My husband and I separated. I filed him at the family court for maintenance for our child, whom we both adopted . I got a decision awarding temporary maintenance. My husband has now disappeared abroad and I cannot trace him. My in-laws are well-off. Can they be made to support our child instead of my husband – or is this not possible because he is adopted ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 17 May, 2022The family of an adoptive parent may have a legal obligation to support a minor if the adoptive parent himself does not do so. The Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Act of 1959 covers situations where certain relatives of a person with a maintenance obligation are obliged to support a dependent instead of him. It treats adopted children like biological children and places the potential burden for supporting them on the shoulders of the relatives of the adoptive parent. Under the act an adoptive grandparent may have a legal duty to support his/her adoptive grandchildren in certain circumstances.These are that the adoptive parents themselves cannot do so and that the grandparent has a surplus from which to support the minors, after first providing for his/her spouse and any minor children they both have.