Parenting Payment

Question:

1) Can the wife keep the parental allowance money for herself that the couple receive in a shared bank account without her husband knowing?

2) The husband does the bank dealings, but before he went overseas, he left some money with the wife to use for household needs. When he returned, he asked for the money that was remaining and from this, the wife kept a little for herself before returning the unused money. Can the wife keep this without her husband's knowledge?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1) If you are referring to “Parenting Payment” from Centrelink, then according to the Centrelink website, Parenting Payment is paid to the person who is the main carer of a child. Therefore, it has to be determined whether the main carer of your child/children is you or your husband. Regardless of who does the bank dealings, the money (from Parenting Payment) belongs to whoever is the main carer, as that is the person Centrelink intended to give the money to. If need be, seek clarification from Centrelink.

Based on the above criteria, if the money belongs to you, you do not need permission of your husband to spend the money; infact, your husband cannot use this money unless it is with your consent. On the other hand, if the money belongs to your husband, you need his permission to use the money.

2) Based on the above criteria, if the money belongs to your husband, you cannot keep any portion of the money without his permission – as he did not make you the owner of the money he gave you before going overseas; he merely allowed you to use whatever was needed from it for household needs. If, on the other hand, the money belongs to you, you can keep it. Therefore, the important thing is to determine who the money belongs to. And to determine this, clarification from Centrelink may be needed.

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Faizal Riza
22/10/2011
Darul Ifta Australia
www.mufti-online.net

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