Alimony in Jordanian Law

Maintenance (nafaqa) in Jordan is governed by the Personal Status Law No. 15 of 2019, while litigation procedures fall under the Sharia Procedural Law No. 31 of 1959 and its amendments. Nafaqa under Jordanian law is a financial right that secures the basic needs of the entitled person — food, clothing, housing, and medical care — borne by the legally obligated party.

Main types of maintenance

• Wife's maintenance: the husband's obligation to support his wife during the subsisting marriage, as long as she remains eligible.
• ʿIdda maintenance: for the divorced wife throughout her ʿidda after divorce.
• Child support: the father's obligation to maintain his minor children or those unable to earn.
• Relatives' maintenance: solvent children owe maintenance to their poor parents, with other forms specified by law.
• Past-due maintenance: maintenance debts that were not paid when due.
• Provisional maintenance: imposed by the court during proceedings to protect the entitled person from destitution.

How maintenance is assessed

Maintenance is not a fixed amount — the Sharia Court considers:

• The obligated party's means (income, property, other financial obligations).
• The entitled person's standard of living.
• The number of dependents.
• Local custom and geographic region.

What maintenance covers

Maintenance covers basic needs: food, clothing, suitable housing, medical care, education for children, and what is customary for similar persons.

Court procedure

A maintenance case is filed at the competent Sharia Court, the defendant is properly served, evidence is heard on the obligated party's income and the entitled person's need, and judgment is issued. The ruling is enforced through the Execution Department upon refusal, and imprisonment may follow in cases of capable refusal — while documented insolvency triggers different rules.

What does not lapse

Child support is the children's right, not the mother's, and does not lapse by any agreement between the spouses or by the mother's remarriage. Past-due maintenance is a debt against the obligated party that does not lapse with time, except within statutory limits.

Every maintenance case is fact-specific. Speak to a qualified Jordanian family lawyer before taking any legal step.