Home > The Basic Facts > Your Top Child Support Questions Answered

Your Top Child Support Questions Answered

By: Elizabeth Mugan BA/BSc, PGDipLaw, BVC, CIArb - Updated: 16 Mar 2023 |
 
Comment Children Contact Child Support

We have lots of comments and questions posted on our articles (keep them coming). Our legal expert, answers some of your top questions here:

My ex and I have two children, he re- married after our divorce, and is now divorcing his wife (number 2) and has 2 children with her. He says that my child support has to be lowered since he now has to pay for the other two children, is this true?
dort - 2012

Not necessarily. It is possible that you will be paid less but this depends on a number of factors.

The first question is whether he pays maintenance to you through a Family-Arrangement, the court or CSA. If it is under a Family-Arrangement, then he can pay a lower amount. The most sensible thing is for you to try and agree a different arrangement if he is struggling to pay. However, when he was married he was still supporting four children and so, hopefully it will not have to change too much. If you are unable to come to an arrangement then you can ask the CSA to calculate payments instead.

If there is a court order for your ex to pay child maintenance then your ex cannot just change the payments made. If he fails to pay the correct amount, then you can ask the court to enforce it. If, however, his child maintenance for his other two children is ordered by the court at the same time as his divorce then it might affect the payments he can make to you.

If the child maintenance is already paid through the CSA then it is calculated on one of four rates. The rate which is applicable to your ex will depend on his net weekly income. If, for example, your ex earns more than £200 per week, then he will pay what is known as a "basic" rate.

On this rate, when paying maintenance for children, he would have been paying 20% of his net weekly income. Now that he is paying for 4 children, however, he will have to pay 25% of his net weekly income. Even though he will now have to pay a higher amount, the sum paid is normally split equally between the children. Therefore on this rate, if he earns £200 per week, he would be paying approximately £12.50 x 4 children instead of £20 x 2 children. Using this example, he is paying more than before but this is split between more children, resulting in a smaller payment per child.

Taking another example, if he earns less than £200 but more than £100 net per week, then he is likely to be on the "reduced rate". If on this rate, then for 2 children your ex would have had to pay a flat rate of £5 per week plus 35% of any income he earns over £100 per week but below £200 per week. Let us take an example net weekly income of £150. He earns £50 more than £100 of which he must pay 35% plus £5. This would result in a payment of £11.25 x 2 children. Now that he has to pay for 4 children, the rate to be paid is £5 plus 45% of his net earnings over £100. Taking the example net weekly income of £150 again, this would come to £6.88 x 4 children, resulting in a reduced amount of income.

If you can keep communicating with each other then you will be in a better position to understand whether or not he genuinely cannot pay.

I have never ever taken my ex partner to the CMS for payments as I have always supported my daughter myself, but times are very hard and I cannot survive on my wages alone. Would he be made to pay for the whole 16 years once my application was submitted or would I have to take him to court for back payment?
sillybilly - 2017

Unfortunately, if there has never been an child maintenance arrangement or agreement in place before now then you will not be able to claim back payment for the whole 16 years. Sometimes, when you first make an application for CMS, it can take a while for the arrangement to be put in place. In this circumstance, your ex partner will have to pay arrears back to the time that your application to the CMS was made but cannot go back any further than that. The sooner you get a claim in, the better so that you can continue to support your daughter as you always have.

The only way you can try and claim back payment is if you did have a previous arrangement in place with your ex partner and he failed to pay. If this is the case and it was agreed that he was going to make payments to you and was lax about doing so, then you may be able to enforce the payment and back payment through the court. If you have evidence of an agreement, for example, letter, emails, messages etc then you will have a higher chance of winning a claim.What you will have to bear in mind is that going to court can be timely and expensive so you should seek the advice of a family law specialist before doing so.

