Child Maintenance/Child Support

After a child’s health and happiness, there is nothing more important to parents than their child’s education. Getting your child into the school of your choice can be more challenging when you are separated or divorced from the child’s other parent. For expert advice on children and family law call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Parental disputes and schooling issues Children lawyer, Louise Halford, has helped many parents resolve where their child should be schooled, and sometimes just as importantly, who should pay the school fees. The sorts of parental disputes over education and schooling include disagreements on: Whether a child should be state or privately educated and if educated privately who should pay the fees Whether a child should be home educated by one parent Whether a child should attend a school with a religious affiliation The specific school, with issues over school catchment area and parent’s homes and the feasibility of mid-week contact visits if the school choice is some distance away combined with debates over the Ofsted rankings of potential schools Whether a child should board or be a day pupil Whether a child should have a SEND assessment and be mainstream educated or attend a specialist school to address health concerns such as a child being on the autistic spectrum or dyslexic whether a child should move to a new school, for example if a parent’s new partner’s children attend a different local state school or are being privately educated Who decides on the choice of school? Both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for their child if they share parental responsibility for their offspring. Parental Responsibility means parents have an equal say in the choice of school. If parents can’t reach an agreement after discussion or mediation then ultimately the court can decide and make a specific issue order identifying the school that the child should attend. The court decision is based on what the judge thinks is in the child’s best interests taking into account a range of statutory factors. That is why it is important that the judge knows your child’s personality and likes and dislikes as if your child is sporty and not academic that might influence the judge in deciding that a school with a focus on exam results might not be the best environment for them. When presenting an argument for a particular school pastoral care can be as important as a focus on sports or academic achievement. [related_posts] Who pays the school fees? Most parents’ fear on separation is that their child may not be able to go to the planned private school or may have to come out of private education and move into the state system. The Child Maintenance Service can’t order a parent to pay school fees as part of general child support but the court can make a school fees order to make one parent either pay or contribute towards private school fees and ‘extras’, such as uniforms, music lessons, or the annual school ski trip. The court looks at a range of factors when deciding whether or not to make a school fees order, including the affordability of private education. What next? The new school year, the graduation from nursery to primary school or from primary to secondary school may seem a long time away but all of a sudden choice of schooling will become a pressing issue. That is why separated or divorced parents need to start to talk early and do their research on suitable school options to hopefully reach an agreement on what type or specific school is in your child’s best interests. If an agreement can’t be reached then, after mediation, either parent could start court proceedings. The court will try to decide on children law applications as quickly as it can but inevitably court timetables aren’t as quick as parents ideally want. That means that it pays to think and talk early so the judge has time to make a decision on the choice of school or payment of school fees well in advance of the new school year. For expert advice on children and family law call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When money is going out of your bank account each month in child maintenance it isn’t surprising that many parents question when the child maintenance will stop. Equally, if you are a parent looking after a strapping twenty-year-old who hasn’t got a job and can't get one, then you will have a different point of view about when child maintenance should stop. In this blog children law solicitor, Louise Halford, answers your questions on when child maintenance stops. When does child maintenance stop? Child maintenance is the financial arrangement between you and the other parent of your child over the money payable to financially support your child after your separation or divorce. Parents make assumptions about when child maintenance stops. Common assumptions include: Child maintenance stops if the parent getting the child maintenance has remarried or is in a new relationship Child maintenance stops if the person getting the child maintenance is earning more than the parent who provides the child support Child maintenance stops if the parent receiving child maintenance refuses child contact and won't let the other parent have a relationship with the child Child maintenance stops if there is someone else helping with financial support for the child, for example a grandparent. All of these assumptions are wrong. It is important to understand that child maintenance isn’t affected by the status of parental relationships or whether one parent is breaching a child arrangement order and refusing contact. You may however be able to stop spousal maintenance or start court proceedings to reduce or stop spousal maintenance or to enforce a child arrangement order. How long is child maintenance payable for? If child maintenance has been calculated by the Child Maintenance Service you will need to pay child maintenance until: Your child is sixteen or Your child is under twenty if they are in approved education or training or The Child Maintenance Service assessment is cancelled. For example, because the child comes to live with you or the care of the child is shared equally or the child is adopted. If you are in any doubt about whether