Apply for a maintenance order

Consider mediation and legal advice

Family law decisions can affect things like maintenance, arrangements for your children, the family home, money, assets and pensions.

Before deciding to apply to court, you should consider reaching an agreement with help from a mediator or solicitor.

Mediation

Mediation can help you resolve disputes about maintenance. It is confidential and neutral.

Mediation is not designed to help couples reconcile. Instead, it supports cooperation and helps both people work out acceptable arrangements. You can meet the mediator together or separately.

Most mediation takes between three and six one-hour sessions.

If you have children, the mediator can help ensure their views are heard during the process.

If your agreement becomes a rule of court or part of a court order, you must return to court to change it.

Legal advice

You may want legal advice to understand your options. The Courts Service cannot give legal advice, but a solicitor can help by:

• advising you of your legal rights
• outlining how you might reach agreement
• preparing and filing your paperwork
• speaking on your behalf in court

You can represent yourself in court, but you must understand the procedures involved.

Find out more about mediation and legal help

To apply for a maintenance order you must complete an  Application for Maintenance form .

To apply to vary or discharge an existing maintenance order, you must fill out an  Application to Vary or Discharge a Maintenance Order form .

Important: Download and open the forms using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Your next steps are as follows:

• Fill out the relevant application form. Make sure you have provided all the information requested.
• If you need to add additional dependent children to the application, please complete the  Additional Dependent Child form available here  and attach it to your application form.

Some legal terms to keep in mind when filling out an Application for Maintenance:

• The person making an initial maintenance application is the applicant. The person being asked to pay maintenance is the respondent.
• Once an order has been made to pay maintenance, the person paying maintenance is the maintenance debtor. The person receiving the payments is the maintenance creditor.

You can apply to the District Court office in the area where you or the respondent lives or works.

Find your local District Court area

Find your Courts Service office here

Once you have decided on your court location:

Ensure you file three exact copies of the completed application form in the court office.

• One copy will be held on the court file.
• One copy is to be served on the respondent.
• One copy will be returned to you for your records.

You can file your application by post or in person. If you want to file your application in person, certain court offices have an appointment booking service.

Book an appointment online

Please note: If your office is the Dublin District Family Law Office, also known as Dolphin House, it operates an appointment-only service.

If the application form has been completed correctly, a member of Courts Service staff will assign a hearing date for your application and issue a summons with the hearing details.

If you are applying to vary or discharge a maintenance order made in the District Court, you should apply to the court office where the original maintenance order was made.

If you are unsure about where to make your application, contact your local Courts Service office for information.

A Courts Service staff member will return two copies of the summons and application form to you. One copy of the summons and application form must be sent to the respondent. This is called serving. You can serve the documents by registered post or by personal service. The documents should be provided to the respondent as early as possible but at least fourteen days before the court hearing date. You should keep the other copy for your own records.

If it is not possible to serve the respondent by registered post or by personal service, you can apply to the court for permission to serve in another way. This is called an application for substituted service. A judge will decide if another form of service is acceptable, such as by ordinary post, email or other method.

You must then provide proof that the documents have been served on the respondent. This is called proof of service. To provide proof of service, fill out and declare a Statutory Declaration of Service. This is a declaration verifying that the documents were served on the respondent. This form must be signed and declared in the presence of a solicitor (but not your own solicitor), a Commissioner for Oaths or a Peace Commissioner.

You must file the Statutory Declaration of Service in the court office. You should do this as early as possible but at least two days before the date of the court hearing. If the documents are in order, the application will be listed for court and the court hearing will be confirmed.

Please Note: If the Statutory Declaration of Service is not filed in time, the court hearing will not go ahead.

Step 6

Attend court hearing

The maintenance summons is a command to the respondent to attend court on the date stated in the summons. This will be for a court hearing which will be held in private. You must also attend court on the date stated in the summons.

When the case is heard, both you and the respondent will be required to present your case to the judge.

What to bring

Both you and the respondent should bring information about your financial circumstances to the court hearing. For example, the judge may want information about your:

• Income such as income from employment, social welfare benefits, or other sources.
• Assets such as information and valuations of land, property, vehicles, or other assets.
• Expenditure such as household bills, loan repayments, the costs of raising children, or other expenses you have.
• Supports for other people such as maintenance payments for other dependent children.

You may also be asked to complete a Statement of Means form. This form is used to provide the court with an overall picture of your financial situation.

What will happen at the hearing

Both you and the respondent will get an opportunity to give evidence to the court and ask the other party any questions about their evidence. The judge may also ask additional questions. After hearing all of the evidence, the judge will then make a decision on the application. This is called a court order. In maintenance cases it is called a maintenance order.

If you fail to attend court, the case may be struck out by the judge. This means that the case will not go ahead and you will have to start the entire process again.

If the respondent fails to appear, you may ask the judge to issue a warrant to have the respondent arrested and brought to court. If the judge makes this order, the court office will send a warrant to the Gardaí. When the Gardaí bring the respondent before the court, the judge will set a new date to deal with the case. The court office will notify you of this new date.

More information on preparing for family law court

If there are children involved

In some cases where children are involved, a judge might want information about their welfare, safety, health and care. If a child is of sufficient age and maturity, they might also want to take their views on board. To get this information, the judge might decide that they need a report from an expert.

More information about reports about children

After your hearing, the judge will decide whether to grant the divorce. This is called a Decree of Divorce. It is the formal court order that legally ends your marriage.

If your divorce is granted

You will receive a copy of the Decree of Divorce. This is an important legal document — keep it in a safe place. It confirms that:

• Your marriage has officially ended
• You are legally free to remarry
• Any financial or custody orders made by the court are now in effect

If the court made decisions about children, maintenance, pensions or the family home, those orders will also be included and must be followed.

Updating your records

You do not need to notify the civil registration service (Births, Deaths and Marriages) — your original marriage certificate remains on record, but the Decree of Divorce is proof that the marriage has ended.

You may need to show your divorce decree when:

• Applying for a passport or social welfare
• Getting remarried
• Changing your legal name (if applicable)

What if the divorce is not granted?

If the court does not grant the divorce, it will explain why. This usually means one of the legal requirements wasn’t met — for example, not enough time living apart or missing information.

The court may let you fix the issue and reapply, or may suggest applying for a legal separation instead.

Appealing the decision

If you disagree with the court’s decision, you may be able to appeal. This must usually be done within 10 days of the order being made. It’s recommended to get legal advice before making an appeal.

Support after divorce

Going through a divorce can be difficult, even after it is final. If you need emotional or legal support, there are free and low-cost services that can help.

See support services available after divorce