Can a husband prevent his wife gaining maintenance at the family court by filing for divorce at the rabbinate first, claim that she is “rebellious” and ask it to deny her financial support ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 23 June, 2022No ! The fact that a husband has filed for divorce first at the rabbinical court and included his wife’s maintenance in the plea does not necessarily mean he can prevent her from getting maintenance at the family court . She can still try and file there – and then if the husband objects and asks the family court to throw out her plea for lack of jurisdiction , it will then have to see whether the husband’s maintenance plea at the rabbinical court passed a tough 3-point test. For the rabbinical court to gain jurisdiction over the wife’s maintenance this way, the divorce plea must be filed in good faith, the maintenance plea must be bound to it in good faith , and properly, according to law.