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Hello all. Just needed some advice. I have a private agreement with the mother of my two daughters. due to recent issues and eventually a house fire at theirs, I have had the girls 7 nights a week, Due to the issues for their mum, she is now not allowed to have them unsupervised and this situation will continue and have periodic review. Their mum has since been placed in a temporary accommodation and is on 100% benefits and does not work. Does this mean that I am now considered the day to day carer and therefore I am not required to pay maintenance until this situation is resolved ? On the face of it, it might appear so but I'm sure there is some sort of provision for these circumstances ? I have tried to find some info online to cover this scenario but cannot find it. Thanks for any advice anyone has.
Hi there
I would advise that you apply for the child benefit for your children, you're entitled to it. You may also be entitled to other in work benefits.
As you and the mother had a private arrangement, the maintenance service aren't involved and it's up to you to negotiate new terms. In my opinion, if you have full care of your children you should stop payment and claim all the benefits you're entitled to.
All the best
Hello Mr Blue Sky
The definition of a receiving parent (the parent who receives child maintenance) is the person with whom the children have their home, and who usually provides day-to-day care of the child. By this definition, you would theoretically be classed as the 'receiving' parent and therefore, no longer expected to pay child maintenance (unless circumstances change again).
As mentioned by Mojo, you may wish to consider applying for Child Benefit. In addition to Child Benefit, you could also consider renegotiating your current child maintenance arrangement with your daughters' mother.
In your circumstances, this may be the quickest and easiest way of arranging maintenance, as it would simply be a case of agreeing new terms between yourselves. This is because, whilst these types of arrangements are not legally enforceable, they are very flexible. You can make changes to them as and when you both feel it is necessary, without having to notify any other organisation. They are also free to set up compared to other types of maintenance arrangement.
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 will also find the Online calculator available which calculates an amount of maintenance that the Government would consider to be a reasonable amount.
If you find you are not able to renegotiate your family-based arrangement, you may wish to consider making an application to the Child Maintenance Service. They are the Government's statutory maintenance service and can either calculate your child maintenance, then leave you to arrange payments between yourselves, or they can collect payments and pass them on for you.
If you decide to ask the Child Maintenance Service to arrange your child maintenance for you in the future, the other parent’s responsibility to pay will start from around the point that they are contacted by them, not from when you first make your application.
There is also a further option known as the Consent Order (or the Minute of Agreement in Scotland), which is an arrangement made and set up through the courts.
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 Service and the fees involved with this, and to receive a more personalised service, you can contact Child Maintenance Options directly.
Regards
William
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