Child maintenance is
money to help pay for your child’s living costs
. It’s paid by the parent who doesn’t usually live with the child to the person who has most day-to-day care of the child. It’s also called ‘child support’. A child means someone who’s under 16, or under 20 if they’re in approved education or training.
Do I have to pay child maintenance if it’s 50/50 Custody UK?
If you have shared care for at least 52 nights a year, you don’t need to pay any child maintenance
.
Does child maintenance include clothes?
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.
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.
How long do you pay child maintenance?
- 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.
Does child maintenance cover swimming lessons?
As well as the bare necessities,
child maintenance can cover
; childcare. activities like swimming lessons.
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.
Can child maintenance be reduced?
If payments are reduced or stopped (unless agreed between you), you will be in breach of the court order
. If you genuinely can’t meet payments because your income has fallen, you can ask the court to reduce the amount of child maintenance you need to pay.
Do child maintenance take debts into account?
Any Child maintenance payment you make, weekly or monthly, will have been taken into account on your essential budget
before working out what payments you can afford to your debt solution.
What maintenance covers UK?
Child maintenance covers
how your child’s living costs will be paid when one of the parents does not live with the child
. It’s made when you’ve separated from the other parent or if you’ve never been in a relationship. This is a financial arrangement between you and the other parent of your child.
Does a father legally have to pay child maintenance?
Arranging child maintenance
When possible, you should make sure your child is looked after by having an effective maintenance arrangement in place.
Both parents are legally responsible for the financial costs of bringing up their children
, even parents who don’t live with their children.
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.
Does marriage affect child maintenance?
Whether or not you have remarried, or your ex-partner has remarried,
does not affect the obligation to continue paying child maintenance
.
How far back can I claim child maintenance UK?
There is currently no time limit for how far back CSA can claim arrears from
. So, even if you’ve not heard about your child support payments for many years, you may still receive a call or letter about it in future.
Can I go after my ex husband’s new wife for child support UK?
There are no grounds for reducing child maintenance on the basis that your ex-wife is living with a new partner
. Your obligation to pay child maintenance continues regardless of your ex-wife’s circumstances.
Does child maintenance affect Universal Credit 2021?
Will child maintenance payments affect Universal Credit?
No, this isn’t changing
. Any child maintenance payments you receive will not affect the amount of Universal Credit you are entitled to.
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.
How much can child maintenance take from Universal Credit?
Additionally, the 2018 Autumn Budget announced that the maximum amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit will reduce from 40% to
30% of a claimant’s standard allowance
.
What happens if a paying parent doesn’t pay child maintenance?
Under a child maintenance arrangement, child maintenance is usually paid by the parent who does not have day-to-day care of the child or does not usually live with the child. If this payment is not forthcoming,
the receiving parent could launch a civil legal claim
.
Do I pay maintenance for a child at university?
Child maintenance payments (as dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service), will cease when the child involved is aged 16 or when they finish full time secondary education (college education)
, potentially then leaving a shortfall when the child goes to university.
What happens if child maintenance is not paid UK?
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.
Are hobbies included in child maintenance?
Unfortunately,
the answer is usually “no”
. If the non-resident parent is paying child maintenance in accordance with the relevant child maintenance guidelines, there is no obligation on them to provide additional financial support to cover the cost of clubs and other activities.
Does child maintenance cover school clothes in the UK?
What costs does child maintenance cover? Child maintenance payments are designed to cover the everyday needs of the child such as food, clothing and housing.
School fees are not usually covered under child maintenance, but a family-based arrangement can be created to cover this
.
