Maintenance that should be paid

Maintenance that should be paid over to dependants as per the Court Order. Obtain a copy of the Court Order to verify the amount. Where an oral amount has been agreed, without a Court Order being obtained, it is good practice to obtain confirmation from the paying party or regular payments must be evident on the applicants bank statements.

NDRC Practice NoteLast reviewed 2026-04

What this means in practice

Court-ordered maintenance ranks above credit obligations. The proposal must accommodate the maintenance order in full; it cannot be restructured by the debt counsellor.

Legal context

Maintenance Act 99 of 1998: a maintenance order is enforceable independently of the NCA process and cannot be reduced by a debt review rearrangement.

Drawn from NDRC's active case work. For your situation, see our debt counselling overview.

Cite this clause

National Credit Regulator. (2015). Annexure B — Debt Review Assessment Guidelines, clause 7.1.15: Maintenance that should be paid. Guideline 001/2015 (Debt Review Task Team Agreements 2010), p. 42.