Unmarried daughter who is above 18 can claim maintenance from father: HC

times of India 08.04.2018

Mumbai: An unmarried daughter is entitled to claim maintenance from her father even after attaining the age of 18 if her parents are divorced or estranged, the Bombay HC has ruled.

Also, a woman can file an application on behalf of her major daughter to seek maintenance, Justice Bharti Dangre ruled on Friday.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a city-based woman challenging the family court’s order dismissing her application seeking maintenance from her estranged husband for the couple’s 19-year-old daughter. The couple, which got married in 1988, got separated in 1997. Their three children — two boys and one girl — lived with the mother.

Till the time the kids were minors, their father paid a monthly maintenance for each child to their mother. However, after the daughter crossed 18 years of age, the father refused to pay maintenance for her. Her mother, in her petition, claimed that though her daughter had attained majority, she was still financially dependent on her. PTI