What happens to jointly owned debt after a divorce in Malta?
- 09.07.2026
My child currently attends a private school in Malta, an arrangement we agreed on together while still married, but since our separation, my ex is refusing to contribute anything toward the fees, saying our child could just attend a state school instead. Can I legally require them to continue contributing to the private school costs?
Whether a court would require your ex to continue contributing specifically to private school fees, rather than simply meeting a more general maintenance obligation, generally depends on factors the Civil Court (Family Section) would consider under the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, including the child's established educational history and continuity, whether private schooling was a genuinely settled joint decision made during the marriage reflecting the child's actual needs, and critically, both parents' financial means to actually afford continuing that arrangement, since maintenance obligations are generally balanced against what is reasonable and effectively affordable given both parents' circumstances rather than being unlimited. Given that your child has an established history at the private school from a joint decision made during the marriage, this does support an argument for continuity being in the child's best interests, but the ultimate outcome would still depend on a proper assessment of your specific circumstances, including your ex's actual financial capacity to contribute at that level. It would be worth having a family lawyer help present the case for continuity clearly, including the history of the joint decision and your child's specific circumstances, either to support a negotiated agreement or, if necessary, a formal maintenance application addressing this specifically.
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