My family are looking to move to Australia, I am divorced from the father of our daughter (she is 8 years old). She has not seen him in 18 months and he has not made attempt to see her. Visits were sporadic before this, but he stopped when I got re-married. Can I take her to Australia to live?
saz - 2012
 

You cannot just take your child out of the jurisdiction without permission. If you do, you be deemed to have abducted your child, even though you are the resident parent. The easiest way to get permission, if at all possible, is to seek it from your ex husband. If he gives permission then you and your daughter are able to leave. If he will not, then you will need to obtain leave from the court.The way to do this is to make an application for leave to remove your daughter from the jurisdiction. The court will usually grant permission if you have a carefully selected plan and it is in the best interests of your child. They will also take into account the wishes of your daughter i.e. the fact that she wants to move to Australia, the fact that she does not have regular contact with her father and the fact that you are taking her abroad for good reasons and not to take her away from her father. Other things to show the court are realistic proposals for your daughter to see her father if he should want to see her again and of course, if she wants to see him, where you plan to live, work and the schooling arrangements for your daughter etc.

Hi. I'm just after a little advice really if anyone can help? I am 39 weeks pregnant and un-employed only receiving maternity allowance. I live with my partner who has another child who is 18. When he changed jobs he informed the CSA and he had to fill out new details. The decision has come back and it would appear they have taken my benefits into consideration when calculating what my partner should pay! Can they do this? I was under the impression as the 18yr old child was nothing to do with me and the fact I don't work I'm on maternity allowance would mean I don't contribute? Also will the payments change when I give birth to our baby in the next couple of weeks?
dannib-123 - 2012
 

The CSA takes into account the net monthly income of the non-resident parent when calculating child maintenance. Income means earnings, wages, private pensions, bonuses, overtime pay, etc. Contractual maternity or paternity pay i.e. money agreed in you contract with your employer, tends to be classed as "income" whereas Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay, which is that which must be given to you by your employer by law.

This is the same for Maternity Allowance, which you normally get whilst pregnant and unemployed. It means that it is a benefit which is usually disregarded when classifying "income" and would therefore, in normal circumstances, would be disregarded by the CSA when calculating child maintenance.

In any event, the CSA when calculating income, takes into account the income of the non-resident partner rather than the household in most circumstances. That would be your partner's income, rather than your income and his together. It depends whether or not your benefit takes into account both your circumstances together.

Additionally, your partner should only be paying child maintenance for the 18 year old child if he is still classed as a child. This will be if either child benefit is still being received for your partner's child or if he is still in full-time education. If not, it is possible that he should not be paying at all.

You and your partner need to contact the CSA to explain your situation and check that your partner is on the correct rate and paying the correct amount and that the correct "income" is being taken into account.

With regards to your new born baby, within 7 days of giving birth, your partner needs to contact the CSA to let them know. This is because the change in circumstances could mean that your partner should start to pay less money. The sooner you notify of this, the better.