you can stop child maintenance when there is a Child Maintenance Service assessment in place it is best to take specialist legal advice as you don’t want to find out that you are still liable to pay child support and arrears have mounted up. If you are paying child maintenance on a voluntary basis to the other parent then you can stop child maintenance at any time. However, stopping child maintenance early is likely to result in an application for a Child Maintenance Service assessment and you could be assessed as liable to pay more in child support than you were paying on a voluntary basis. Stopping child maintenance payable under a court order The court can only make child support orders in limited circumstances. For example: Where both parents agree to the making of a child maintenance order or To cover the additional costs of caring for a disabled child or To cover private school fees – referred to as a school fees order or To provide child support for a step-child who was treated as a child of the family during the marriage or civil partnership or To provide for additional child maintenance after the Child Maintenance Service has made a maximum award under the Child Maintenance Service assessment process. This is referred to as top up child maintenance. If you are paying child maintenance or receiving child support under a court order it is best to take legal advice before stopping the payments or threatening court action. That is because the type of child maintenance order and the wording in the order may determine when child maintenance will stop or the court options open to you. For example, a child maintenance order may say that the child support order will continue until the children finish their A levels, but if over a year has elapsed from the date the child maintenance order was made you won't be able to apply to court to enforce the order. For example, if an order is made for payment towards the costs of a disabled child the order may not be age limited if the child will continue to need specific disability related provision into adulthood. [related_posts] Varying child maintenance Although you may not be able to stop child maintenance you may be able to vary the amount you pay either by: Asking the Child Maintenance Service to vary the assessment Asking the court to vary the child maintenance order Agreeing to a change in the amount of child support that is paid on a voluntary basis. Circumstances justifying a variation could include: You losing your job or taking a pay cut Your caring overnight for the children on a more frequent basis The children going to boarding school The children no longer living in the UK and you having increased travel costs to see them. It is best to take expert legal advice on child maintenance variation to see if you have the grounds to reduce child support rather than unilaterally assuming that you have the power to reduce the amount of child support payable. Remember that child maintenance can be varied upwards as well as downwards. We are Manchester and Cheshire family solicitors For fast friendly family law and child support advice call Evolve Family Law. Our specialist family law solicitors can help you with divorce proceedings,  child custody and contact , financial settlements and child maintenance. Call us or complete our online enquiry form. Evolve Family Law offices are located in Whitefield, North Manchester and Holmes Chapel, Cheshire but we also offer remote meetings by telephone appointment or video call.

The question “ How much child maintenance should I pay?” isn’t always a straightforward one or an easy question for a Cheshire family law solicitor to answer. That’s because most family circumstances need exploring before a definitive answer can be given so you understand how child support fits into your overall divorce financial settlement. In this article, children law solicitor, Louise Halford, answers your frequently asked questions on how much child maintenance you should pay. What is child maintenance? Child maintenance and child support are one and the same thing to divorce solicitors. So, whilst you may hear reference to child support it is the same as child maintenance, namely the financial  support paid by one parent to the other parent or primary carer of the child for the child’s upbringing and support. What child maintenance does not cover is: Payment of school fees – if a child is being privately educated and payment of school fees is in dispute you can apply to the family court for a school fees order that the other parent pay all or a proportion of the private school fees and any specified extras Payment of spousal maintenance – if the other parent requires financial support in addition to the child maintenance provided for the child’s upbringing then the parent can apply to the family court for spousal maintenance provided that they are eligible to do so. For example, you cannot apply for spousal maintenance from a former spouse if you have remarried. Child maintenance is in essence the financial arrangement between you and the other parent of your child over the money payable to financially support the child after parental separation or divorce. The amount of child maintenance payable is not dependant on the status of the parent’s relationship. In other words, whether child support is payable and the amount of child support isn’t affected by whether you are in a married or cohabiting relationship. However, under current law an unmarried partner can't claim spousal maintenance whereas a husband or wife or civil partner can do so from their separated or divorced spouse or civil partner. Is child maintenance payable if you don’t see the child? If you are a separated parent and you don’t see your child , either as a result of your decision, a child arrangement order by the family court or you don’t see your child frequently because of distances and difficulties with travel, you will still need to pay child maintenance. Your legal obligation to pay child maintenance only stops if the child is adopted. How is child maintenance calculated? Child maintenance can be calculated and paid under: A private arrangement- this is between you and the other parent Under a court order – in limited circumstances the family court has