[Solved] Im paying maintenance through the local magistrate

Hi there,

I would think it highly unlikely that the court would make you pay over and above what the Child Support Agency, thus the Government, deem is the appropriate amount.

Their rules state that you should pay child support for children in non advanced education up until they are 20 or have left school/college. University is considered as advanced education.

If she did return to court to get more from you my argument would be the CSAs criteria and the fact that you wish support him directly. If he is staying away from home, all the more reason that any payment should be paid to him directly.

Thank for the reply. I just can't believe this day has come its been a long long road to get me to here. My x is hoping mad ah well

I've just opened a letter from the magistrates court team
It says that they have received confirmation from my x that my son will continue his further education at Northumberland Uni until 31/07/2016,therefore the maintenance order has now to be extended until this date.
I've stopped any more payments to my X at the bank

What should I do now

Well that's shocking!

I think you should appeal, call the magistrates and explain that you don't agree with the extension and wish to appeal the decision.

You could also contact Child Maintenance Options, they have a website where youll find a helpline number, they may be able to advise you. www.cmoptions.org

Alternatively you could ask the Citizens Advice Bureau for some advice, they have a legal department

If the Government doesn't think a father should pay maintenance once a child is in advanced education, why do the courts think they know better!

Hi Captainbutnoship

Thank you for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time, non-advanced education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid.

Education must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours' supervised study a week during term time) and 'non-advanced'. This includes:

GCSEs
A levels
iGCSEs
Pre-U
International Baccalaureate
NVQ/SVQ level 1, 2 or 3
BTEC National Diploma, National Certificate and First Diploma
SCE higher grade or similar

It does not include 'advanced' education, eg:

a degree
Diploma of Higher Education
NVQ level 4 or above
BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC)
Teacher training

Once a Consent Order has been agreed and authorised, you are legally liable to pay the amount the court has endorsed. However, the court does not monitor or collect payments. Therefore, your ex-wife will need to seek legal advice for any missed or reduced payments, unless they are happy to accept them. It is possible to change the terms of your Consent Order and to do this you will need to get legal advice. This most commonly results in going back to court to set out the application on a standard form. The court will then consider any changes.

Any Consent Orders that were endorsed after March 2003 are not legally subject to change unless they have been in place for at least 12 months. After 12 months, both parents can apply to the Child Support Agency (CSA) and the Consent Order will no longer be valid. However, if a Consent Order dates back to before April 2003, then law does not allow parents to change over to the CSA. Only the courts have the ability to arrange child maintenance in such circumstances.

With you having a Consent Order in place you may wish to seek legal advice to see where you stand on this matter. You may wish to consult with the solicitor who started the originally proceedings or you may wish to look at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-legal-adviser to find a legal advisor in your area.

To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit www.cmoptions.org or call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday.

I hope this helps.

William

On the court order I have states that I should pay until my children are 17 yrs or have finished full time education.
This means the order is infinite and open ended. It means until they actually give up full time ed.
I have put papers into the County Court yesterday in order to change the order by asking the Judge if I can support my children by paying direct to their bank instead of it going to my x I'm 63 next b day and have atrial fibrillation a heart problem, should I mention this at the hearing or will it just get poo pooed if I did?

...If the court order was put in place before 2003 then it cant be overridden by the CSA, but if it was placed after 2003, after 12 months you could have applied to the CSA to pay through them, and then their rules would have applied and you would not have been liable to pay once they start Uni as this is classed as advanced education.

I don't think your health condition would have an effect unless it has effected the amount you earn, however it can do no harm mentioning it. Also you should mention the CSAs own rules about maintenance, not having to pay once a child enters advanced education. Also the fact that they are living away from home now should be in your favour.

If the worse comes to the worse and the extension is upheld, just wait 12 months and then contact CSA and try to pay through them.