You might also like...
Share Your Story, Join the Discussion or Seek Advice..
[Add a Comment]
my partner and i have brought up her child for the last 10 years and haven’t had anything off the father csa wise in that time!! he has always told them he does not work but we know that he has been in that time for cash… the child has gone to live with the father now for the first time. he has been there 6 weeks and demanding money off us… would we still have to pay him even though he has never given us a penny over the ten years?
scott - 16-Mar-23 @ 4:51 PM
If I'm paying for my child does the mam still have the right to claim child support?
Kimbo - 29-Mar-22 @ 2:46 PM
I'm over 55 and can move my company pension to release 25% of the total pot of money. If I take the 25% which is tax free, will it affect my monthly payments? Will HMRC / CMS/CSA consider this one off lump sum for the calculation of maintenance and in doing so rocket my payments upwards.
JoeyF - 31-Jan-21 @ 9:22 PM
My eldest child finished her A levels in June. She is taking a year out and will start university in Sept ‘21. She is currently working full-time. She will be 19 in November this year and is living at home with her mother, two younger siblings and her mother’s partner. My question is when do I stop paying her maintenance?
Will - 30-Sep-20 @ 7:45 AM
My ex girlfriend has claimed her child as mine. I have disputed this claim and requested a paternity test. I will hold my hands up, so to speak, and admit i missed the correspondence to arrange this. However, i have contacted the csa on multiple occasions since then trying to rearrange the test. Every time i have been denied the opportunity to pay for the test as authorization has been required. I have requested this on 3 occasions to which 3 different csa advisors have promised me a return phonecall to take payment. I have received no such phonecall. I have now been issued a deduction of earnings order and, as a result, am having the csa take the payment directly from my earnings. This is all despite me not being on the childs birth certificate aswel as not having proof that i am his father. The relationship i had with the mother was very traumatic and i realy do not want any contact between her or my family. That being said i will not hesitate to meet my financial responsibility towards him but only if have proof that i realy am the father.
J - 2-May-20 @ 8:46 PM
My ex girlfriend has claimed her child as mine. I have disputed this claim and requested a paternity test. I will hold my hands up, so to speak, and admit i missed the correspondence to arrange this. However, i have contacted the csa on multiple occasions since then trying to rearrange the test. Every time i have been denied the opportunity to pay for the test as authorization has been required. I have requested this on 3 occasions to which 3 different csa advisors have promised me a return phonecall to take payment. I have received no such phonecall. I have now been issued a deduction of earnings order and, as a result, am having the csa take the payment directly from my earnings. This is all despite me not being on the childs birth certificate aswel as not having proof that i am his father. The relationship i had with the mother was very traumatic and i realy do not want any contact between her or my family. That being said i will not hesitate to meet my financial responsibility towards him but only if have proof that i realy am the father.
J - 2-May-20 @ 8:45 PM
My ex girlfriend has claimed her child as mine. I have disputed this claim and requested a paternity test. I will hold my hands up, so to speak, and admit i missed the correspondence to arrange this. However, i have contacted the csa on multiple occasions since then trying to rearrange the test. Every time i have been denied the opportunity to pay for the test as authorization has been required. I have requested this on 3 occasions to which 3 different csa advisors have promised me a return phonecall to take payment. I have received no such phonecall. I have now been issued a deduction of earnings order and, as a result, am having the csa take the payment directly from my earnings. This is all despite me not being on the childs birth certificate aswel as not having proof that i am his father. The relationship i had with the mother was very traumatic and i realy do not want any contact between her or my family. That being said i will not hesitate to meet my financial responsibility towards him but only if have proof that i realy am the father.
J - 2-May-20 @ 8:35 PM
I pay my child support payments every month direct out of my wage to csa after arguments with my ex over money and her threatening access to my son. Since then she is constantly at me to give her more money for things even though I I'm paying the legal requirement and provide for my son half the week I have him. Where do I stand? I'm getting tired of the constant nagging and guilt tripping then her using him as a bargaining chip for money
Simon - 1-Sep-19 @ 8:59 PM
If I could get a answer for the question I asked in my previous post that would be great
Gav - 7-Jun-19 @ 5:40 PM
Hi my ex has recently had my name off my daughter's birth certificate and she dose not let me see her or have any involvement in her life. Do I still have to pay maintenance?
Gav - 7-Jun-19 @ 5:35 PM
I pay child maintenance to my ex-wife for our daughter through a private agreement but there appears to be no mention of when child maintenance will stop. Our daughter is now 17 and has started an apprenticeship as a hair stylist in a high street salon with one day a week release to college. Legally when should I expect stop paying child maintenance?
JDad - 27-Feb-19 @ 1:34 PM
My ex has always paid spousal and child maintenance for 2 children since Oct 2012 as agreed in a consent order however this amount has never increased. I’m aware his salary has increased considerably how do I ask for these amounts to be reviewed.
Help - 27-Dec-18 @ 1:27 PM
Hi Just after advise, my husband as been paying an ex csa now for 5 years , never missed a payment and always been happy to pay. The past year or so though the child he is paying for dont stay with the mom he stsys at his grandparents and only visits the mother. I feel its unfair for us to stuggle With payments when she dont even have the child...basically shes racking it in as 2 lots of csa off to seperate dads..and claims benefits as dont work as she as mental health issue's.. Any advice would be great
Emma - 20-Dec-18 @ 7:51 AM
My son turns 18 in 3 months and has just left school as he wants to join the armed forces. Until when should my ex still support him? We have a private arrangement and have never used csa. Thanks
Mumsy - 15-Sep-18 @ 9:18 AM
I pay £500 per month maintenance to my ex for my son. This is 18% of my net salary and it’s a private agreement. She has re-married a man who earns 6 figures each year, she earns £40k per year. They go 4 holidays abroad each year and splash the cash. I on the other hand can’t afford to do much due to the crippling child maintenance. I have no issue paying it but the fact they earn such good money she deliberately takes such a high amount “because the law allows her to”. They are far from skint and I feel the money could be better spent on my son or even saved for when he is an adult to buy a house. On top of my £500 per month I pay to her, I have to them feed him, do things with him when he is with me etc... the system is very unfair and tars everyone with the same brush, no matter how good the residential parent has it. It’s disgusting and the government should apply common sense and underwrite / evaluate every case not just on income but outgoings, quality of life for both the resident and non resident parent.
JG - 23-Aug-18 @ 8:40 AM
UK35 - Your Question:
Hi, please could I get an answer on the following.I had a change in role at work, this involved a reduction in salary.I had my last higher salary on 28th Dec 2017.And started my new job 2nd Jan 2018 with the lower salary.I pay child maintenance on the 3rd of every month. When should the reduced level of child maintenance start ? 3rd Jan or 3rd Feb ?Thanks

