Distribution and Payment: What is Involved?

The amount of child support a parent with care is likely to receive in periodic payments from a non resident parent is calculated according to the income and living circumstances of both parents.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) is able to calculate the amount of payable maintenance and will also collect and distribute payment to the custodial parent. The amount of maintenance payable may differ from the original CSA calculations however, if the sum has been agreed in court as part of a consent order.

How Methods Of Collection Vary

Provided maintenance has been privately agreed, a non resident parent can choose to pay child support directly to the parent with care, in the form of a cheque or directly into a bank or building society account. This may be done through a private agreement between both parents, or with help of the Child Support Agency.

Payment for educational expenses can be paid for directly, whilst other costs can be covered by payment made to the parent with care.

In some instances maintenance payment may need to be taken directly from the non resident parent’s wages. In order to do this the CSA will contact the parent’s employer and request that maintenance payments are deducted directly. The employer is obligated by law to set up this method of paying child support to the parent with care.

Statutory Maintenance Service

The Child Support Agency traces absent parents, calculates maintenance payable, collects monies and monitors the payments made to ensure regularity.

The CSA also updates information on records when required, discusses late payments with both parents and re-establishes payment and recovery of maintenance arrears. The agency is also responsible for taking appropriate enforcement action if the non resident parent fails to comply with the maintenance request.

Payment Enforcement

It is the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission’s (CMEC) responsibility to demand child support payments on behalf of the parent with care.

As part of CMEC the Child Support Agency gathers information that supports the parent with care’s maintenance claim. Once it has processed the information collection of the maintenance is arranged directly from the non resident parent. If a problem arises, and the non resident parent fails to comply with the maintenance request the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission has the power to enforce payment by requesting direct action via the parent’s employer.

How Is Maintenance Collected?

Child support payments are mostly automatically deducted from the non resident parent’s wages. This form of income withholding is obligatory and any employer failing to implement this procedure can be taken to court. Taking payments in this method can also be applied to other forms of benefits that the parents may be receiving, including unemployment and disability allowance.

However, a court order will decide the most applicable method of payment for each individual case. Maintenance payments may be enforced to be paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

A court order will also instruct self-employed parents on how to pay maintenance contributions towards their child’s welfare.