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Hi
Some advice would be great fully received
my divorce settlement states that I should pay child maintenance until my daughter is 18 or completes full time secondary education
my daughter turns 18 this month so I’ve informed my ex that I will be stopping payments - it’s always been an informal arrangement based on govt calculation - this was on the basis that she is now 18 and left secondary education at 16
she is however in further education and about to complete her final year of an NVQ course
….my ex has responded by saying she wants my p60 and I should continue payments - she has now contacted the CMS who have allegedly told her that they would supersede any divorce court order and could force me to pay and I’d get charged an extra 20% per month if it goes through CMS
is this right? What’s the point of the court order?
Honestly as she’s 18 I thought I’d finally finished all this having paid dutifully for 10 years
Thanks
hi, unfortunately this is a common scenario. CMS is open to any parents, as long as child is still in full time education.
NVQ levels 1, 2, and 3 are generally classified as further education, while NVQ levels 4 and above are considered higher education. if she doing NVQ level 4 and above, that's higher education and CMS will not expect you to make payments.
the 20% charge is only for domestic abusers or those that miss payments/fail to pay. sounds like she is scaring you into giving in to her demands. problem is if your child decides to stay in full time (non advanced) education for longer, technically you could be paying until she turns 20. thats final cut off age for child maintenance.
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