I have a judgment awarding child maintenance. It says nothing about maintenance during the children’s army service. I have heard that nowadays courts set maintenance of a third for children aged between 18 and 21. Will my ‘ex’ have to continue paying some maintenance during the children’s army service?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 16 May, 2022No! If a judgment making a father pay child maintenance is silent regarding financial support during army service then this omission works in the father’s favour . He is not obliged to carry on participating in supporting the child unless the court orders him to do so. The Supreme Court has held , however, that there is a factual assumption that the level of parental financial support during a child’s military service is reduced to a third of what it was previously . This does not give a child an automatic right to a third of the maintenance set beforehand – but is designed to make it easier to file for this.