Child Maintenance in Kota Kinabalu

Child maintenance in Kota Kinabalu

Both parents must support their children, whoever has custody. A maintenance order sets how much the paying parent contributes.

Maintenance covers the child’s everyday needs: food, clothing, housing, school fees, tuition, medical costs, transport and childcare.

How the amount is set

The court looks at the child’s reasonable needs and what each parent can afford. An order normally ends when the child turns 18. It can last longer if the child is still in further or higher education or training, or has a physical or mental disability (section 95 of Act 164, as amended in 2018).

If maintenance is not paid

If payments stop, the parent receiving them can ask the same court to enforce the order. One option is an attachment of earnings order, which takes the money straight from the payer’s salary.

Filing in Kota Kinabalu

Maintenance applications from Kota Kinabalu are filed at the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak at Kota Kinabalu. Sabah is in East Malaysia, where the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak has its own rules and court lists.

If an existing order is not being paid, the same court can enforce it.

Read more

For the full national guide, see Child Maintenance. For filing details in Kota Kinabalu, see civil divorce information for Kota Kinabalu.

Looking to engage a divorce lawyer? If you are unsure how much maintenance to ask for, or how to enforce an order, request independent lawyer contact via WhatsApp: Request Lawyer Contact. For general information, use our guides and tools.