Would very much appreciate a discussion and advice about the following scenarios.....in the hope I can make sense of them.
CONTEXT: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s; New Zealand
SITUATION 1: A person of interest was made to pay maintenance (for 4 children) for what appears to be at least until the youngest of 4 children reached 16, despite that child a) having been fostered as a baby/toddler then b) being put into an orphanage, then c) being fostered again, and finally d) going home for a year when she was 16 when her step-father found out about her and her 3 other siblings; but leaving as she didn't get on with the mother or step-father, and marrying at 19. Maintenance was still being saught when the eldest child of 4 was aged 17years.
SITUATION 2: An entry in the Police Gazette stated a person was due to pay maintenance to the Education department for a child who was around 13 years old at that time. He was interviewed. There were no other entries found prior or after that specifically relating to that named child.
SITUATION 3: A person was required to pay maintenance for at least a decade after his ex-wife re-married, even though she was in a relationship with another man and had children by this second male long prior to her 2nd marriage.
SITUATION 4: A person with 3 children to a previous marriage/relationship was only to pay for the youngest child who was 16 at the time and not the other older 2. 9 years later he files for divorce under the desertion option.
QUESTIONS: How long did a parent have to pay maintenance for a child or children and how much was it? Until the child was 18? For all of the children until the youngest was 18? Until the child left home? Until the child left school? Until the child got married?
If a child or children were put into orphanage care by the mother, was the father still liable for maintenance? Did the amount change?
If the mother of the children married or started a new relationship was the father still liable for maintenance?
Are there actual documents that state how much a person was paying and for how many children?
Is there a court file or anything that had to prove the parentage?
You've read this far ... phew, thanks. I look forward to the replies.