the power to make a child maintenance order Through a Child Maintenance Service assessment – the Child Maintenance Service is a government body tasked with calculating and securing payment of child maintenance. How long is child maintenance payable for? You will need to pay child maintenance until: Your child is sixteen or Your child is under twenty if they are in approved education or training or Until you agree otherwise if payments are made on a voluntary basis under a family arrangement. Arranging child maintenance with the other parent You don’t have to involve a solicitor or the Child Maintenance Service to sort out how much child maintenance you should pay if you prefer to sort it out direct with the other parent. However, divorce solicitors recommend that you take some specialist legal advice so you understand how child maintenance fits in with the overall financial settlement, such as whether spousal maintenance is payable and for how long or who gets to stay at the family home. It is also important to reality test the proposed amount of any agreed child maintenance to make sure that you will still have enough  to live on, especially when you have rehoused yourself and taken on a new mortgage or are incurring extra costs because of travelling to see the children. The best point about agreeing child maintenance with the other parent is that you can agree any figure that you want to with the child’s mother or father. You don’t have to use the strict mathematical formula adopted by the Child Maintenance Service but instead can look at what the child needs and what you can afford to pay. Arrangements can be flexible and could involve you paying less than what the Child Maintenance Service would assess you as being liable to pay because you have agreed to share the costs of private nursery fees or after school or holiday clubs or you agree to pay an older child a set monthly amount in clothing and pocket money allowance. Alternatively, you can agree that payments should be higher than the Child Maintenance Service would assess you as being liable to pay because you are able to afford a higher figure and you want your child to be able to enjoy a similar standard of living to that experienced whilst you were living together as a family. If you agree child maintenance payments direct it is best to remember that you can't bank on the child maintenance payments staying the same. If payments are made on a voluntary basis they could change, for example, they could go down if the parent paying child support realises that that the agreed figure is unaffordable because they have had to take on a big monthly mortgage commitment to buy a new property. If direct arrangements break down you can try to reach a new agreement using family solicitors or family mediation or an application could be made to the Child Maintenance Service. Using the Child Maintenance Service If you decide to use the Child Maintenance Service the government agency can calculate the amount of child maintenance you should pay or receive. The Child Maintenance Service uses a strict mathematical formula to assess the amount of child support. This formula does not consider the child’s outgoings (such as nursery fees) or the receiving parent or paying parent’s outgoings but instead focusses on the paying parent’s income. Once the Child Maintenance Service has calculated the amount of child support payable the payments can be made direct between parents or collected through the Child Maintenance Service. If you use the Child Maintenance Service to collect and transfer the child support then the Child Maintenance Service will charge a fee. That’s why it is preferrable to arrange payment direct if it is possible to do so. Who can't use the Child Maintenance Service to calculate child support? You can't make an application to the Child Maintenance Service for child support if: You have care of your child and you live outside the UK or The parent who is liable to pay child support lives outside the UK and doesn’t work for a British company or You are seeking child support for a step child. If you are married or you were previously married and the child was treated as a child of the family you may be able to apply to court for a child support court order You need child maintenance to cover school fees or the additional costs arising out of a child’s disability. You may be able to apply to court for an order to pay these costs You agreed a financial court order that includes a child support order for the child and the order is either less than twelve months in age or the financial court order was made prior to the 3 March 2003. [related_posts] How much child maintenance should I pay? The amount of child maintenance that you should pay is calculated by looking at: Your weekly gross income – this could be your salary or self-employed earnings The number of children you need to pay child maintenance for Whether there are children living with you in your new household – these could be step children or children you have had with a new partner The amount of overnight contact time you enjoy with the children you are paying child maintenance for – overnight contact time is averaged over a year rather than looked at on a weekly or monthly basis. You can calculate the amount of child maintenance you should pay or you should receive using the government online child support calculator but it is best to look at child maintenance within the context of your financial settlement so you understand how child support fits in with spousal maintenance and the split of capital or who gets to stay in the family home. It is also important to understand that child maintenance can go up or down or could end if the child moves to live with their other parent or there is a shared care arrangement. We are Manchester and Cheshire family solicitors For fast friendly family law advice call Evolve Family Law. Our specialist family law solicitors can help you with divorce proceedings,  child custody and contact , financial settlements and child maintenance. Call us or complete our online enquiry form. Evolve Family Law offices are located in Whitefield, North Manchester and Holmes Chapel, Cheshire but we also offer remote meetings by telephone appointment or video call.

