Payment of child support

For illustrative purposes, here is an example of a Jewish couple (Moshe and Elinor) who have three children (Avi, Shunit, Reuven) in different age groups.  

A. General: According to the law, a parent is obligated to provide for the maintenance of their children. In the State of Israel, a Jewish person is obligated to provide two types of maintenance: essential maintenance and maintenance according to charity laws. The duty to provide maintenance lies with the father, not the mother.  
Jewish law fundamentally and clearly establishes that the legal obligation to provide for a child rests with the father and not the mother, as far as essential needs are concerned. Regarding the obligation to provide maintenance, there are three age groups: 0-6, 6-15, and 15-18. The first group receives full maintenance payments from the father, and his obligation to pay the full amount is absolute. The second group receives essential needs from the father, and this obligation is also absolute. The third group, in the past, did not obligate the father to pay for essential needs, but over the years, the father's duty has expanded, and today we are witnessing the beginning of new case law that only recently compares parental obligations under certain conditions.  

The obligation to provide maintenance for a child under Jewish personal law ended, as mentioned, at the age of 18 (except for the period of regular military service). However, regarding an adult child, there is an obligation to provide maintenance in cases where he cannot provide for his own needs.  
Identity of the claimant: A child support claim is filed by the minor through their natural guardian or custodial parent. What are essential needs: The court has determined that essential needs are the minimal needs related to the needs of a child in general, and the specific needs of the child in question, such as the need for a particular medical expense. Essential needs of a child in general include: food, clothing, footwear, housing, necessary medical expenses, and childcare costs for young children. However, courts have often broadened the term 'essential needs' when it concerns a wealthy father and vice versa. In practice, the broader the meaning of the term 'essential needs,' the greater the burden on the father, and the narrower its meaning, the smaller the burden on the father. The difference between essential needs (such as food) and non-essential needs is reflected, for example, in the difference between purchasing basic clothing and purchasing branded jeans. Regarding housing (shelter), the case law has established that the father’s obligation to pay for housing will be a function of the number of children; as long as Eleanor remains in the shared apartment, three children are essentially equivalent to 50% of a father's share in the apartment, and in any case, there must be a correspondence between the apartment in which the minors lived before the separation and the new apartment, in terms of size., its location, the quality of living there, and so on. Care payments: The father's obligation to provide child support also includes the duty to care for the children, so childcare expenses are part of the child support payment. Since the mother is usually the one who cares for the children, she is the one entitled to receive care payments from the father (as part of his duty to cover childcare expenses). Care can be provided directly by the mother or by a third party, such as a daycare or caregiver. Currently, it is customary that care payments are paid only for fathers of children under the age of 11. The question of whether care payments are included in 'essential needs' has not yet been resolved. Essential child support does not include housing and maintenance of housing. Non-essential needs are considered 'charity-based support' and include, among other things: extracurricular activities, pocket money, toys, outings, vacations, birthday gifts, Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations, birthdays, and so on. The amount of charity-based support is determined according to the standard of living the children were accustomed to before the separation and the examination of the parents' income. Unlike the father, the mother is not obligated to provide support under charity laws unless she is first capable of supporting herself. Education expenses: Education expenses for kindergarten and school are generally considered a necessary need, but whether the expenses The kindergarten and after-school care of Avi will not be considered essential needs such as extracurricular activities, enrichment studies, driving lessons, etc., according to one approach which states that the minor’s stay in a daycare is considered a developmental need for them, and therefore the father should be required to pay for the daycare in full as an essential need, whereas after-school care is not seen as an essential need because its purpose serves Elinor, who wishes to work full-time, and therefore child support will not apply to this part for the father. Another approach states that educational expenses are indeed essential needs, but they are not basic necessities for survival; both parents will be obliged to cover them under the laws of charity, with these expenses including: daycare, babysitter, toys, etc. In any case, the court will take into account the special rights and concessions granted to single-parent families. The court will also consider various grants such as the 'study grant' paid by the National Insurance. Housing maintenance expenses: This essentially refers to the cost of maintaining the home where the minors live with the custodial parent. These expenses include: electricity, water, municipal tax, telephone, building fees, cable, gas, etc. Here too, there are several approaches: some judges will add a proportional part of the housing maintenance expenses to the payment, and others will include no housing maintenance expenses at all. Medical expenses: are divided into medical expensesNecessary and non-necessary expenses. Medical expenses such as glasses or hearing aids, which are medically necessary for a minor, will be considered necessary needs and therefore will be the responsibility of the father. Expenses that are not considered necessary needs, such as orthodontic treatment or cosmetic surgery, will be shared by both parents according to charitable principles.  

