The concept of maintenance is easy enough.  The law provides that you have to support your children according to their needs and your means.  By means we are obviously referring to your income and assets and by needs, we mean the reasonable expenses of the child.  What is reasonable for one child, may not be for another, and it is obviously dependent on the background of the parents and the upbringing of the child.  If you don't have the money to afford an attorney you can always go to your local maintenance court and get the help of the court officials.  Those who can afford it, it is obviously better to consult with a private practitioner who can spend more time going into the matter in greater detail.  However, if you can't afford that, you do always have access to the maintenance court and the services supplied to you, by the State, for free.