hi guys,
just a quick question regarding csa over the holidays. Thankfully my ex and i are on great terms and get on very well. the kids stay overnight with me once a week and i can see them anytime for a couple of hours through the week also.
i pay £62 per week csa for my girls, we arrange that ourselves and not through CSA.
when it comes to the holiday periods, easter and summer etc, my ex and i split them. so for example on the 6 week summer break i have them for 3 weeks and my ex has the other 3 weeks.
So my question is, am i perfectly within my right to keep 3 weeks worth of csa payments when i have them at summer?
Hello Gtar85
As you and the other parent currently have a mutual agreement in place (known as a family-based arrangement), there are no strict rules to follow as it is not a legally binding agreement. With this in mind, it is down to you and the other parent to agree on whether payments are withheld for the three weeks your children stay with you.
However, following the Government’s guidelines, if an application was made to the Child Maintenance Service (the Government’s statutory maintenance service), they would take into account the amount of overnight contact your children have with you over the whole year, and then work out an average amount of maintenance to be paid. This would then be payable each week/month, even when you have your children for three weeks in a row.
For a more personalised response, you may wish to contact Child Maintenance Options directly at http://www.cmoptions.org.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, 'Sorting out Separation'. It aims to make it much easier for separating and separated parents (and childless couples) to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is https://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.
Regards
William
Hi There,
as said above if you can reach an agreement that you don't pay when they are with you then great, but under the cms rulling you would still be required to pay when they are with you.
think of it like your rent/mortgage, you still have to pay when you are on holiday, your ex will still have to pay the bills ect
GTTS