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Hi, Can anyone help me..... I've been paying child maintenance for my two children since 2006/7 my eldest is now 16 and left school my younger child is 14 I'm just wondering if I still need to be paying the same amount monthly? I have them stay with me every weekend and get NO financial help can anybody fill me in on how I can find out the information I need as I have the money stopped from my sallary every month Also in all the years I've been paying there has never been a "Review" of the amount paid even tho my ex's circumstances keep changing.
Hi There,
Can you confirm whether the 16 year old is working or has continued to college?
If college then you should continue to pay the same, however if in employment then it should be adjusted.
Darren
Thank you Darren,
She has signed for college three days a week but hardly attends and is looking for a job as her mother has told her she wants some money for keep from her, so I'm a bit confused as to what the monthly payment is being spent on.
The money you pay is based on your income, not on your ex's circumstances, so the only change should be due to an change in your salary, though if they are staying with you every weekend - potentially 104 days per year, then the payment should be reduced by 2/7ths.
If your ex is more concerned with the children as a source of income - do they still want to live with her?
Hello,
Thank you for your post. I'm William, the Child Maintenance Options Consultant. CSA rules say that child maintenance must be paid by the paying parent to the receiving parent until the child turns 16 or until they reach 20 if they are in full-time education (not higher than A-level equivalent).
If you have a CSA arrangement, your eldest child's other parent is legally required to tell the CSA if and when your eldest child leaves full time non-advanced education and/or child benefit is no longer being paid. Once the CSA are informed of these changes, they will tell you when payments can stop.
I suggest that you contact the CSA and ask them exactly what information it will accept (that proves your eldest child has left education).
In the meantime, contact your eldest child last school and ask them for written confirmation that she has left.
Bear in mind that in some cases, children are still classified as being in education until the start of the new educational year (usually September) so you may have to keep paying up until that point.
We have a web application that you may find useful, it offers help and support to separating families. The link is: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation
For more information about Child Maintenance Options and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit www.cmoptions.org, or if you'd prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).
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