How to Request a Maintenance Reduction in Jordan?

Jordanian law allows an adjudged maintenance to be decreased if the payer's circumstances change materially. Article 64 of the Personal Status Law provides that maintenance is assessed according to the payer's means, whether comfortable or constrained, and allows it to be increased or decreased as circumstances change; so if the husband's or father's income falls, he loses his job, or his obligations grow, a decrease may be sought.

Article 202 restricts hearing a claim to decrease a wife's or relatives' maintenance to after a year has passed since assessment, except where exceptional circumstances justify earlier review. A decrease requires proof of the material change in financial capacity by evidence before the Sharia Court.

The aim is to balance the entitled person's need against the payer's ability, so maintenance does not remain a burden beyond capacity, nor is it reduced on mere claim without proof.

Assessing whether a material change exists and the amount of the decrease remains within the court's competence on the facts of each case, and the outcome 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.