Our Response:
You need to tell CMS if your income increases or decreases by: 25% or more, please see link here . As child maintenance is calculated retrospectively, then you would have to take this up with CMS directly, as we do not have knowledge of it's administrative procedures.
ChildSupportLaws - 11-May-18 @ 10:54 AM
Hi, please could I get an answer on the following. I had a change in role at work, this involved a reduction in salary. I had my last higher salary on 28th Dec 2017. And started my new job 2nd Jan 2018 with the lower salary. I pay child maintenance on the 3rd of every month. When should the reduced level of child maintenance start ? 3rd Jan or 3rd Feb ? Thanks
UK35 - 10-May-18 @ 11:47 AM
@Rose - is he paying directly to your children? This sounds a bit odd. As if he was in arrears via CSA he would have to pay you directly.
JonB - 27-Apr-18 @ 1:58 PM
Hi my ex husband has been paying CSA for my two children for so many years and he's still paying even thought my youngest is 33 years old, I have not received a payment from CSA. Can I get a backdated payment from CSA. What can I do please help
Rose - 20-Apr-18 @ 6:49 PM
Ellesmummy - Your Question:
Hi my son pays vol child support for two girls @£80.00pw. He is self employed paying himself £150.00pw. He has asked his ex if he can pay monthly and she has blown her top. Saying she is seeking legal advice because she wants “that money “ weekly. Can she do this and force the way it is paid? Also can she spend that money on anything she likes?Thanks

Our Response:
Your son's ex does not have to justify what she spends child maintenance on. If they have a family-based child maintenance agreement then it should be agreed between the parents how it is paid. If the parents disagree with each other either of the parents can use CMS, or apply to court.
ChildSupportLaws - 16-Apr-18 @ 2:56 PM
Hi my son pays vol child support for two girls @£80.00pw. He is self employed paying himself £150.00pw. He has asked his ex if he can pay monthly and she has blown her top. Saying she is seeking legal advice because she wants “that money “ weekly. Can she do this and force the way it is paid? Also can she spend that money on anything she likes? Thanks
Ellesmummy - 16-Apr-18 @ 8:31 AM
Hi, if I go through csa, will I receive less money if he has another child with an ex whom he pays for but not through the csa?
Maccy18 - 28-Feb-18 @ 2:14 PM
T - Your Question:
Hi, I have a small dilemma. I have a secret love child who I am currently supporting however this child lives abroad and culture wise the women will be looked down upon if she does not produce a man to sign the birth certificate, in the end her boyfriend signed the birth certificate but I have continued to support my child.could I claim this child on my application or would it be a waste of time and energy considering this is a love child?please advise.Thanks

