If the husband fails to pay maintenance (whether or not this has been previously ordered), the wife can submit a formal application to the Court to obtain a Maintenance Order which will formally order the husband to provide maintenance to her and their children.
If the husband fails to comply with the Court’s Maintenance Order to make maintenance payments, he is liable to be prosecuted for a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.
The husband must pay the outstanding maintenance even if he has already been prosecuted and punished for the non-compliance of the Court’s Maintenance Order.
The Court may also order that the maintenance payments be obtained from the husband in the following ways:
Garnishee Order: this means that a bank or third party will be ordered to pay monies for the maintenance directly from the husband’s bank account or funds.
Attachment of Earnings Order: this means that the husband’s employer will be ordered to retain a portion of his salary which will be used to pay for the maintenance directly.
