If your ex partner comes into some money you may be entitled to a share. In a recent Court decision, the mother of two children was awarded a lump sum child support payment of $36,000.00.

The parties had been separated for over ten years and the mother had the sole responsibility for looking after the children. The father paid only $10.00 per week child support throughout most of this time as he had been on a benefit.

The father inherited approximately $220,000.00 from his parents’ estate, and after he paid his personal debts he was left with approximately $110,000.00. From this, he now has to pay the $36,000 to the mother of his children as part of his child support obligations.

A parent can apply to the Family Court for lump sum maintenance for past and future maintenance of children. It is useful to keep this in mind if you become aware of the parent who currently pays child support receiving a large sum of money.

Please note that Rainey Collins is not contracted to provide Legal Aid, other than in the Treaty of Waitangi area.  We therefore are unable to take on any Civil or Family Legal Aid work. If you require Legal Aid in those areas, you can search the list of Legal Aid lawyers on the Ministry of Justice website.