Handing over money to a former husband, wife, or ex-partner can be galling. That’s especially the case when you are paying child maintenance and you don’t think that your former spouse or ex-partner is spending the child maintenance on your child. In this article divorce settlement and child support solicitor, Robin Charrot, looks at whether you can pay child maintenance direct to your child. Who do you have to pay child maintenance to? Child maintenance is normally paid to the parent who has primary care of the child. It isn’t paid to the child direct. Normally if child maintenance is paid after an assessment by the Child Maintenance Service, or after a financial court order is made in the family court, the Child Maintenance Service will encourage and the court will order that the child support is paid by direct debit to the receiving parent. If parents reach an agreement over child support, and there is no Child Maintenance Service or court involvement, then it is possible to agree to pay the child maintenance direct to the child. Is it best to pay child maintenance direct to a child? You may think that as child maintenance is financial support for the child that payment of the money should go direct to an older child. However, child support isn’t just about a clothing or an entertainment allowance for an older child. Child maintenance is also meant to contribute towards the main carer’s household bills and other items, such as: The mortgage or rent. Utility bills and other expenses that the child benefits from. For example, the broadband or Sky television package. Food and other essentials. The child’s clothing. The additional costs of looking after a child, such as presents, annual holiday , school trips etc. Whilst you may say that: Your former partner owns their home outright and so has no mortgage or Your former partner lives with a partner who pays all the household bills or You have no confidence that any of the money given to your former partner is spent on the child as the child is poorly clothed whilst your ex-partner has the latest technological gadget or designer clothing or is always off on a weekend away without the child. The bottom line is that most parents say that they want child maintenance to be handed over to them, rather than given direct to the child. That’s because a direct handover of money can: Make the child more aware of the parental conflict. Create anxiety in the child. Create conflict between child and main carer as the child sees all the child support as ‘their money’ to spend on themselves, rather than a contribution towards household expenses. Can you split child maintenance between a child and the parent with care of a child? If you are keen to pay child maintenance direct to your child you could have a conversation about whether you can pay some child maintenance by direct debit to your ex-partner and the balance direct to your child as a personal clothing or entertainment allowance. Does the Child Maintenance Service taken into account money paid direct to a child? If you pay money direct to a child and your ex-spouse or former partner then applies to the Child Maintenance Service for a child support assessment the Child Maintenance Service will carry out a calculation of your liability to pay child support. When calculating the amount of child support payable the Child Maintenance Service will look at your income rather than your outgoings and therefore won't take into account the payments made direct to your child. Agreeing direct payments to a child If you are able to reach an agreement on paying child support direct to a child then it is best to record that, either in your separation agreement or in your financial court order, as part of the overall financial settlement. However, if financial  circumstances change, the parent with primary care could change their mind and ask for direct payments to be made. [related_posts] Child support and financial settlements If you have separated from a former partner or are in the midst of divorce proceedings with a husband or wife it is best to consider child support as part of your overall financial settlement, rather than look at it in isolation to other aspects such as payment of spousal maintenance and whether you will get to stay in the family home or if it will be sold or transferred to your partner. We are financial settlement and child maintenance solicitors For legal help with a financial settlement or child maintenance call us or complete our online enquiry form. Evolve Family Law offices are in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire and Whitefield, North Manchester but we also offer remote meetings by telephone appointment or video call.

