Quick answer
Keep a living evidence file built around five questions: what does the current order require, what was paid, what has materially changed, what are the maintained person’s reasonable needs now, and what can each responsible person afford? Preserve the source records behind each answer, not only a spreadsheet or a selection of screenshots.
How to use this guide
The purpose is broader than preparing for one consultation. A maintenance officer may investigate whether good cause exists to substitute or discharge the order, the other party may challenge the figures, and the court must make the decision. A chronological, authentic file lets the history be checked without relying on memory months later.
Preserve the legal baseline
Keep the full stamped maintenance order, all annexures, the original court and reference number, and every later substitution, discharge or endorsement. If maintenance is contained in a divorce order or incorporated settlement, retain the complete order. Save official notices, summonses, filed forms, proof of delivery, attendance notes and the eventual new order in the same section.
Do not overwrite an earlier version when a new order is made. Mark each document with its operative period so the correct amount can be matched to each month. A payment ledger becomes unreliable if it applies today’s figure retrospectively to a period governed by different wording.
The Department of Justice’s live forms page separates Form B substitution or discharge from consent, default-order and enforcement forms. Retain the actual form lodged and any stamped attachments. A blank template downloaded later is not proof of what the court received.
Maintain a due-and-paid ledger
For every payment period, record the contractual due date, amount under the operative order, amount received, date, method, reference and balance. Add separate columns for school, medical or other expenses if the order treats them independently. Link each entry to a bank statement, court receipt, payroll record or provider invoice.
Keep proof even when payments are regular. Bank descriptions can be vague, accounts can close and employers can change. Export statements in their original format and store them with a readable filename. For cash, obtain contemporaneous signed receipts identifying the payer, recipient, amount, date and purpose; do not recreate receipts long afterwards.
If a payment is disputed, preserve both sides’ communications and note the dispute without editing the historical entry. Do not silently net a once-off purchase against monthly maintenance unless the order or subsequent court decision authorises that treatment. The file should expose the disagreement rather than manufacture an agreed balance.
Record needs with source documents
Maintain an expense schedule for the person receiving support. For a child, useful records can include school fee statements, stationery and uniform invoices, childcare costs, transport receipts, medical-scheme contributions, pharmacy or practitioner invoices, therapy reports, assistive-device quotations and evidence of ordinary housing and food costs.
Distinguish recurring amounts from annual, exceptional and projected costs. Note any subsidy, reimbursement or contribution from another source. Where a household expense is shared, write down the allocation method instead of presenting the whole account as one child’s expense.
The Justice Department says both parties must provide proof of expenses so the court can make a fair maintenance order. Keep reasonable samples for routine spending and full proof for large or unusual items. A pile of till slips without categories or dates is less useful than a monthly schedule whose totals can be traced back to those slips.
Keep evidence of means, not just salary
Retain payslips, employment letters, bank statements, tax returns or assessments, benefits, pension or grant records and proof of regular additional income. Record job changes, reduced hours, bonus cycles and changes in medical-aid or employer-paid benefits. Where income fluctuates, preserve a long enough sequence to show the pattern rather than selecting the lowest or highest month.
A self-employed person should keep business statements, invoices, financial statements, drawings, loan accounts and records of personal costs paid by the business. These documents do not automatically prove a particular maintenance amount. They make the means assessment transparent enough for appropriate legal and accounting input.
Do not obtain records unlawfully or access another person’s password-protected account. Preserve material lawfully received, identify known gaps and ask the maintenance officer or lawyer how relevant information may be requested through the proper process. The Act gives maintenance officers investigation powers; private intrusion is not a substitute for those powers.
Prove the change relied on
Create a dated event file for the circumstance said to justify substitution or discharge. Examples include a retrenchment notice and unemployment records, a new employment contract, a sustained earnings shift, current medical evidence, revised school costs, or documents showing a genuine change in the child’s care needs.
Connect the event to the financial effect. A diagnosis may explain why support needs changed, but invoices and a care plan show the cost. A job-loss letter establishes an event, while bank records, benefits, job-search evidence and later earnings show its duration and effect. Good cause is fact-specific; no single record guarantees variation.
Where child arrangements affect expenses, keep an accurate care calendar and proof of actual expenditure. Do not use it as a scorecard against the other parent. The Children’s Act puts best interests at the centre of child well-being, and Justice guidance treats maintenance and contact as separate matters.
Preserve communications and authenticity
Save complete message threads, emails and letters with senders, recipients and timestamps. Keep settlement proposals, document requests, responses, payment explanations and arrangements for sharing invoices. Export originals where possible, and make separate annotated working copies. Cropped messages can remove the qualifying sentence that changes their meaning.
Write contemporaneous notes of important calls or in-person discussions, including the date, participants and neutral summary. Distinguish what was said from your interpretation. If a correction is necessary, add it as a dated note rather than changing the original record.
Back up the file securely, restrict access to sensitive financial and child information, and share only what is relevant through an appropriate channel. Keep a disclosure index showing what was sent, to whom and when. This protects both evidential integrity and practical privacy.
Use a repeatable filing routine
Create folders for orders and court process, payments, income, needs and expenses, change evidence, and communications. Update the ledger monthly and reconcile it to source proof. Before an enquiry or consultation, prepare a one-page chronology and an unresolved-record list without discarding the underlying documents.
Evidence does not decide the case by volume. Its value lies in showing the operative obligation, the genuine change, credible current figures and a complete payment history. Keep records that can be explained and tested, continue following the existing order, and let the maintenance court determine whether the legal threshold for change is met.
Important limitation
This is a general evidence-organisation guide. Relevance, admissibility, lawful access, disclosure, retention and the effect of each record depend on the actual maintenance proceedings.
FAQs
How should old and new maintenance orders be stored?
Keep every complete stamped version and mark its operative period. Do not overwrite an earlier order, because payment history must be matched to the terms then in force.
What belongs in a maintenance payment ledger?
Record each due date, required amount, amount received, payment date, method, reference, balance and linked proof, with separate columns for additional ordered costs.
What evidence shows that a maintenance change is sustained?
Keep the event record and its continuing financial effect—for example employment papers plus later statements, or medical evidence plus invoices and a care plan.
Should I save full maintenance messages or only relevant screenshots?
Preserve complete original threads with dates and participants, then make separate working extracts. Cropping can remove context and create an authenticity dispute.
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Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.