Our Response:
You would have to speak directly to CMS regarding this matter. You will be asked to prove that you are supporting another child.
ChildSupportLaws - 8-Feb-18 @ 10:39 AM
Hi, I have a small dilemma... I have a secret love child who I am currently supporting however this child lives abroad and culture wise the women will be looked down upon if she does not produce a man to sign the birth certificate, in the end her boyfriend signed the birth certificate but I have continued to support my child. could I claim this child on my application or would it be a waste of time and energy considering this is a love child? please advise. Thanks
T - 7-Feb-18 @ 11:09 AM
PetitChat - Your Question:
Thanks for your answer. I never said I don't want to pay for the school, I am asking what's the best way to share the cost. My point is why would I have to pay half of the school fees when there is most likely some money left over from a £600 child maintenance after expenses are paid. We are talking about a child who is not even 4 and has not started school yet. If mother who earns twice more than father wants to send the child to a private school, does is sound fair to split the fees 50/50?

Our Response:
If you have no objection to paying, then you can either agree between you or via mediation. There is no set way or rules to share the costs, just what you both feel is fair.
ChildSupportLaws - 6-Feb-18 @ 12:30 PM
Thanks for your answer. I never said I don't want to pay for the school, I am asking what's the best way to share the cost. My point is why would I have to pay half of the school fees when there is most likely some money left over from a £600 child maintenance after expenses are paid. We are talking about a child who is not even 4 and has not started school yet. If mother who earns twice more than father wants to send the child to a private school, does is sound fair to split the fees 50/50?
PetitChat - 2-Feb-18 @ 11:49 AM
PetitChat - Your Question:
Hi, I know that school fees are not included in the child maintenance payment. In my case the mother earns close to 1.5-2 times more than me but is expecting me to pay half of the school fees on top of the £600 child maintenance I pay. What are the typical guidelines to share the cost?

Our Response:
Child maintenance and school fees are two separate issues. By law, you are responsible for paying child maintenance if you are the non-resident parent. There is no set guidelines regarding school fees. As parents, you either agree between you, try to come to a suitable arrangement through mediation, or if you refuse to pay, your ex would have to apply to court to try to force you. A court can order a non-resident parent to continue paying school fees, if for instance it an arrangement that has been in place for some time and is in the continued best interests of the child. But it will take into consideration what it thinks is fair given the financial circumstances of both parents.
ChildSupportLaws - 2-Feb-18 @ 9:53 AM
Hi, I know that school fees are not included in the child maintenance payment. In my case the mother earns close to 1.5-2 times more than me but is expecting me to pay half of the school fees on top of the £600 child maintenance I pay. What are the typical guidelines to share the cost?
PetitChat - 1-Feb-18 @ 2:41 PM
Hi my partner has a 20% share in our business partnership, I have the other 80% as the business was mine before he became a partner in it. He pays maintenance for 2 children based on his income. My question is can the cms go after my share of income from the business ? Out of nowhere the cms have asked for the profit and loss of the business and his tax return, the tax return we understand but not why they want the profit and loss of the company ?
Clarabelle - 19-Jan-18 @ 7:23 PM
Aniebop - Your Question:
I have currently never claimed csa off my ex for our 3 boys for the past 2 yrs we have split as I no he will do whatever he can to not pay it. We have no legal agreement in place but they stay with him 1 night a week every Sunday. They come back to me Monday morning to take to school. If I try to claim maintenance can he demand them more nights or if it went to court would the court grant him more nights as I no he will only be doin this to bring his payments down. He has no real intention to have them any extra and I don't want to send my boys somewhere they are not wanted just so I can claim maintenance id rather struggle on my own.

Our Response:
The benchmark standard child access is one night overnight and one or two evenings in the week (not overnight). Of course, every case is different. But I would not let the threat of court stop you from applying for your ex to pay child maintenance. Every parent is responsible for paying towards the financial care of their children on a day-to-day basis. If your ex is earning, then so should he.
ChildSupportLaws - 28-Nov-17 @ 2:39 PM
Share Your Story, Join the Discussion or Seek Advice...
Title:
(never shown)
Firstname:
(never shown)
Surname:
(never shown)
Email:
(never shown)
Nickname:
(shown)
Comment:
Validate:
Enter word:
Topics
Latest Comments