What is Divorce Maintenance?
Divorce maintenance is a term where the working spouse, the earning member of the couple (mostly husbands), provides financial support to the non-working and dependent spouse (mostly housewives) by paying money or maybe something else after the divorce. So the dependent spouse can maintain a reasonable standard of living without facing financial problems.
Who Can Claim Maintenance After Divorce ?
- Dependent Spouse: This is usually the spouse who can’t support themselves after divorce. For example, if a wife has been a homemaker and doesn’t have a job or savings, she can claim maintenance from her husband. In some cases same goes to for husband too but chances of getting maintenance to husband is extremely rare in india.
- Working Wives: Even if a wife is working, she can still ask for maintenance if her salary isn’t enough to maintain her previous lifestyle. For example, if a wife used to live in a comfortable home but now struggles to pay rent on a smaller apartment, she can claim maintenance to help cover those costs.
What are the Key Conditions to claim maintenance ?
- The claimant must provide the complete proof of documents to show they are not capable of maintaining their daily living.
- The claim easily granted to seeker spouse if other one is denying for it. But if divorce is filled under mutual consent then there’s no need to file for maintenance as everything is already settled.
How Many Types of Divorce Maintenance ?
There are two types of divorce maintenance support present in indian law:-
- Interim (Temporary) Maintenance: Interim maintenance also known as temporary maintenance financial support that’s given while the divorce is still going on. It helps the dependent spouse (like a wife who doesn’t earn enough) cover her basic needs, like rent or groceries, and pay for legal fees. This usually applies when one spouse needs money to manage daily expenses until the court finalizes the divorce.
- Permanent Maintenance: This is long-term support given after the divorce is settled. The idea is to make sure the dependent spouse can live without struggling financially. It might last until the person gets remarried or is able to earn enough on their own. This typically applies when the spouse can’t work or needs time to become financially independent.
How Much Maintenance Support Is Given ?
There is no specific amount mentioned in the Hindu Marriage Act or any other religious marriage act. The court determines the maintenance amount based on many different factors like the income level of the couple, standard of living, duration of the marriage, property & assets, number of children, and their expenses like school or tuition fees medical expenses etc. There are many more factors that the court can consider when finalizing maintenance. The seeker can also appeal for their desired amount of maintenance in front of the court, but they must prove legally why they need that amount for maintenance. If they can prove it in court, they can acquire their desired maintenance amount. But the final judgment is always in the hands of the court.
Legal Rights of Maintenance while filing for divorce in India.
Understanding of legal rights of maintenance is very important if you are heading towards divorce here is some legal Act’s in India that support maintenance.
- Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Section 24 and 25): This law allows wives to claim maintenance after divorce. The court mainly focuses on the wife’s financial needs and how she can support herself. Also applicable to husbands too but chances are extremely rare.
- Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986: Under this law, a wife can get maintenance for a certain period (usually during the iddat period) after divorce. If needed, she can ask for more support even after that.
- Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (Section 36 and 37): This applies to Christians and Parsis. If a spouse is financially dependent after divorce, they can ask for maintenance.
- Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Section 36 and 37): This law is for marriages between people from different religions. It ensures that both parties get fair financial support based on their financial status and needs.
How To Apply Maintenance Support in India ?
Filing for maintenance support the process is straightforward. You need to file a maintenance claim in either a family court or a civil court, depending on your location if you are residing in delhi you can file petition in any court like rohini court, Patiala court, Tees hazari court etc. You must show important documents like marriage certificate, proof of income for both you and your spouse, evidence of your standard of living during the marriage, and any child custody documents if applicable. After you file the claim, the court will schedule hearings where both parties present their information. Based on the evidence and financial details, the court will then determine the final maintenance amount.
Verdict
Now you have an idea of the complexity of maintenance support in India and the legal procedure for obtaining it. It’s very hard for a woman who is going through the hardest phase of her life to deal with all these legal issues. That’s why we recommend hiring an experienced divorce lawyer in delhi. Having a lawyer by your side not only gives you the certainty of winning your case but also helps you lower your stress while going through the toughest phase of your life.
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