B. The father's income and earning capacity. As a general rule, child support is determined according to the needs of the children and not according to the father's wealth. However, in practice, the father's earning capacity affects the amount of necessary support. Therefore, in practice, courts tend to expand the necessary needs when dealing with a "wealthy" father and narrow them when dealing with a "poor" father, creating a situation where what is defined as "necessary needs" varies from case to case depending on its circumstances.  

As for an unrealized earning capacity of a father (potential unexploited income), courts have sometimes ignored the father's actual earnings and determined the child support amount based on his potential earnings. If the father owns property, the court will take this into account when determining the amount of child support. For example, in a case where the father is unemployed and lives on unemployment benefits but owns a substantial savings plan in the bank, the court may award higher child support for the minors, not based on his current income.The father’s unemployment benefits allowance. In addition, the father is obligated to work full-time in order to meet the essential needs of the minor. However, usually a father who works full-time will not be required to work overtime, even if his salary is low. It should be noted that if the father used to work overtime in the past, and because he stopped he is unable to bear the burden of child support, the court may require him to continue earning at the level he earned previously when he worked overtime or held more than one job. Child support obligations for an adult in regular military service: in the past, it was not customary to require support when the children were adults. Over the years, the ruling has developed, and today, during the period between finishing high school and completing regular military service, the father is required to pay one-third of the amount of support he would have paid when the child was under 18. During the period when the minor reaches 18, finishes high school, and is awaiting enlistment in the IDF, the father is also required to pay one-third. Can child support be waived? Sometimes a situation arises where, in order to obtain a divorce, the mother waives the minor’s support as part of the divorce agreement. It should be emphasized that such a waiver has no significance and does not bind the minor. The practical implication is that, after receiving the divorce, the minor can file a child support claim against the father through the mother as a representative. It should be noted that the lawsuit is not a claim for an increase in child support, but rather a new child support claim in which the minors are not required to show that there has been a change in their life circumstances that would warrant higher support. The reason is that the minor has not yet demanded support from the father; rather, the mother has done so as part of the divorce agreement and cannot waive the minor’s rights. In practice—after all is said and done—submitting a request for dispute resolution in Israeli law essentially constitutes the opening shot in the divorce proceedings. A child support lawsuit generally forms part of the overall claims filed between the spouses and is not separate from them. Therefore, it is clear that when consulting a lawyer regarding the entirety of the dispute and a decision is made to file claims, a child support claim is submitted among various other claims. At the same time, there may be situations where it is not advisable to file additional claims, for example: when there is no joint property to divide, or when the woman works and earns a salary and does not wish to claim support, or in cases where the spouses are not married, already divorced, and/or do not live together. In these cases, the child support claim is separate from the rest of the relationship. It is understood that the claim can also be filed when the spouses are still living together under the same roof.This applies in cases where the father neglects the financial needs of the children and stops providing money to meet their needs as he did in the past. In any case, it is preferable and recommended to file claims with the Family Court in your residential area. It should be emphasized that regarding child support, a prerequisite for discussing a claim in the Rabbinical Court is the agreement of both parties. Thus, a husband cannot force the wife to address child support in the Rabbinical Court. In summary, the main points are as follows: the father is obligated to provide child support at least until the age of 18, whether according to personal law or under charity laws. After the age of 18, the father will be required to pay one-third of the amount of support he previously provided. A minor's child support claim should be submitted by the mother as the guardian. Support for essential needs currently ranges from 1,150 NIS to 1,250 NIS. In addition to essential needs, expenses such as housing, maintenance, education, care fees, medical expenses, and extraordinary costs should be added. Child support decided as part of a divorce agreement does not obligate the minors. The minors can later file a new child support claim against the father, even without the need to change circumstances. Our office handles child support claims with a fair approach that aims to balance the needs of the children against the capabilities of the parents.Was a child support claim filed against you? Want to file a child support claim? Contact us today. It is important to note! The information provided here is general and does not replace consulting with a lawyer in any specific case.