Sorry all - i might be a little late to the party here, but i wondered if i could get some up-to-date advice.
My partner and I split up three years ago and since then i have been paying child maintenance through a family based agreement (i.e. informal) and paying circa £680 a month. I have also been topping this up with additional contributions for school uniform/school trips/mobile phones/parties etc.... although this is sporadic, it probably equates to about an additional £500 - £700 a year.
I have my kids over every weekend, and go down to see them once during the week and take them out for dinner. In all I drive about 200 miles a week to see them as my ex refuses to do any of the dropping off/collection.
Unfortunately my ex continues to be angry/abusive towards me at times which doesn't help matters. She has now gone to the CMS for a formal agreement. I have no issue with that, but i have said this should now cover all costs as its a formal agreement (and £30 a month more). In anyone's experience, is this a reasonable stance, or should i also pay out for other costs like school uniforms etc?
I would say that your stance is perfectly reasonable - it was her choice to have CMS deal with the case (presumably direct pay) so she must expect that she has to accept the premise of what CMS is about.
Sounds like you are around £20 per month better off on average, so could spend that directly on your kids, and that way it takes any sting out of any argument she might make about not giving them as much money.
Thank you for the reply - much appreciated.
FYI - you can get CMS to deduct the annual cost of your travel to collect your kids from your income before CMS calculations are done.
yep, CMS have something called special expenses,
one of them is for fuel:
If the costs you have to pay are less than £10 a week, you can’t ask for a variation.
If the costs are £10 a week or more, the whole amount can be taken into account.
since your ex has insisted on official CMS arrangement, then you just stick to what CMS order you to pay, and you dont pay any voluntary extras.