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Hey fellas. first time post for me.
i have a family based arrangement, and want to know if i'm being tight, standard, or overly generous in my payments, so any feedback would be welcomed.
I've two boys, 9 & 16. I see them both, the 9yo stays over 2-3 times a week, 16yo chooses not to stay over (which is fine). Cos they don't both stay over, when i use the GOV calculator, I choose the mid point between <1 night/week and 1-2 nights/week.
I have a child in my new household, but I kindly don't factor him into the GOV calculator, as that would make the calculated figure less.
Weekly wage is £938, and GOV calculates (using the mid point of the two ranges stated above) £135p/w, equalling £540 per month.
So the GOV says £540, then i make it up to £700 to cover swim club, a few investments and pocket monies etc.
I think this is very reasonable (considering we live in Newcastle, not London), but she thinks she should get another £100 per month!!!
I would love to know what you all think, so I can get an independent opinion. Currently dealing with a lot of guilt as it was me who instigated the split (with no other party involved at the time), so her telling me i'm not contributing to my boys properly is not helping at all.
Cheers - Geordie
Hello geordie606
All parents have a responsibility to provide regular and reliable maintenance for their child, and there are several options available to you for setting up a maintenance arrangement for your sons. Many parents choose to set up child maintenance themselves, and it is great to hear that you have been able to come to a family-based arrangement.
Whilst these types of arrangements are not legally enforceable, they are very flexible meaning that you can both negotiate on what should be included in your maintenance agreement. Unlike a statutory child maintenance arrangement, they do not always have to be about money either. For example, you mentioned that you currently contribute towards swim clubs and pocket money, in addition to the maintenance you pay. You would not be legally expected to do this under the statutory scheme, and any additional payments would be voluntary.
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 renegotiate an existing family-based arrangement.
Here you will find the Talking About Money guide, which may be helpful in your circumstances, as it can be used to assist in any discussions you have relating to child maintenance. It can also be used to help you identify what needs to be included in your arrangement going forward.
If you find you are not able to renegotiate a 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, your responsibility to pay will start from around the point that either they contact you, or you contact them.
There is also a further option known as the Consent Order (known as the Minute of Agreement in Scotland), which is an arrangement made and set up through the courts.
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.
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/.
Regards
William
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