Maintenance (nafaqa) in Morocco
If you are wondering who must pay nafaqa, what it covers and how a family court sets the amount, this guide gets straight to the point. It draws solely on the Family Code (the Moudawana, Law No. 70-03), with the articles to back it up.
The essentials in brief
Maintenance (nafaqa) covers food, clothing, medical care, the children's education and everything customarily deemed indispensable [Art. 189]. The family court sets the amount with moderation, taking into account the income of the person who must pay and the situation of the beneficiary [Art. 189]. Everyone is presumed solvent until proof to the contrary [Art. 188]. The judgment remains enforceable until a new judgment [Art. 191], and the court rules quickly: one month at most for the child's maintenance [Art. 190].
What nafaqa really covers
Many think maintenance comes down to money for food. It is broader than that.
The Code is explicit: maintenance covers food, clothing, medical care and everything customarily considered indispensable, as well as the children's education [Art. 189]. Schooling costs are expressly included [Art. 189]. In other words, school counts. So do medical expenses.
A nuance people often miss. The child's housing does indeed fall under the maintenance obligation, but it remains distinct from maintenance proper, from the custody remuneration and from the rest [Art. 189]. The father must provide his children with housing or pay its rent, and this is dealt with separately [Art. 189]. Do not confuse the two items: they are calculated separately.
The same logic applies to custody. The custody (hadana) remuneration and the expenses it occasions fall to the person bound to maintain the child, and they are distinct from maintenance [Art. 167]. Paying for custody therefore does not exempt one from maintenance: the child keeps their right to nafaqa, and the maintenance debtor must pay it to the custodian so long as the child is under their protection [Art. 167]. Remember the simple rule: maintenance, custody and housing are three different things.
How the court sets the amount
There is no automatic scale. The family court (the specialised jurisdiction that decides family disputes) assesses on a case-by-case basis.
The assessment is made with moderation [Art. 189]. The judge takes into account several criteria: the income of the person liable for maintenance, whether rising or falling, the situation of the beneficiary — whether a wife, a son, a father or a third party —, the level of prices and their variations, as well as the customs and usages of the social environment in which the maintenance is due [Art. 189]. All in service of an old principle: "Cause no harm, neither to another nor to oneself" [Art. 189].
Frankly, this is what explains why two neighbouring cases can yield two widely differing amounts. A comfortable salary, a large city, children in private schooling: maintenance rises. Limited means: it adjusts.
And if the debtor grows poorer or richer? The income criterion works both ways [Art. 189]. Maintenance is not set in stone.
Who must pay, and in what order
No one is bound to provide for the needs of another beyond what they can assume for themselves [Art. 188]. That is the ceiling. But beware of the point that traps so many debtors: everyone is presumed solvent until proof to the contrary [Art. 188].
In concrete terms, you cannot simply assert "I have nothing" to escape payment. The burden of proof rests on whoever invokes their insolvency [Art. 188]. The mandatory nature of nafaqa depends on the assets the person has beyond what covers their own essential needs [Art. 188]. The Code recalls the Quranic principle cited in reference: the rich maintain according to their wealth, the poor within the limits of their means [Art. 188].
And when resources are not enough for everyone? The Code sets a strict order of priority [Art. 193]. First the wife (or wives), then the young children of both sexes, then the daughters, then the sons, then the mother, and finally the father [Art. 193]. This order is not indicative: it is binding on the debtor unable to pay all their maintenance creditors at once [Art. 193].
Honestly, if your means are tight, knowing this order spares you many mistakes about whom to serve first.
Enforcement, time limits and guarantees
A maintenance judgment that lies dormant helps no one. The Code understood this.
The court itself determines the means of enforcing the judgment ordering maintenance and housing charges: it has them charged against the assets of the condemned person, or it orders deduction at source from their income or salary [Art. 191]. It may also set, where appropriate, guarantees to ensure the continuity of payment [Art. 191]. A debtor who is a civil servant or salaried employee may thus have the maintenance deducted directly from their pay, without any new step by the beneficiary [Art. 103].
An essential point on duration: the judgment ordering maintenance remains in force until it is replaced by another judgment, or until the beneficiary forfeits their right [Art. 191]. It does not expire on its own.
Speed too is governed. For the maintenance necessary for the child, the court must rule within a maximum of one month [Art. 190]. That is short, and it is intended: the child cannot wait.
What happens if the husband does not pay his wife's maintenance? The Code provides for cases. If he establishes his insolvency, the court grants him a maximum of 30 days to obtain the means to ensure maintenance without prejudice [Art. 103]. Failing performance, the court pronounces divorce — except in case of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, assessed by the judge [Art. 103]. This case remains provisional [Art. 103]. A practical tip: if you are going through a genuine financial difficulty, document it before the hearing rather than after.
Special cases: third parties and persons under interdiction
Nafaqa does not target only the wife and children.
A person who undertakes to pay maintenance to a third party, minor or adult, for a fixed period, must honour that undertaking [Art. 205]. If the duration is not specified, the court fixes it according to local usage [Art. 205]. This undertaking on its own constitutes a ground for the obligation to maintain a third person [Art. 205]. You promise, you pay: the rule is as clear as that.
For a person under interdiction (the interdicted person), the Code arranges a control. After the inventory, the public prosecutor's office, the legal representative, the family council and one or more close relatives may present their observations to the judge in charge of minors' affairs on the assessment of the maintenance necessary for the interdicted person, taking into account the size or smallness of their financial means [Art. 251]. The maintenance of the interdicted person is therefore decided under the gaze of several parties, not the guardian alone.
Nafaqa in Morocco follows a constant logic: cover the indispensable, adjust to real means, and guarantee swift enforcement. The rest comes down to the case you present.
References
- Article 103 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 167 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 188 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 189 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 190 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 191 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 193 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 205 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
- Article 251 — Family Code (Moudawana, Law No. 70-03)
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