Child Maintenance Calculator
Excel Template
A South African child maintenance spreadsheet with live Excel formulas built in - not a static table you have to recalculate by hand. Download the sample free, or build your own from your real expenses.
Free sample · No sign-up to download · Opens in Excel, Google Sheets & LibreOffice
| A - Expense | B - Monthly | C - Mother's share | D - Father's share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Housing & rates | R 8,500.00 | =B2*$F$2 | =B2*$F$3 |
| 3 | School fees | R 3,200.00 | =B3*$F$2 | =B3*$F$3 |
| 4 | Groceries | R 4,100.00 | =B4*$F$2 | =B4*$F$3 |
| 5 | Medical aid | R 1,900.00 | =B5*$F$2 | =B5*$F$3 |
| 6 | Total | =SUM(B2:B5) | =SUM(C2:C5) | =SUM(D2:D5) |
Every share is a live formula. Change one income figure and every row recalculates - the same way a magistrate or attorney would re-run the numbers. Most free templates paste in fixed amounts, so they silently go stale the moment a circumstance changes.
Live formulas, not values
Adjust an income or add an expense and the apportionment updates across the whole sheet automatically.
The SA apportionment formula
Two portions per adult, one per child - the ratio South African courts apply - is built into the sheet, not bolted on afterwards.
Court-ready formatting
Print-ready layout you can attach to a maintenance application or hand to your attorney without reformatting.
The Maths
How the spreadsheet works it out
The household is divided into portions. Each adult counts as two portions, each child as one. Every parent's share of an expense is proportional to the portions they carry.
Count the portions
Two adults (2 × 2) + two children (2 × 1) = 6 portions
Work out the children's slice
2 child portions ÷ 6 total = 33.3% of the household expense belongs to the children
Split that slice by income
The parent earning 60% of the combined income carries 60% of the children's costs
Want to see the income split on its own? Try the free income split calculator - no sign-up required.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Excel template free?
The sample spreadsheet is free to download, and building your own schedule from your real expenses is free too. Exporting your completed schedule as a formatted XLSX or PDF costs R149 once-off for that schedule.
Does it contain real Excel formulas?
Yes. Every apportionment cell is a live formula rather than a pasted number, so changing an income or an expense recalculates the whole schedule instantly. You can audit the maths yourself by clicking into any cell.
Will it open in Google Sheets or LibreOffice?
Yes. The file is a standard .xlsx workbook and opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and Apple Numbers.
Can I use this in a South African maintenance court?
The schedule is formatted to be attached to a maintenance application or handed to your attorney. It is a financial working document, not legal advice, and a magistrate may still ask for supporting documents such as bank statements and payslips.
Skip the manual data entry
Upload a bank statement and let AI sort your expenses into the right categories, then export the finished spreadsheet with all formulas intact.
Free to create. R149 per schedule to export.
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