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Child Support Act 1991

Voluntary agreements - Miscellaneous provisions

66: Voluntary agreement no bar to application for maintenance order under Family Proceedings Act 1980

You could also call this:

“You can still ask a court for financial support even if you have a private agreement”

If you have a voluntary agreement with someone where they pay you money for support, you can still ask for a maintenance order under the Family Proceedings Act 1980. This means the agreement doesn’t stop you from seeking legal help for financial support.

If a court gives you a maintenance order against the person who was paying you under the voluntary agreement, it’s treated as if you chose to end the voluntary agreement. The voluntary agreement will stop the day before the maintenance order starts. You don’t need to do anything extra to make this happen - it’s automatic when you get the maintenance order.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM254314.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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Part 3 Voluntary agreements
Miscellaneous provisions

66Voluntary agreement no bar to application for maintenance order under Family Proceedings Act 1980

  1. The existence of a voluntary agreement that provides for payments of money by 1 party to the agreement towards the support of another party to the agreement shall not prevent that other party from applying under the Family Proceedings Act 1980 for a maintenance order.

  2. Where a maintenance order under that Act is made against a party to the agreement for the maintenance of another party to the agreement, that other party is deemed—

  3. to have elected under section 64 that the liability of the liable person to pay domestic maintenance under that agreement is to end with the day before the day on which the maintenance order is to first apply; and
    1. to have met the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) of that section.

      Notes
      • Section 66 heading: amended, on , by section 3 of the Child Support Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 6).
      • Section 66(2)(a): amended, on , by section 3 of the Child Support Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 6).