Family & Personal Status · Guide
What a maintenance claim actually covers, how it is calculated, and what happens when it goes unpaid.
Maintenance is claimed by filing a suit before the Family Court, which can fix a monthly amount for a wife (typically during subsistence of the marriage and iddat) and for children (payable by the father regardless of who has custody). The court can order interim maintenance while the case is pending, and unpaid amounts can be recovered as arrears through execution proceedings.
A maintenance suit is filed before the Family Court, usually alongside — or shortly after — a khula, divorce, or custody matter, though it can also stand on its own. The claim can cover the wife (for the subsistence period of the marriage and during iddat) and the children, whose entitlement to maintenance from their father continues regardless of the parents’ dispute or who holds custody.
The amount is fixed with reference to the father’s income and standard of living and the children’s reasonable needs — schooling, medical care, and day-to-day upkeep — rather than a fixed formula. Because final adjudication takes time, the Family Court can fix interim maintenance early in the case, so a family is not left without support while the matter proceeds.
Maintenance orders are not static: as a child grows older, school fees rise, or the father’s income changes materially, either side can apply to enhance or, in limited circumstances, reduce the fixed amount. Courts are generally more receptive to enhancement applications brought with genuine evidence of increased need than to reduction applications brought to avoid payment.
Where a father simply refuses to pay, the Family Courts Act gives the court real enforcement tools — unpaid maintenance can be recovered as arrears through execution against salary, bank accounts, or property, and persistent default can carry consequences under the Act. A maintenance order is a decree, not a request, and is treated as one when it is ignored.
Common Questions
Yes. Maintenance and khula are frequently pursued together, and the Family Court can fix interim maintenance while the khula suit is still being decided, so a wife and children are not left without support during the case.
A maintenance decree can still be pursued and executed against any assets, accounts, or income the father has in Pakistan, and against property or salary paid through a Pakistani employer. Where the father is entirely outside the jurisdiction with no reachable assets, enforcement is harder in practice, but the decree itself remains valid and enforceable the moment recoverable assets are located.
Yes. Either party can apply to the Family Court for enhancement where circumstances have genuinely changed — a child’s school fees rising, medical needs, or a material increase in the father’s income. The court examines the current facts afresh rather than being bound by the original order.