I'm currently going through a separation. My spouse (the mother) and I are aiming for a 50/50 parental care scenario.
My parents regulary help out on child care including spending the day there when not in pre school 1-2 days per week, picking up from pre-school 2-3 times per week , giving them tea 2-3 nights a week, and occasional sleepovers 1-2 nights per month when my spouse cannot get home in time for work or is working away.
My spouse has no family near by that can offer the same help (200+ miles away). How does this stand with regards to maintenance payments, will I still be expected to make payments?
Hi there
If you are making a private arrangement then you can try and negotiate a fair amount and if you increase your care to a 50/50 split then hopefully the mother will agree.
If the CMS get involved then the amount of time you are spending with your child at the moment doesn't qualify for a reduction. A reduction of maintenance works out at 1/7th for every night the child stays with you. If the child stays overnight for less than 52 nights a year then no reduction is made.
There are some stickys at the top of the Child Maintenance section and there is one called "how does the CSA calculate maintenance" if you follow the link you will find a CSA leaflet that explains things in more depth.
Hello Ssh_p
If you and your ex-partner were to arrange a family-based arrangement you both could try to discuss and negotiate whether maintenance payments are to be made. Family-based arrangements are not legally enforceable and there are no strict rules or formulas to follow when calculating child maintenance. Therefore parents can decide the terms of their agreement to suit their current circumstances.
If an application were made via the Child Maintenance Service they work out child maintenance using the paying parent's gross income, which is income before Income Tax and National Insurance are taken off, but after occupational or personal pension scheme contributions are taken away. In most cases this gross income figure comes from information given to HM Revenue & Customs by the paying parent, their employer or a third-party such as an accountant.
I have included a link on how the Child Maintenance Service calculates child maintenance that you may find useful when trying work out child maintenance, https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out/how-the-child-maintenance-service-works-out-child-maintenance.
For more information on the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.
The DWP 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: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
Regards
William