An unmarried cohabitant has no legal right to seek maintenance from his or her cohabite for himself or herself. They may, however, seek such maintenance for the support of dependent children. A dependent child is defined to mean a child who "is under the age of 18 years or if he/she has attained that age: is receiving full time education or instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment and is under the age of 18; or is suffering from mental or physical disability to such an extent that it is not reasonable possible for him/her to maintain himself/herself fully.
If a maintenance order is made and the maintenance debtor (person ordered to pay maintenance) has a change in circumstance, either party may apply to the court to have the maintenance varied upwards or downwards, depending on the change.