How Is Maintenance Assessed in Jordan and Who Determines It?

Assessing maintenance under Jordanian law rests on the payer's circumstances and the entitled person's need, not on a fixed uniform amount. Article 64 of the Personal Status Law provides that a wife's maintenance is set according to the husband's means, whether comfortable or constrained, and not below the minimum sufficient for the wife.

For child support, Article 189 directs that assessment take account of the father's means, comfortable or constrained, together with the children's actual needs; there is no rigid mathematical calculation — the judge assesses a reasonable amount covering essential needs. Housing, food, clothing, medical care, and education are taken into account under Articles 59, 190, and 192.

Article 64 allows maintenance to be increased or decreased as circumstances change, while Article 202 bars hearing a claim to increase or decrease before a year has passed, except in exceptional circumstances.

Assessing the appropriate amount remains within the Sharia judge's competence according to the evidence and the circumstances of each case, so the amount is not guaranteed in advance.

This is a general explanation based on Jordanian Personal Status Law and does not replace advice from a qualified lawyer in a specific dispute.