Hi all,
I've been denied access to the children all of 2023 (other than a day visit every 2-3 weeks) and last month at the final hearing had a Joint Shared Care Arrangement agreed (and put into a Court Order) which is fantastic. The ex and her legal representatives were very finicky about a day here/there and it has resulted in a 53:47 arrangement instead of 50:50 being determined.
After the fact I have realised this is probably due to enable her to claim for Child Maintenance still. Do you think the CMS when totalling up the days will determine this is in one of their 'Bands' or could the argument still be made that it is actually equal Shared Day-to-Day care as I will be a contact at school, supporting after-school activities etc. and all that is different is that she has one additional night during a month which pushes it from an equal 50:50.
If I still do need to pay maintenance - what would that actually cover? Would it include childcare costs, uniforms, activity/club memberships etc. or would I also need to pay that on top?
Any advice/guidance, would be much appreciated.
I would say that you will have to pay maintenance, and assuming your ex doesn't lie about the number of nights, the calculation is based on gross income, but would be reduced by 3/7ths based on the number of days. I would check out the maintenance calculator to see roughly what you'll be paying