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Hi im new to this and am finding it very hard to get an answer to my question..
I have ben paying my ex wife child maintenance for my son , not through csa but our own agrrement.
My son is 17 (18 in may) but has now finished school and his education and is seeking an apprentaship and my query is am i by law still legible to pay my ex any maintenance?
What i am after is a solid answer or a phone number of a company or organisation which will have the info i am seeking.
cheeers all
Hi there
Child Maintenance is paid up to the age of 20 as long as the child is in full time (more than 12 hours pw) non advanced education. When a child leaves education the payment usually continues for a few weeks after that.
Some apprenticeships also qualify for maintenance payments to continue. This link may help to explain...
Hello Priceywise
With you having a family-based arrangement in place you may wish to try to discuss and negotiate with your ex-partner on when your payments will end. 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.
The Child Maintenance Options website has a useful tools and guides section that you and the other parent may find helpful when trying to negotiate your family-based arrangement. This can be found at http://www.cmoptions.org.
If you and your ex-partner cannot come to an agreement on when your payments will end, you may wish to follow the guidelines set by the Government’s statutory scheme. 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.
When a child leaves full-time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September. If you would like further information on when maintenance payments end and what courses are classed as full-time non-advanced education you can visit the link that Mojo has provided above.
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.
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