative financial positions of her and her husband!

If the husband is not Jewish, but is Moslem or Druze, or a member of one of the other recognized faiths in Israel with its own court system, then his maintenance obligation towards his wife will be governed by the personal law applying to him.

If, however, his personal law does not oblige him to support his wife, or he has no personal law (if, for example, he has no religion), then civil law will apply. Under the Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Act of 1959,which only applies to married couples, a husband is in principle obliged to support his wife but her income from employment or other sources is taken into account.

Thai Citizen's Israeli Husband Threatens To Leave Her

Case:

I am a Thai citizen. I married my Israeli husband, whom I met while he was visiting Thailand, in a civil ceremony abroad . I have a temporary resident visa in Israel. My husband has recently told me that he has met another woman and wants to leave me for her. What can I do, bearing in mind that during our marriage he used up all my savings?

Answer:

In this situation the wife can file her husband for maintenance at the family court, and, if relevant, also for the division of marital property. Later on she can consider whether she wants to initiate proceedings to end their marriage.

Separated Moslem Wife's Maintenance– current and back payment

Question:
 
Can a married Moslem woman who lived separately from her husband until they divorced because of his violent behaviour still get maintenance from him for this period ?
 
Answer:
 
Yes, if she filed for her maintenance during their marriage, and can prove that she was justified in leaving the marital home, then at the end of the maintenance proceedings , it is possible that the court will award a lump sum for the period from when she filed the plea until they were divorced, taking into account anything awarded to her temporarily.

For example, in a case decided by Nazareth Family Court in May 2006, the plaintiff's ex-husband was ordered to pay a lump sum of 35,000 NIS maintenance to his ex-wife relating to a period of nearly two years. She had succeeded in getting a protection order against her husband, and had managed to prove she was justified in leaving the marital home. During the proceedings, the court had awarded her temporary maintenance for herself and the children, and her maintenance was adjusted as above, at the end of the proceedings.

Express Relinquishment of Woman’s Maintenance

Question:

My wife and I signed a divorce agreement in which we both agreed to co-operate regarding the divorce and it was stated that if she did not turn up for the divorce ceremony at the rabbinical court then she would lose her maintenance. She did not appear – does she really lose her right to be supported by me even though we are still married, or am I still obliged to pay her maintenance?

Answer:

While nothing can be done to enforce a Jewish spouse’s consent to divorce ,even if written , as this would invalidate the ‘get’ which must be given and accepted out of free will, a wife’s obligation to forego her maintenance will still hold. Thus her husband will be free of any obligation to pay her maintenance.