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Hi,
Just joined dad's info and would like to know a couple of things?
I work abroad and my 16- coming on 17 year old has quit school to go to a 3 year private dance college course after the summer.
I am still paying maintenance and plan to continue through her college time. l have also agreed to pay approximately one third of dance college fees. Again l have no issues but my ex wants me to pay more towards the college. This is not possible as l have to support my new wife and our 3 kids. My ex seems to think l should be paying more towards this.
I have read a lot of questions and answers with part of it being if she is still entitled to child benefit then l should still continue with child maintenance. True or false? If so, how can l find out if my ex is still is still entitled to child benefit? By law, do l have to pay private dance college and child maintenance?
Hi there
Generally speaking, child benefit and child maintenance are linked and maintenance is expected to be paid whilst there is an entitlement to child benefit. Whilst a child attends full time, non advanced education, which includes approved college courses, payments need to continue, either until the child leaves, or reaches the age of 20.
The amount of maintenance paid covers everything you are liable to pay and anything above that is purely discretionary.
Just to clarify - you are only obliged to pay the statutory figure, so work that out using the CSA calculator if you are paying through CSA, or the CMS calculator if you are paying directly or using CMS. Anything above that, including anything at all you pay towards the classes are entirely voluntary - you could, if you felt so inclined, tell your ex that you will only pay her the calculated amount, and then pay anything over that directly to your son.
....or directly to your daughter! ๐
....or directly to your daughter! ๐
Oh - quite right :} I don't know why I had "son" in my head when the OP hadn't specified.
Actually actd he does make reference when he says...."I am still paying maintenance and plan to continue through "her" college time." ๐
Thanks Gents for the quick replies.
I don't have issues paying what l can for my " DAUGHTER" ๐ but l like to know where l stand just in case things go further. Am l correct in assuming dance college is not classed as a non advanced education course??
College is generally classed as non advanced education, University is advanced and full time is anything above 12 hours per week.
As the course is at a private college I wouldn't like to say if it is an approved course or not, it would be a good idea to check with the CMS/CSA or directly with the College itself.
Hello Billy C
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.
When a child leaves full-time education in the summer, Child Benefit generally continues until the first week of September.
For further information on when maintenance ends and what courses are classed as full-time non-advanced education, you may find the following link useful https://www.gov.uk/when-child-maintenance-payments-stop.
If you and the other parent have a family-based arrangement in place, which is an agreement between both parents to decide on who will provide what for a child, the college fees could be something that you both could agree to include in your arrangement. Although family-based arrangements are not legally enforceable, parents can decide the terms of their agreement to suit their current circumstances, as there are no strict rules or formulas to follow.
The Child Maintenance Options website has a useful tools and guides section that you and the other parent may find helpful when trying to negotiate your family-based arrangement. This can be found at http://www.cmoptions.org.
Paying parents are legally responsible only for the amount worked out by the Child Maintenance Service and are not obliged to pay for anything extra. If you have a case with the Child Maintenance Service you would need to contact them directly to discuss your concerns. You will find their details on any letters they have sent you or on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.
If you have a Consent Order/Minute of Agreement in place you may wish to see what is stipulated within your agreement to where you stand regarding child care payments. Alternatively, you may wish to seek legal advice.
For more 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.
The DWP 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
Actually actd he does make reference when he says...."I am still paying maintenance and plan to continue through "her" college time." ๐
I had to read his post twice more before I spotted what you'd pointed out there ๐ฎ ;;)
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