Report No. 257

19G. Child support.

(1) A court may pass appropriate orders for the maintenance of children, and fix an amount that is reasonable or necessary to meet the living expenses of the child, including food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and education.

(2) For the purpose of determining reasonableness or necessity, the court may take into consideration the following factors, namely:-

(a) the financial resources of each of the parents;

(b) the standard of living that the child would have had if the marriage had remained intact;

(c) the physical and emotional condition of the child;

(d) the particular educational and healthcare needs of the child; and

(e) any other factors that the court considers fit.

(3) An order of the court under this section must subsist till the child reaches 18 years of age.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), the court may make such further orders as it considers fit, including:-

(a) requiring the payment of a sum greater than the sum determined under sub-section (1);

(b) requiring the subsistence of an order for a duration longer than as provided under sub-section (3), but such order shall not subsist in any case beyond such time as the child reaches 25 years of age;

(c) requiring the subsistence of an order under sub-section (3) beyond such time as the child reaches 25 years of age in case of a child with mental or physical disability; and

(d) making the estate of a parent, who dies during or after the conclusion of proceedings under this section, liable for obligations under the order passed by the court."

6. Insertion of Schedule

In the principal Act, the following Schedule shall be inserted at the end, namely:-