[Solved] No contact with child, when do i stop paying?

If this is a CMS case then:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-maintenance/child-maintenance-2012-scheme/child-maintenance-eligibility-and-rules/the-2012-child-maintenance-scheme-how-old-are-the-children/

Child maintenance continues until child is no longer in full time non-advanced education.
e.g. GCSE's, A-Levels up to age of 20 - but not university

If it is not a CMS case then it is down to the terms of what ever agreement is in place.

Thanks, i have no contact so how do i know if at school, A levels etc etc? i presume a solicitor would have to hunt her down and ind out the answers for me? i do know were my ex partners mum and dad live so maybe a solicitor letter to there may help.

If it is a CMS case then the PWC has to tell the CMS.
You can raise that query with the CMS as well.

If it is not a CMS case then a solicitor or similar would be needed probably - but they may not be able to help you, or not without large cost.

If you know where the mum and dad live why not start by just writing a simple straight forward letter to them, stating things in a few lines ( no grudges, comments, etc ), give way for them to contact you, include stamped, self addressed envelope or something.

It is also unclear what you are getting at - if it is a CMS case then you need to pay as long as they ask you. You can query with them if you believe, or have reason to think, she is not in school.

If it is not a CMS case then it is not clear under what agreement is in place - court, verbal etc.

If it is a private agreement how have you negotiated adjustments over the 13 years?
If you were paying £200 p/m from when you split then if you adjust for inflation then that would be £290 p/m today ( assuming you split in 2004) .

Overall just be pragmatic about it though. I have no idea what % of children do A-Levels or go to College - but it would seem sensible to believe there is a "fair chance" she is still in non advanced education.
If you assume those odds are 50/50 and a solicitor sending a few letters, investigating is going to cost you £1000 then it is a £1000 bet on 50/50 odds to win not paying £2400 that year.

Even if she were not in education now - she might be next year, and up till twenty CMS will still ask you to pay.

With regards to just stopping paying then the risk of that depends upon the terms upon which you are currently paying - if it is CMS then you will just build up arrears that they will come after you for anyway. If it is something else it depends on the terms of the agreement.

I have not seen the mum for 13 years and we just split and agreed £200 and that has never changed. She knows were i live and i have never had contact other than the Police visiting my mums for my description a few months ago as my daughter who i do not know a had been in trouble and they had to rule me out but they would not give me any info. The letter to parents is the way forward it seems. I just do not want to pay if i shouldnt be i have paid enough over the years.

The CSA etc has never had anything to do with this it has always just been left how it was all them years ago and i have never missed a payment

If the CMS has not been anything to do with it then the "rules" don't apply. Only if the mother applies via the CMS.

So if you stopped paying and she they applied to the CMS, the CMS would do a calculation based upon your income and situation - use this https://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/.

Financially it might work out to be to your advantage to be under the CMS actually - depending on the calculated amount. You can start a case with the CMS as well. The mother would then have to tell them about the child's education situation etc - and if the mother lies to the CMS that is a significant risk on her part.

I guess maybe another way to approach it would be to kinda turn things on its head.

You could stop paying when she is 16 and put £200 per month into a savings account specifically for your daughter until she is 20 say.
Then write to the mum and dad and tell them this.
Tell them the savings account is for the daughter - but only to be released for specific things - e.g. house/rent deposit, first car etc - and only with everyone happy them money is not going to get misused by the child.
That way you are still benefiting your daughter considerably.

If you do stop paying I would strongly suggest that you save the money you would of paid so that if something comes of it you can easily catch up missed payments.

very helpful thank you very much

Hi There,
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As alreaady said above, as you are not going through CSA/CMS then there are no rules to follow, if you stopped paying then your ex would have to open a fresh case which would now be through CMS, CMS can only back date up to the date that your ex started the case, so when she first makes contact with them.
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You could stop paying when she reaches 16, and then see if your ex opens a case, as she still knows where you live opening a case with them would be easy for her and they would then contact you.
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I would though as suggested put the money aside that you are currently paying, and also take a look at the CMS calculator to see what it says you would pay, CMS will go off your last completed tax year.
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GTTS

Hello Col81

I can confirm for you that 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.

Family-based arrangement's are not legally binding and as you do have this agreement in place for your payments, you and your daughter's mother can negotiate between the two of you when your payments should come to an end.

Child Maintenance Options can provide you with some help if you wish to contact your daughter's mother and they do have some supporting tools on their website at https://www.cmoptions.org.

Their Talking About Money Guide and Discussion Guide are full of information about how you can plan your conversation with your daughter's mother and how to negotiate your agreement. They also point out the financial costs involved in raising a child and can give you both ideas about what can be included in your agreement.

You may also be interested to know the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, 'Sorting out Separation'. It aims to make it much easier for separating and separated parents (and childless couples) to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is http://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/

For more information and for a more personalised service, you may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website yourself.

Regards

William