How much child support will I get?

Dear Mrs Macaulay, How does the family court calculate child support? People have told me that I won’t get a lot of money if I take my babyfather to court, and I shouldn’t bother. He is in a better position financially than I am. Will the court order him to pay a small sum, or is it based on his income? Will the court force me to allow him to see her, even though I would prefer that she not go to his house?

Thank you for your question. It is better to ascertain answers to such questions from lawyers, rather than from “people” who are likely to mislead and misdirect you. Whoever you spoke to about not getting a lot of money is wrong.

All courts must act on the evidence provided by the parties engaged in the proceedings, by applying the law to such evidence in order to achieve, in this case, effective support for the child’s daily needs to ensure their wholesome development. This must be done as far as each of the parties’ income is capable of providing.

The Maintenance Act of 2005 was amended in late 2024 to primarily extend the age at which children would stop receiving support. It was previously 18 years old in law, but now takes into account whether a child is pursuing tertiary education. The provision in the substantive Act also states that a maintenance order for the support of a child must be apportioned by the court according to the financial capacities of the parents to provide for the support of their child. The court may also, if it had not been done before, in such an application, order an award for the babyfather to pay a sum as the judge decides for the child’s prenatal and birth expenses, and then assess and fix the specific award for the child’s continuing maintenance.

Such orders are always of course open to being changed upon an application by either parent if existing circumstances change their capabilities to continue to pay, or the expense for the child’s needs become higher.

The Act also states what the court must examine and take into account when dealing with an application for child support, in relation to the financial capabilities of the parties, whether an order should be made for the respondent’s employer to be ordered to produce a written statement/report of their emoluments for the preceding 12 months; whether an attachment order is necessary to be made based on the evidence in the case; any properties owned by either of them; any other legal obligation they carry to maintain any person other than the child in the application; and whether the respondent had ever contributed to the child’s support and for how long. It will also examine the details and weight of the evidence of both parties; whether payment of the maintenance sum should be paid to the court or otherwise; and what the specific maintenance sum would be and for what specific period of time, which in the judge’s determination would be in the best interests of the child. It will also decide whether payment ought to start from a date which is before the period of the application, or after the date of the order.

Pursuant to the Maintenance Amendment Act of 2024, the date up to which your babyfather is obligated to provide or contribute to the child has been extended to continue beyond the child’s 18th birthday, as long as their education is continuing up to age 23. An application has to be made for the extension by the custodial parent, the child, or any other person who is caring for the child. Such applications can be made nowadays even after the child turns18, but they must be done before their 23rd birthday. This is to ensure that the child’s educational progress is not jeopardised through a lack of financial support from the parents.

I must just add here that the Child Care and Protection Act of 2004 makes it clear that parents are responsible to provide for the support of their children by providing “adequate food, clothing, lodging and health care appropriate to the age and needs of the child”, and to ensure that their child is enrolled in and attends school. I make this reference to the provision in this Act to underline the legal provisions of law about the responsibilities of both parents to ensure proper provision for their child, and that the Family Court and Supreme Court have the legal authority to ensure that this happens.

So you are legally obligated to apply to the court for your babyfather to make proper provision for his child. This is not a matter for you to listen to people and so deny your child’s right to be maintained by their other parent. Go to the Family Court of your parish, with the child’s birth certificate, and written details of all the child’s expenses — food, clothing and footwear, proportional cost of rental or mortgage, all utility expenses, cost of transportation, for sports and amusement, hair care, toiletries and other personal needs, and the expenses for health and education including extra lessons and school trips. All these would be part of your evidence that you must provide for the judge.

The parent who has more or is in a better financial position must contribute more, as the Act says, as far as they are capable.

Regarding the father’s access to his child, it is not a question merely of the court allowing him, he is legally entitled to access, unless he would endanger the child’s safety or abuse or inflict cruelty on the child — in other words, if he is an unfit parent. You would have to prove this to the satisfaction of the court for it to refuse access to a father either openly, or in a supervised manner.

Do not use your unease of him having access to your child to stop you from moving forward with the application for maintenance. This is the child’s legal right and just due.

Please do all you should to ensure that your child enjoys all that the law has provided for them to have a reasonably healthy and comfortable and secure life provided by both parents, and a relationship with their paternal relatives, as is their legal right.

All the best to you both.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide private, personal responses.