Wife, children and aged parents have to be maintained irrespective of whether a person has property or not. That is, even out of current earnings, these relations have to be maintained. The special factors to be borne in mind in fixing their maintenance are: (i) position and status of the parties. These relations have to be maintained in the status and the style of living to which they are accustomed. This is because normally these relations have to be under the roof of the person who has to maintain them.
So far as the dependants are concerned, e.g., widow, widowed daughter-in-law; widowed daughter, illegitimate children, etc. the claim is made after the death of the owner against the property in the hands of the heirs. The special factors here are; (i) net value of the estate, (ii) whether deceased left to the dependant any benefit under a will, (iii) degree of relationship, (iv) past relations between the dependant and the deceased.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
In all cases the following general factors are to be borne in mind: (i) reasonable wants of claimant; (ii) whether claimant has other property, income or earnings; (iii) number of persons eligible to claim maintenance.
In the light of the foregoing criteria the quantum of maintenance is to be fixed. When there is a change of circumstances the amount of maintenance may be increased or decreased suitably.
Once a decree for maintenance is passed either under s. 125 Cr. P.C. 1973 (s. 488 Cr. PC) or under the Act of 1956 the decree does not cease to have effect by subsequent resumption of cohabitation. So if the cohabitation is again abandoned, the decree may be executed: Datta v. Tarabai, AIR 1985 Bom. 106.