Child support: why age matters

“The father pays child support.” For years that was the rule, at least between Jewish parents, to whom Jewish law applies on this question. In 2017 Israel's Supreme Court changed the picture in a judgment known as BAM 919/15. This letter explains what changed, and what did not.

Up to age 6

At younger ages, under the law that applies to Jewish parents, the duty to fund the children's essential needs rests with the father. Beyond essential needs, the mother's income is also taken into account.

From age 6

From age 6, under the 2017 ruling, both parents share child support. The split between them is set according to each parent's financial capacity, and according to parenting time: how much time the children actually spend with each parent. The ruling dealt with ages 6 to 15, and later decisions have applied the same approach to older children as well.

What counts as “financial capacity”

Not only the salary. The court looks at the whole financial picture: additional income, assets, housing costs, and each parent's disposable income. Two parents with similar salaries can carry very different shares.

What this means for you

• Parenting time and child support are connected. It is worth thinking about them together, not as two separate proceedings.
• Support set before 2017, or before the children turned 6, may not fit today. A material change in circumstances can justify asking to update it, up or down.
• Every case is assessed on its own facts. The ruling sets principles, not a table.

If you are about to make an agreement, or think the support that was set no longer reflects reality, this can be checked in one meeting with the documents: the existing judgment or agreement, payslips, and the parenting-time arrangement.

This letter is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different, and the law changes from time to time. Before acting, it is worth taking advice on your own circumstances.