McGregor

The word 'father' is often synonymous with parent obligations, but less often so with parental rights. For this reason, many of the fathers in our society complain that they are marginalised and less protected than their maternal counterparts.

One of the best examples of this arises in respect of the maintenance of children. Too often, the titles of 'dead-beat dad', 'rogue' or 'vagabond' are justified because the biological fact of being a father does not translate into social responsibility. Many of them neglect to pay child support despite the fact that the court made a specific order for them to do so; and applications to commit them to prison for contempt of court have become commonplace.

Until recent years, fathers generally had primary responsibility for maintaining their children but, since the Maintenance Act 2005 came into effect, both parents have the responsibility for doing so to the extent that both are capable. The burden has shifted to accord with the social reality that in many households the men are no longer the sole or dominant breadwinners. The law has evolved.

Welcome change

This has been a welcome change for many fathers, because some mothers were known to take advantage of the state of the law and brought unnecessary pressure to bear on them. However, the change in the law does not relieve men of the responsibility to maintain their children. It simply means that the playing field is now level. With each parent shouldering the responsibility to maintain the children, it means that the court will assess both parents' needs and means before apportioning the obligation.

Some of the factors which the court will take into account when maintenance obligations are being apportioned are each parent's income, expenses and obligation to provide maintenance for other persons, for example, their parents or other children. However, it is the welfare of the child which is the paramount consideration, so the child's need for a stable environment and its aptitude and reasonable prospects for obtaining an education will be relevant considerations.

Unwelcome dimension

The current economic crisis has added an unwelcome dimension to the maintenance equation, because job losses are likely to have an adverse impact on the ability of parents to maintain their children. In some quarters, it has even been suggested that the job losses are now more prevalent among men than among women, so the frequency with which men will be brought before the court on maintenance and contempt applications is likely to increase.

The word of caution to all parents when faced with complete or partial delinquency in meeting parental obligations is that applications for maintenance orders are usually time-consuming and costly. Moreover, the judge who hears the application will be making a mathematical calculation in determining how to apportion the responsibility of both parents; so time spent in attempting to carry out such an exercise outside the court will be well spent. It is, therefore, recommended that some effort be made to reach an amicable resolution before resorting to court, especially where the financial resources are already limited.

On a final note, before making an application for maintenance, it is necessary to ascertain whether the party against whom the application is being made is capable of providing maintenance, so that a disappointing outcome may be avoided.

Sherry-Ann McGregor is a partner and mediator with the firm Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co. Send feedback and questions to lawsofeve@yahoo.com or Lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.