Although child maintenance sounds obvious it isn’t as many parents question what child maintenance is for. In this blog we look at the topic of child maintenance and discuss what child support is for.   What is Child Maintenance? Some parents take a very narrow view of what child support is (pocket money and birthday presents) whereas other parents think that child maintenance should cover all the household outgoings (the mortgage, heating costs, the food bill for everyone in the house as well as holidays). Child maintenance solicitors say that there is official guidance on what child maintenance is for. The government says that child maintenance is ‘financial support towards your child’s everyday living costs when you’ve separated from the other parent’.   The government definition of child maintenance doesn’t really drill down into what child maintenance covers but child support solicitors question how relevant that is when the bottom line is that child maintenance is calculated by the Child Maintenance Service based on the paying parent’s income rather than the child’s everyday living costs. The Child Maintenance Service formula means the paying parent has to pay a percentage of their income in child maintenance, whether or not the child maintenance figure is less or more than the child’s everyday living costs.   There are some exceptions and cases where a child’s everyday living costs are more relevant when calculating how much should be paid in child maintenance. These include: Both parents want to agree a figure for child maintenance based on the child’s needs rather than using the Child Maintenance Service mathematical formula The parent paying child support has received a maximum child maintenance assessment from the Child Maintenance Service and the parent receiving the child support has applied to court for top-up child maintenance. Top up child maintenance is based on a child’s needs. The court will look at the standard of living enjoyed by the family before the relationship breakdown when assessing the figure for top up child support (for example, swimming lessons, tennis coaching , piano tuition and other child related expenditure) The child suffers from a disability and has specific additional costs associated with their disability. The parent receiving the child maintenance can apply to court for an order to help cover the additional costs (for example, equipment or treatment not available on the National Health Service) The child is being privately educated or a parent wants the child to go into private education and makes an application to court for a school fees order to cover the cost of private school fees and extras (for example, extra tuition or school ski trips) The very limited circumstances in which the family court retains jurisdiction to make a child maintenance order. Although, in these situations the court will look at the amount of child maintenance that would have been payable had the Child Maintenance Service had jurisdiction to make a child maintenance assessment.   Can a parent say what their child maintenance should pay for? When one parent is paying child maintenance to the other parent it isn’t uncommon for the parent paying child maintenance to be highly critical of the other parent’s expenditure and use of the child support. For example, they may criticise the quality of the child’s clothing or dietary choices. In other scenarios, parents have been known to expect the parent receiving the child support to provide everything for the child during contact visits because the other parent is receiving child maintenance.   Child support solicitors recommend that parents try to resolve child maintenance by agreement with the help of their family solicitors before making an application to the Child Maintenance Service for a child maintenance assessment. Negotiations mean parents can each take into account the other’s circumstances when reaching an agreement on the level of payment of child support.   What is not covered by child maintenance? It is just as important to understand what isn’t covered by child maintenance as it is to understand what child maintenance is for.   Child maintenance from the Child Maintenance Service doesn’t cover: Child maintenance for step-children. An application to court can be made for child support for step-children School fees for the costs of private education. An application to court can be made for a school fees order. The court can order that a parent pays all the school fees or a proportion of them. [related_posts] How does spousal maintenance fit in with child maintenance? Many people question what child maintenance is for because they have been ordered to pay child maintenance by the Child Maintenance Service and ordered to pay spousal maintenance by the court.   When the Child Maintenance Service assess how much should be paid in child maintenance they use a strict mathematical formula that doesn’t take into account an ex-spouse’s spousal maintenance or other sources of income. However, when the court is assessing how much spousal maintenance should be paid the judge will take into account: The ability of the paying spouse to pay spousal maintenance taking into account their child maintenance liability as assessed by the Child Maintenance Service The reasonable future income and outgoings of each spouse The earnings capacity of each spouse and whether that will change, for example, through vocational training or because of ill health Whether there is a shortfall in one spouse’s income taking into account their reasonable income and outgoings, the payment of child maintenance and earnings capacity and, if so, taking into account factors such as the length of the marriage or capital distribution, decide if spousal maintenance should be paid and, if so, for how long.   Negotiating child support and spousal maintenance can be complicated so it is best to take legal advice on your options and the range of likely orders that a court would make if either you or your ex-spouse were to either apply to court for spousal maintenance or for an order to reduce or increase the amount of spousal maintenance payable. An application can be made to vary spousal maintenance because of a change in the payer or payee’s financial or other circumstances. Manchester and Cheshire Child Maintenance Solicitors If you need advice on calculating or paying or receiving child maintenance or need help with negotiating a financial settlement or sorting out child custody after your separation or divorce then the child maintenance solicitors at Evolve Family Law can help you. Call us or complete our online enquiry form. Our offices in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire and Whitefield, Manchester are open for face to face meetings, however an appointment is required. We also offer remote meetings by appointment by video call or telephone for those who prefer not to travel.

