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Good evening all, after a bit of advice. my daughter left school at 16 as she started an apprenticeship so child maintenance stopped in agreement with her mother, 2 years on and my daughter wants to give up on her apprenticeship and return to college to learn something new.
do i have to start paying child maintenance again as her mother seems to think i do.
I think it’s possible that you do, if she attends for more than 12hrs a week that would be classed as full time education; which you would be liable for until she reaches the age of 20.
However, I have a nagging thought about something I’ve read about this, so I’ll have a check and get back to you. We do have a child maintenance options adviser that may have a definitive answer about this, but not sure exactly when he will be around.
Hello tinkywinky
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 (which is A-level or equivalent).
As a general rule, child maintenance is expected to be paid while ever a child is eligible for Child Benefit. This means that if your daughter's mother begins to claim Child Benefit again, child maintenance may again be payable.
Full-time non-advanced education is classed as more than 12 hours a week of study, on a course up to and including A level standard. You may wish to check these examples of non-advanced education, to see if your daughter's college course is listed:
• GCE, GCSE, A level, AS level
• SCE Higher Grade or equivalent
• GNVQ, NVQ levels 1 2 and 3
• BTEC certificates and diplomas
• SCOTVEC National Certificate
• Scottish Certificate of 6th Year Studies
• Foundation Arts Course
• Secretarial Course with GCSE entry
• NNEB
• Hairdressing Courses
As you have seen, once your child leaves full-time education, they will no longer qualify for child maintenance through the statutory service. Just for your reference, some examples of advanced and higher education are:
• Degree
• NVQ level 4 and above
• DHE
• HND
• National Higher Certificates (NHCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs)
• SCTVEC, HNC, HND
• Teacher Training
Please note that the above only applies to statutory maintenance cases (such as ones set up through the Child Maintenance Service).
If you choose to do so, you could set up what is known as a family-based arrangement. These are arrangements between parents without the intervention of the Government or legal system. They are flexible, and are not legally binding, giving you the opportunity to negotiate between yourselves when/if maintenance should resume, and how it will be paid if so.
If this is something you would like to consider, the Child Maintenance Options website has a variety of supporting tools and information available at, http://www.cmoptions.org, which have been designed to support you or someone acting on your behalf to put a family-based arrangement in place.
You may be interested to know that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, Sorting out Separation. It aims to make it much easier when you are separated to find the support you need, when and where you need it on a range of concerns, including, money, housing, employment, legal and parenting apart. You can view the website at https://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.
If you would like any further information about the child maintenance, and to receive a more personalized service, you can contact Child Maintenance Options directly.
Regards
William
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