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Hi all,
Hopefully this is the right place for advice about maintenance money.
We have a 2 weeks router which makes up of 7 night's each and I have my son every weekend Friday afternoon till Monday morning and every other Tuesday night.
I've been following the government maintenance calculator online which I have been paying my son's mother plus my son's school dinner on top.
My son's mother have been asking me for more money to pay for his school trip and school clothes etc?
Please could someone advice me on what the maintenance money is suppose to be used for and is it fair for me to pay the extra money? What I don't want is her to take advantage of me in this area.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
If you aren't paying via CSA or CMS, then what you pay is between yourself and your ex. The CMS calculator gives what maintenance would be due if you use the CMS and there is no legal obligation to pay anything else at all, in other words the maintenance you pay is intended to cover everything, including school dinners etc.
You pay maintanence and that's it the more you give them the more comfortable they will get!
Mother =child benefit/tax credits towards the child,
Father=maintanence/pays other things in his own parenting time
Hello walestaffy
Child maintenance is about providing help with a child’s everyday living costs. This includes things like food and clothes, as well as helping to provide a home your son. However, sharing the care of your son and buying things directly for him can also be included if you have a family-based arrangement in place and both you and your son’s mother agree to it.
As actd mentioned, when there is an arrangement in please through the Child Maintenance Service (the government’s statutory maintenance service) the paying parent is only legally responsible for the amount worked out by them, and is not obliged to pay for anything extra.
For information on all the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.
The DWP have a sorting out separation website that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: https://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.
Regards
William
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