Form J101
Application for a Maintenance Order

What is Form J101?

Form J101 is the application for a maintenance order used by maintenance courts in South Africa. It is completed by the person asking for maintenance - usually the parent the child lives with - and it sets out who the parties are, who the child is, and how much maintenance is being claimed.

Lodging it opens a maintenance enquiry. The court serves the application on the other parent, a maintenance officer investigates, and the matter is either settled by agreement or referred to a magistrate for a decision.

Where do I get it and where do I lodge it?

You get Form J101 free from the maintenance clerk at any magistrate's court, and it is also published on the Department of Justice website. You lodge it at the maintenance court in the district where you or the child lives.

There is no fee to bring a maintenance application, and you do not need an attorney - the process is deliberately built to be used without one, and the maintenance clerk will help you fill in the form.

What must I attach?

Courts generally ask for the following. Requirements differ slightly between districts, so confirm with your local maintenance clerk before you go:

• Your identity document or passport
• The child's birth certificate
• Proof of residence
• Three months of bank statements
• Your three most recent payslips, or proof of income if you are self-employed
• Proof of the child's expenses - school fees, medical aid, receipts
• A monthly budget setting out the child's expenses

The monthly budget is where applications get stuck

The budget is the part most applicants underestimate. You are asked to itemise what the child actually costs each month, and then to show what portion of shared household expenses - rent, electricity, groceries, transport - is fairly attributable to the child rather than to you.

Guessing at that split is the single most common reason a claim gets challenged. South African courts commonly apportion shared costs using a portions method: each adult in the household counts as two portions and each child as one. A household of two adults and two children has six portions, so the children's slice of a shared expense is two-sixths, or 33.3%.

That children's slice is then divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes. You can work that second step through on the free income split calculator without signing up.

Generating the budget automatically

MMaintenance builds this budget for you. You enter your household and expenses once - or upload a bank statement and let it categorise the transactions - and it produces a Form J101 monthly budget PDF with the apportionment already applied and every figure itemised, ready to attach to your application.

Creating the schedule is free. Exporting the J101 budget PDF, alongside the Excel and PDF schedules, costs R149 once-off for that schedule.

What happens after you lodge it

• The court issues a summons and serves it on the other parent
• A maintenance officer investigates both parties' finances
• If both parents agree on an amount, it is made an order of court by consent
• If they do not agree, the matter goes before a magistrate for a formal enquiry
• Once granted, the order is enforceable - arrears can be recovered by garnishing wages or attaching property

Common questions

Do I need a lawyer?

No. The maintenance court process is designed to work without legal representation. You may still instruct an attorney, and many people do once a matter becomes contested.

Can I claim for past maintenance?

You can ask the court to consider maintenance owed from an earlier date, but whether it is granted and from when is a decision for the magistrate on the facts of your matter.

What if the other parent's income is unknown?

The maintenance officer has powers to investigate income and can subpoena an employer or bank. You are not expected to prove the other parent's earnings yourself when you lodge.