Coronavirus is making us look at every aspect of our lives, from how we socialise and exercise to how and where we work. With constant talk of hospital admission figures and mortality rates many of you are worried about raising your fears about coronavirus and financial concerns. However, whether you pay or receive either child maintenance or spousal maintenance , payments of maintenance may need to be reviewed and resolved. In this blog we look at child support, spousal maintenance and the impact of coronavirus. Online family law and maintenance solicitors Cheshire and Manchester based Evolve Family Law solicitors are working online to advise existing and new family law clients on all coronavirus related family law questions from child contact, help with leaving an abusive relationship during lockdown or the financial issues arising from Covid 19. If you need legal assistance call us or complete our online enquiry form to set up a video conference or telephone appointment. Coronavirus and spousal maintenance and child support payments When you agree to pay or to receive an amount in spousal maintenance or child support it is often assumed that the amount you are expected to pay, or that you will receive, won't change all that much . However, whether it is spousal maintenance or child support, the amount you pay or receive in financial support can be reviewed either upwards or downwards. Many of you are very worried about coronavirus and your jobs or fear that your income from self-employment will reduce drastically (if not disappear altogether) over the next few months. Whilst the government has assured us all that financial help is at hand, for both the employed and the self-employed, there are reports that people are confused about the eligibility rules for government help and are worried about how they can pay spousal maintenance or child support now.   If you are the person who is receiving the maintenance payment it is equally worrying as many feel that they are in an impossible position, having taken out mortgages and financial commitments, on the basis of promised or ordered spousal maintenance or child support.   Spousal maintenance orders and Covid-19 Spousal maintenance is either paid on a voluntary basis between husband and wife or civil partner or under a spousal maintenance court order.   If you are paying or receiving spousal maintenance under a court order then the first thing that you should look at is the wording of the financial court order and the spousal maintenance clause. If you are in any doubt about the wording or meaning of the spousal maintenance clause then it is best to take legal advice.   There are a number of ways in which spousal maintenance court orders can require the payment of spousal maintenance, such as: Joint lives spousal maintenance – spousal maintenance is payable until the death or the re-marriage of the person receiving the spousal maintenance payments Time limited spousal maintenance – spousal maintenance is paid for a set period of time and then stops on a date specified in the court order. In some cases, the person receiving the spousal maintenance can apply to extend the length of time that spousal maintenance is paid for but they have to apply to court to extend the length of time that spousal maintenance is paid for prior to the expiry of the order. In other court orders the spousal maintenance is said to be time limited with no option to extend the length of time that it is paid for.   Can spousal maintenance orders be changed? Spousal maintenance orders can be changed by court order or by agreement. If your financial circumstances have changed because of coronavirus and you are paying or receiving spousal maintenance the government is urging you to try to reach an agreement with your ex-partner over spousal maintenance.   Family law solicitors say that whilst it is important, if possible, to reach an agreement over changes in spousal maintenance payments any agreement should be temporary or a holding agreement until the Covid 19 position is clearer.   Every family situation is different so you may need specialist legal advice on what to do about spousal maintenance payments. Some payments may need to stop and others may need to reduce or increase. Here are two case examples: A dentist is no longer able to work but because he has an employer who is continuing to pay him then the spousal maintenance can continue at the same rate for the time being. The spousal maintenance might need to reduce or stop if the employer is forced to stop the dentist’s salary or the salary is reduced to the cap set by the government coronavirus income scheme A National Health Service consultant is not affected financially by Covid 19 but his ex-wife has lost her job in the travel industry. Depending on her circumstances her spousal maintenance may need to increase on a temporary basis until she can get another job. If her spousal maintenance is a time limited order she may need to ask the court to extend the period of the spousal maintenance court order.   Tips on how to change spousal maintenance payments by agreement In these highly unusual times the focus is on working together. That is the message that the government is giving when it comes to sorting out the changes to child care , spousal maintenance or child support that are required because of coronavirus. Tips on how to change spousal maintenance payments by agreement include:   Communicate with your ex either directly, through a trusted friend or your family solicitor. If you don’t tell your ex what is going on and be upfront about how Covid-19 has affected you financially then they will expect the spousal maintenance payments to continue Provide paperwork – family law solicitors say there is often an element of mistrust between separated spouses and so if you want your ex-spouse to agree to a reduction in spousal maintenance you will need to provide the supporting paperwork to show that you have lost your job or that your hours have been reduced or a bonus scheme scrapped Reflect on any discussions with your ex and don’t be rushed into making long term decisions. After all your ex-spouse may get a new job or the government scheme may mean that their income isn’t as badly affected as first thought. You should not agree to any major changes in the spousal maintenance order or agree to the cessation of payments and cancellation of the spousal maintenance order without first taking legal advice Record your agreement – if you are able to reach a spousal maintenance agreement with your ex-spouse then you need to record the agreement in case one of you changes your mind. If there is no clear recorded agreement then your ex could apply to court to enforce the spousal maintenance order and ask for payment of arrears of spousal