The guardian’s fund as the appropriate receptacle of lump-sum future maintenance for children

Abstract

The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998 currently only provides for the recovery of arrear maintenance and the enforcement thereof but does not provide for an applicant to claim for future maintenance. The courts have tried to fill some gaps in this regard and have allowed the attachment of certain benefits for the future maintenance of children. However, in addition to this identified gap, the Maintenance Act also does not indicate who will be responsible for administering the benefits that are eligible for attachment. This dissertation relates to the critical question as to who will be responsible for administering the benefits after a future maintenance order is made – more particularly whether the Guardian’s Fund section of the Master of the High Court is the appropriate receptacle to administer lump-sum future maintenance for children. The research will further be conducted to identify areas of conflict between future maintenance court orders and the Estates Act. Solutions will be suggested to these conflicts to assist in providing a framework for the drafting of amendments to the Maintenance Act to regulate the issue of future maintenance for children.