Child maintenance can be paid
directly between parents or by Collect and Pay through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)
. CMS can collect from the paying parent's wages, benefits or by Direct Debit. When parents pay or receive child maintenance through Collect and Pay service, they pay a fee each time.
How much should a father pay for child maintenance in Ireland?
The court may order the non-resident parent* to pay a regular amount based on income and expenses. The maximum that the District Court can order from either parent is
€150 per week for each child
.
How long does a father have to pay child maintenance?
Contacting the Child Maintenance Service
You're normally expected to pay child maintenance
until your child is 16, or until they're 20 if they're in school or college full-time studying for: A-levels
.
Highers, or
.
equivalent
.
Can a father refuse to pay child support?
Often, parents can come to a consensual arrangement about maintenance or may choose to have their arrangements made into a court order as part of their divorce.
There are times, however, when your child's father may fail to pay Family Support
and you need to take action to recover the money owing.
What happens if child maintenance is not paid?
CMS can take you to court over unpaid child maintenance
. They can apply for a court order to take legal action. This is a ‘liability order'. If the court grants the order, CMS can then legal action against you.
What is covered in child maintenance?
Child maintenance covers
the cost of the everyday care of the child, such as food, clothes, and housing
. Expenses such as school fees do not fall under child maintenance – parents who are getting a divorce can make a “Family Based Arrangement” to deal with costs like this.
Can child maintenance be backdated?
All in all,
child maintenance can be backdated for a long period
, but there's no definitive answer as to how long. Essentially, it depends on the individual case and circumstances, and it might mean going to court to resolve the situation.
Do I have to pay child maintenance if it's 50 50 custody?
If you have shared care for at least 52 nights a year, you don't need to pay any child maintenance
.
Do I still pay child maintenance if my ex remarries?
The answer is no.
When parents divorce, the absent parent (“paying parent”) is obliged by law to pay child maintenance to the parent caring for the child (“receiving parent”)
.
Do I have to pay more than child maintenance?
Yes, you are not obliged to pay anything more than your child maintenance sum
. I would however encourage you to consider any requests on a case by case basis. Ultimately the money is to pay for your child and so you may want to pay a little extra on one-off occasions so that your child doesn't go without.
When can I stop paying child maintenance UK?
When does child maintenance stop? If child maintenance has been paid under a Child Maintenance Service Agreement, then the law states that maintenance will be paid until:
The child is 16 years old
. The child is 20 years old if they continue in full-time education to the end of A- levels.
How does my ex get away with not paying child support?
If your ex-partner stops paying, thereby breaching the Order, you can
apply to court to enforce it
. If you did not get a Consent Order, your voluntary agreement is not legally binding. You can try to negotiate with your ex-partner to try and resume the payments.
What happens to child maintenance if Father Dies UK?
192) (“MPPO”),
any order made for periodical child maintenance payments (i.e. periodical payments, secured periodical payments, lump sum payments) will cease to have effect upon the death of the payor
, with the exception of any arrears due under the order on the date of his/her death.
How many years can CSA be backdated?
Is there a CSA arrears time limit? Generally speaking,
there is no time limit on when the CMS or CSA can collect your arrears
. Usually, they will try to collect it within two years of you falling behind with your payments.
Can you go to jail for not paying maintenance?
If maintenance isn't paid,
the court can take the money from the maintenance payer's salary, their investment account, auction their property or issue a warrant of arrest
.
Can child maintenance take money from your bank account?
The CSA can take the money from the parent's bank account, wages or benefits
. If your child's other parent doesn't respond to the CSA's attempts to contact them or doesn't pay the arrears, the CSA may apply to the court for a liability order.
Do I have to pay child maintenance if we live together?
If you both care for your child equally
You don't have to pay child maintenance
. The CMS will look at all the arrangements you have for caring for your child, not just how many nights they spend with each of you.
Do I have to pay child maintenance if I'm not on the birth certificate?
If an unwed father is not listed on the birth certificate, he has no legal rights to the child. This includes
no obligation to paying child support
and no rights to visitation to custody or child support. If no father is listed on the birth certificate, the mother has sole legal rights and responsibility of the child.
How much is child maintenance in the UK?
| Gross weekly income Rate Weekly amount | Unknown or not provided Default £38 for 1 child, £51 for 2 children, £61 for 3 or more children | Below £7 Nil £0 | £7 to £100, or if the paying parent gets benefits Flat £7 | £100.01 to £199.99 Reduced Calculated using a formula |
|---|
How long do CSA payments take?
How long does it take. You will usually get a response from CMS about your application for Child Maintenance
within six weeks
. However, it can take up to 26 weeks if there is a problem with contacting the paying parent.
Do mothers have more rights than fathers UK?
The short answer to your question is yes,
fathers do have the same parental rights as mothers
. However, you should know that in the UK, whereas a mum automatically obtains parental responsibility as soon as her child is born, the situation is a bit more complicated for the dad.
How old does a baby have to be to stay overnight with Father UK?
The welfare of the child is always the court's top priority, so those under 18 months old are considered suitable to visit their father (or noncustodial parent) for a few hours at a time, but due to their need for routine and familiarity,
overnight stays are generally not recommended
.
We call it ‘shared care' if a child stays overnight with the paying parent+. If shared care happens for an average of one night a week or more (
at least 52 nights a year
), this can affect child maintenance payments.