maintenance. They may not be successful in that court application if there is a clear agreement drawn up by you (or your solicitors) that spousal maintenance is being changed temporarily and the reasons why and when spousal maintenance will be reviewed again, for example, if the payer gets a new job or a government income subsidy Understand the court options- it is important to know that if your ex-spouse won't agree to a reduction or temporary stopping of spousal maintenance what your legal options are. You could apply to court to vary the spousal maintenance order to reduce or stop the payments. Your ex-spouse could apply to court for payment of arrears of spousal maintenance and to enforce the spousal maintenance order. The court decision would be based on all the circumstances of your case and the ability of the paying person to pay spousal maintenance. If you are upfront with the paperwork relating to the change in income this may make a court application to formally vary the spousal maintenance order unnecessary. [related_posts] Can child maintenance be changed? Covid-19 and the financial fallout and economic downturn will affect child support payments as well as spousal maintenance orders. In most families child support is either paid as a voluntary arrangement between you and your ex-partner or under a child maintenance service assessment. It is rare for there to be a child support court order as the court only has limited jurisdiction to make child support orders.   Again family law solicitors are recommending that parents talk to one another about child maintenance and to see whether the child support needs to be changed because of a change in the payer’s financial circumstances. If the payments are made under a child maintenance service assessment then you may need to ask the agency to carry out a new assessment. Online family law and maintenance solicitors Cheshire and Manchester based Evolve Family Law solicitors are here to answer all your family law questions whether it is a coronavirus related family law question, child contact, help with leaving an abusive relationship or financial issues arising from coronavirus. If you legal help call us or complete our online enquiry form to set up a video conference or telephone appointment.

Most separated and divorced parents find some of the child support service rules relating to the calculation of child maintenance incomprehensible. Child maintenance solicitors have to try to explain how child support is calculated without attempting to try to justify the rules or tribunal decisions.   Child maintenance and shared care Nowadays, in the vast majority of family situations, if you separate or divorce and you have dependent children, the child maintenance service (rather than the family court) will have the jurisdiction to calculate how much child support should be paid and to enforce the assessment.   In order to try to keep child maintenance simple to calculate, some years ago the child maintenance service introduced a new child support formula. How much you pay in child maintenance is calculated as a percentage of your income. That sounds simple enough to most parents but then added child support rules start to creep in , such as if there is a shared or equal parenting arrangement with the children spending the same amount of time with each parent then no child maintenance is payable by either parent .   The rights and wrongs of the shared parenting rule and child maintenance is a moot point. Most child maintenance solicitors say it can produce both fair and unfair results. Take two scenarios: Two parents equally share the care of the children and both earn roughly the same amount – no child maintenance is liable under child maintenance service rules, not because of the earnings of the mother and father are the same but because care of the children is shared; Two parents equally share the care of the children. One is a high earner and the other barely scrapes by on their salary each month. No child maintenance is liable under child maintenance service rules as the parenting is shared. The parent who is on a lower income will not be able to ask for spousal maintenance to help address the income gap in the two households if they were in a cohabiting or unmarried relationship with their ex-partner.   Child maintenance and contact It is not just shared parenting that can produce odd results with child maintenance service assessments. If a parent has overnight contact with their child, the amount they pay in child support under a child maintenance service assessment is reduced. The amount of the reduction depends on the extent of the overnight contact.   This child maintenance service rule can throw up some equally fair and unfair results, depending on whose perspective you look at child support from. Take two scenarios: A mother is the main carer of the children. The father sees the children each night but cannot have the children overnight as he works shifts and his shift patterns mean that the children would have to get up too early. Although the mother earns twice as much as the father and despite his seeing the children each day, he is liable to pay the full child maintenance service assessment with no reduction for his daily contact as he does not have the children overnight; A mother is the main carer of the children and the father has overnight contact on three nights a week. Although the mother still needs to pay her mortgage and pay for school clothes and holidays, the amount of her child support is reduced significantly because of the father’s overnight staying contact. The mother earns half the amount of the father. That scenario may seem unfair to the mother but imagine if the mother earnt double the father’s income. The father would still have to pay the same amount in child support and pay for his children’s upkeep on three nights a week. However, the father would pay nothing in child maintenance if care were shared equally. The difference a day makes in child contact can add up to hundreds of pounds a month in child maintenance. [related_posts] Child maintenance rules The child maintenance scenarios are just a few examples of why child custody solicitors and child maintenance solicitors do not try to justify the child maintenance service rules.   The best advice , if you are splitting up from a partner and have children together , is to try and reach an agreement over who gets the house , who gets the pension and how the children are financially supported in one package so the fairness of the overall financial settlement can be looked at.   For information about child maintenance and contact and financial settlements please contact our expert children law solicitors today. Appointments are available online or in Whitefield, Manchester and Cheshire.    

