Maintenance and unmarried couples

Information

In Ireland, if you are or have been married, you are entitled to apply to the court for maintenance from your spouse to cover your own expenses. If you are in a non-marital relationship, you have no such right. If the relationship subsequently breaks down, you may not apply to the court for maintenance for yourself.

However, if you have had a child outside of marriage, you may apply to the court to order the other parent to pay child support. In most cases, it is the parent with main custody of the child that makes such an application.

(You and your ex-partner may, of course, be able to come to an agreement about maintenance without having to go to court.)

If the court decides that the parent of a dependent child has failed to provide such maintenance for the child as "is proper in the circumstances", it may order that parent to make periodical maintenance payments to support the child. The court may also order a parent to pay a lump sum.

Rules

A dependent child is a child who:

• Is under 18 years old or
• Is over 18 and under 23 years old but is still in full-time education or
• Is suffering from mental or physical disability to the extent that he or she cannot maintain himself or herself.

When the court is deciding whether to make a maintenance order in respect of a child, it will consider the income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources of both parents. It will also consider whether either parent has other financial responsibilities such as a spouse or other dependent children.

The children of parents who are not married to each other may have to prove paternity in order to get their maintenance or inheritance entitlements. This is not necessary if the father acknowledges paternity or is named as the child's father on the Birth Certificate.