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Financial Arrangements for Children

Maria Conesa Gonzalez

Partner – Solicitor

Family Law

mconesa@judge-priestley.co.uk

When parents separate, both parents are responsible for financially supporting the children and the costs of their upbringing.

Child support will therefore by paid, as a starting point, to the parent that has the day to day care of the children.

Child maintenance serves the purpose of providing sufficient financial support to allow you to meet the costs of raising your children. It normally involves a regular financial payment to contribute to the child’s general living costs, but it can also cover other payments such as school fees or housing costs.

It is encouraged that families try to make arrangements between themselves before a government scheme, or in some cases, a court order is utilised.

If no agreement is reached between the parents, the starting point will be for either parent to approach the Child Maintenance Service, or “CMS”. This is a government run service that will calculate the amount of child support that needs to be paid by the parent that spends a lower amount of time with the children.

The amount of child support payable will depend on various factors, such as:

The income of the non-resident parent.
The number of children that child support relates to, and their age.
The average number of nights that the children spend with the non-resident parent.
Whether there are any other children cared for by the non-resident parent.

In the event that the non-resident parent refuses to make the recommended payment, the CMS will have the ability to help with the enforcement of the child support payment.

If you would like to discuss this matter with one of our specialist solicitors, please contact us on 020 8290 7341 or 020 8038 6711 to make an appointment.

In some specific circumstances, an application for financial support for the benefit of the children can also be made to the family courts under Schedule 1 of the Children act. This application can be made in the following circumstances:

If you are claiming specific costs relating to the children but that are not taken into account by the CMS, such as private school feels, or if the child has any special educational or developmental needs;
If the parent that is due to pay child support earns over £156,000 gross per annum
If the parent that is due to pay child support lives abroad but the child lives in England and Wales;
If the child lives abroad and the parent that is to pay child support lives ln England and Wales;
If the applicant is seeking a lumpsum for a specific reason, such as to cover the housing needs of the child during their minority, or for a certain period of time.
In certain circumstances, if there is an equal care arrangements regarding the care of the children.

These proceedings are complex and require a particular expertise. If you would like to discuss this matter with one of our specialist solicitors, please contact us below or call us on 020 8290 0333 to make an appointment.

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