I am trying to negotiate a divorce agreement with my husband from whom I am separated. It is almost impossible trying to get him to agree to giving the children a decent sum of maintenance. He suggested putting a clause in our divorce agreement which fixes a sum for a limited period and then leaves the matter in the hands of an arbitrator. Is this possible ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 16 May, 2022No, the general rule developed in the courts is that children have a material right to maintenance and their parents cannot limit this or the way in which it is actualized by a divorce agreement signed by them. More specifically, the Tel Aviv Family Court has specifically stated that primary jurisdiction for child maintenance lies with the family court and cannot be handed over to an arbitrator.
In that case, the children had filed for maintenance from their father at the family court, despite an agreement signed by the parents whereby they undertook that future disputes on child maintenance would be dealt with by named arbitrators whose decision would be binding. The court proceeded to deal with the plea.