Having just separated, are there any simple rules of thumb I can use to get an idea of what I will have to pay?
We have two kids (7 & 3), who live with my wife, in the flat that we rent. At the moment my name is still on the tenancy, but she is talking of removing it. I am now living with family, and have started a job since leaving, whereas we were claiming Joint Jobseekers before I left.
I understand that Child Support is typically 20% of income for two children - but is that gross or net and does it take it consideration anything else first (eg my rent, if I was paying any)?
Is there a similar rule for maintenance concerning my wife? She is submitting a claim for Income support, so will have some income (in fact not much less than the JSA) plus the Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits (which will be unchanged). Am I obliged to provide anything in addition to the child support and if so, buy what means of calculation?
BTW - all the bills are still in my name at the moment, will and how will that be taken into consideration?
The CSA calculation is 20% of takehome pay - certain other things can be taken into account, such as travel to maintain contact with your children, or debts incurred before the split which were for the benefit of the family, but you rent or expenses are not taken into account at all.
It's more difficult to know what will happen with regards to maintenance for your ex - you are best having a word with a solicitor or the citizens advice bureau.
Thanks, gives me some idea of a start point at least.
don't think she'll be too happy me claiming my train fare out of what she will get, probably use it as another reason against me coming down!
AH, I'm afraid it's not quite a matter of knocking off the fare - you are expected to pay the first 15 of travel each week. Anything above this you knock off the figure used to calculate your takehome pay - what this means if, for instance, you pay 40 per week on travel, you are expected to pay 15, so the remaining 25 is knocked off, or in other words, you would reduce your maintenance by 20% of the 25, ie 5 per week.
Hi Rover
Thank you for your post. I am William, the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide you with some information that may help answer your query.
With regards to agreeing child maintenance with your wife, many parents choose to sort out child maintenance between themselves as it is often the quickest and most amicable way coming to an agreement. We call this a family-based arrangement.
With this type of agreement there are no strict rules to stick to. Therefore, both you and your wife have the flexibility to decide how child maintenance will be calculated and what both of you will include in your agreement. A family-based arrangement does not need to be all about money, although many parents do include financial contributions. Your arrangement can include other kinds of support, such as you directly paying for things that your children need. You also have the flexibility to negotiate any transport costs into your agreement. A family-based arrangement is not legally enforceable, however, my parents prefer this type of agreement because it is very flexible and can easily be reviewed if you or your wife's circumstances change.
To give you an indication of how much maintenance may be calculated if you were to use the services of the Child Support Agency (CSA), there is an online calculator on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/calculator.asp. You may wish to use this figure as a starting point for your negotiations to make a family-based arrangement.
We also have a range of tools, forms and guides that you may find useful. We have a discussion guide that you can use to help plan your conversations around child maintenance. We also have a family-based arrangement form that is not legally-binding, but can help to formalise your arrangement if you use it to write down what both of you have agreed. You can gain access to all our tools by visiting our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox.
If you find that you are unable to agree on a family-based arrangement, either of you may wish to make an application to the CSA. Under the statutory rules, child maintenance is paid to the parent that is in receipt of the Child Benefit payments (the receiving parent). The CSA works out child maintenance using the paying parent's income, which includes earnings, money from an occupational or personal pension and tax credits. They use the amount of income left after deductions such as Income Tax, National Insurance and any money paid into a personal pension scheme.
The CSA may also look at other factors such as the number of night stays that you will have your children for, per year. They may also look at any transport costs associated with seeing your children. The CSA do not take into account your general bills, living costs or the income of the receiving parent when calculating child maintenance. If you would like more information on how the CSA works out child maintenance, you may wish to view the following document http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@benefits/documents/digitalasset/dg_198849.pdf.
The CSA offer two schemes: Direct Pay and Collect and Pay. Direct Pay is where the CSA will provide both you and your wife with a child maintenance calculation and then allow both of you to decide the payment method. After this, the CSA will make no further contact unless there is a change in either of your circumstances or if payments have stopped.
Alternatively, under Collect and Pay scheme, the CSA will calculate and collect payments from you, then forward them on to your wife. If this scheme is used, your responsibility to pay will be around the point you are contacted by the CSA. For more information about statutory child maintenance, please visit the CSA's website at http://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.
An alternative legally-binding agreement to the CSA is a Consent Order, which is an official ruling made by a court. This type of agreement is usually set up when both parents are going to court for another reason, such as arranging a divorce or dividing assets. To arrange a Consent Order, both you and your wife will need to agree how much child maintenance will be paid and how often before going to court. Arranging a Consent Order can be costly as fees for solicitors, mediators and court costs may apply.
If you would like more information about child maintenance, please visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. We also have a Sorting Out Separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.