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Hi. Hope someone can help please.
I’ve had a private maintenance agreement that I paid for many years. I just stopped the weekly payment (for a genuine and honest reason)
But now the mother has told me she is going to claim via CMS.
My question is if I reinstate the weekly payment (I’ve only missed a few) will that be taken into account by CMS? Or will they just backdate the amount they decide I should be paying? So in effect I will pay double for the next few weeks.. thanks in advance
Hello NewUser
If an application was made with the statutory scheme in the UK, the Child Maintenance Service, your responsibility to pay will only start from around the time that they contact you about the new application. Child maintenance would not be backdated prior to this date.
Child Maintenance Options are an information service providing parents with information about their options and to help them maintain an existing family-based arrangement. As you currently do have a family-based arrangement in place with your child or children's mother you can try and reinstate your agreement.
Parents do suggest that when they make a family-based arrangement it does tend to last longer as it’s just an agreement made between the two of them and continuing to collaborate together may also be better for your child or children.
Many parents do now choose to sort out their maintenance between themselves as it can be the quickest and easiest way of setting up a maintenance agreement. Although family-based arrangements are not legally binding, they are very flexible and can be easily changed.
Child Maintenance Options do have some information on their website at, http://www.cmoptions.org, that may help you both start your negotiations. Their Talking About Money Guide and Discussion Guide are full of information about how you can plan your conversation with the mother and how to negotiate your agreement. They also point out the financial costs involved in raising a child and can give you both new ideas about what can be included in your agreement.
You will also find their Online Calculator available to calculate an amount of maintenance that the Government consider to be a reasonable payment and you both might find this a good starting point for your negotiations.
If you are able to get your arrangement back on track, you can record this on their Family-based Arrangement Form. Although it is not a legally binding document it can put your agreement on a more formal basis. You can also agree a renewal date for your agreement in case either of you have a change in circumstances in the future.
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 about your family-based arrangement and the Child Maintenance Service, and for a more personalised service, you may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website yourself.
Regards
William
If the arrangement was private and the CMS weren't involved at all, they can only back date to the point that they contact you, to inform you that a case has been opened.
If you make payments whilst the claim is being assessed, you should make them via bank transfer and reference them as child maintenance with the name of the child, so that you can prove you have made payments.
Alternatively you can put an amount aside each month, so that you don't have to find a larger sum when their assessment is finished, sometimes it can take many weeks for them to come up with a figure.
Best of luck
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