[Solved] Family based arrangement help

Hi there

Whilst I understand how the situation with the other fathers non payment might grate on you, it's probably wise not to allow it to effect how you view your own financial responsibility to your daughter.

Unfortunately the mother isn't accountable for how she spends the maintenance payments. It might help if you use the CSA calculator to see if you are paying the right amount. Any extras you pay for are at your own discretion but I can understand why you might not want to put your foot down about picking up nappies and milk as it could make your relationship with your ex more difficult.

If things continue to be an issue for you then you might like to consider mediation to help talk through the issues, or alternatively you can open a case with the CMS (CSA) and pay through a statutory arrangement instead.

Hi BrynF

Thank you for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide some information that may help answer query during this frustrating time.

Child maintenance is a contribution towards the cost of bringing up a child and this includes not only such items as food and clothing but also it is a contribution towards the home that the child lives in and the associated costs of running that home.

You mentioned that you and your ex-partner have agreed child maintenance privately via a family-based arrangement. With this type of agreement, there are no strict rules to stick to. Therefore, both you and your ex-partner have the freedom to decide the terms of your own arrangement, such as how you will contribute towards your child’s upbringing. Family-based arrangement work best and last longer when both parents are happy with their arrangement.

A family-based arrangement can include money and other kinds of support, such as you directly paying for things that your child may need. Although family-based arrangements are not legally-binding, they are very flexible and can often easily be reviewed such as if you or your ex-partner’s circumstances change. You can find more information on family-based arrangements on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/index.asp.

If you are unhappy with your arrangement, you may find our page on talking about child maintenance useful ( http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/talking.asp). You also have the freedom to use third party such as trusted friend, family member of professional mediator if you wish to try and renegotiate your arrangement. If you feel that mediation may help, you can find more information about this process on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/separating/about-mediation.asp.

We have a range of tools and guides on our website that may help keep your family-based arrangement amicable ( http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp). These include our discussion guide which you can use to help prioritise the issues that you wish to resolve with your ex-partner and help you plan conversations around child maintenance. We also have a family-based arrangement form that is not a legally-binding document but if used to write down what both of you have agreed, it can help to formalise your arrangement

To give you an indication of how much child maintenance that may be calculated if you were to use the Child Maintenance Service, we have an online calculator on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/. Some parents use the figure provided when negotiating child maintenance for their family-based arrangement.

If you are unable to renegotiate your family-based arrangement, you can make an application to the Child Maintenance Service. They use two schemes: Direct Pay and Collect and Pay. Both schemes are legally-binding.

Direct Pay is where the Child Maintenance Service will provide both you and your ex-partner with a child maintenance calculation and then allow both of you to decide the payment method. After this, the Child Maintenance Service will make no further contact unless they are informed that payments have stopped or if there is a change in either of your circumstances.

Collect and Pay is where the Child Maintenance Service will calculate and collect payments from you and then forward them on to your ex-partner. If you decide to use the Child Maintenance Service, your responsibility to pay will be around the point when you are contacted by the Child Maintenance Service.

You may also wish to know that the Government have introduced a £20 application to use the Child Maintenance Service. This is paid by the parent making the application.

The best way to avoid charges is to try and renegotiate your family-based arrangement and not use the Child Maintenance Service at all.

For parents using the Collect and Pay scheme, the Government plans to charge collection fees to both the paying and receiving parent. This is for collecting and passing on child maintenance payments.

Under the Government’s plans the paying parent would have to pay 20% in addition to the weekly maintenance payment and the receiving parent would have 4% taken away from the weekly maintenance payment.

The Child Maintenance Service can only confirm your actual collection fee amounts after you have applied to the Child Maintenance Service, and you will only have to pay collection fees if you are on Collect and Pay, after fees are introduced later this year. You can avoid collection fees entirely by using the Child Maintenance Service's Direct Pay service.

If you decide to make an application to the Child Maintenance Service, you will need to contact us first either by telephone or email, for your Child Maintenance Service Reference ID. This number is personal to you. It is unique and shows that you have spoken to Child Maintenance Options before applying for a statutory child maintenance arrangement. You can find more information about using the Child Maintenance Service by visiting the Government website Gov.uk at http://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.

For more information on the ways to set up child maintenance, please visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. We 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