Many parents think that school fees are covered by child support. That is a reasonable assumption as, after all, if your child attends a private school then the school fees are part of the financial support that they need.  The types of family maintenance payments Child support and family maintenance can be rather confusing as a parent can receive any of the following:  Child support through an assessment by the child maintenance service;  Child support through a top up child support court order – this order can only be applied for if the child maintenance service has carried out a maximum child maintenance service assessment; Child support through a family court order to cover any additional costs a child with a disability may incur; Payment of school fees through a court school fees order; Maintenance paid to a parent, referred to as spousal maintenance ;  Maintenance payable to help support a child and a parent and therefore a combination of child support and spousal maintenance. Global maintenance is paid through a court order. Are school fees covered by child support? School fee payments are not included in any child support payments that are determined by the child maintenance service. If the court makes a child maintenance order the school fees will not be included in the maintenance amount.  When the child maintenance service calculates child maintenance , they use a strict mathematical formula. This formula does not consider the costs incurred in caring for the child, or school fees, but focuses on the income of the parent liable to pay child support. If a child attends a fee paying school or a parent wants to enrol a child at a private school then either the school fees are paid: On a voluntary basis by the separated parent ; or An application is made to court for a school fees order. Will a school fees order cover the full amount of the school fees?   The school fees order will not necessarily cover the full amount of the school fees. A parent could be ordered to pay all of the fees or to contribute towards the school fees. The court will decide how much a parent should pay toward school fees based on both parent’s respective incomes and reasonable outgoings. The court will look at the affordability of school fees, taking into account the child support and any spousal maintenance payments that are payable as well as the payer’s other financial commitments, such as their mortgage payments. What happens if a parent says they cannot afford to educate a child privately? Prior to a separation or divorce, a child’s parents could have decided that it would be best for their child to be educated privately. Sometimes a parent will decide that they can no longer agree to their child going to a fee-paying school when the child reaches primary or secondary school age. Alternatively, a parent may say that the child should be withdrawn from their current private school and enrolled in state education. If the parents of a child cannot agree on whether their child should go to a private school or be state educated either parent can apply to court for a specific issue order. A specific issue order will state what school the child should attend. If the objection to private education is purely based on the affordability of the school fees then an application for a school fees order may be more appropriate. [related_posts] Can the court change a school fees order?  If the court makes a school fees order either parent can apply back to the court to vary the order, for example: A parent ordered to pay all the school fees may say that he or she should only pay 50% of the fees now that the other parent has had a pay rise and is on a similar salary; A parent ordered to pay all the school fees could apply to the court to terminate or stop the school fees order because of his or her suffering a reduction in income or an increase in their reasonable outgoings making the continued payment of school fees unaffordable.  The interplay between the child maintenance service, the court and child support, spousal maintenance and school fees orders can be tricky for parents to grapple with. It is always important that the topic of private education is raised early so that parental decisions can be taken jointly, or if parents cannot reach agreement, there is time to ask the court to make a specific issue order or school fees order before the start of the school term.  For legal help applying for a specific issue order, a school fees order or on any other aspect of children law please contact us