[Solved] Shared Residency and Child Maintenance

hi,

it's pathetic that she wants to restrict contact if it means she gets more CMS money. if these disputes happen on and off, you are better off going to court and get a decent arrangement. as your sons are 12 and soon 10, court would take their views/wishes seriously.

if they both want to spend more nights with you or move in with you, then there is high chance that court will accept that. don't wait till they are 15-16, as then courts will likely not make any orders because of their age.

at mediation you can suggest 50/50 like, kids stay with you 1 week, then 1 week with her, and it alternates like that. would be good if it can be resolved at mediation stage. stick to your guns and do what's right for the kids 🙂 ask for 50/50 day-to-day equal care of children.

There is a lot of confusion about 'Shared Care' and I believe that after much effort including multiple conversations with the CMS that I finally understand the detail of it.

First of all, rather obviously, if both parents agree on an arrangement between themselves then the CMS do not get involved.

If there is no such agreement and a claim is made to the CMS, then if both parents share an equal financial burden (that includes ALL costs such as clothing, school expenses, pocket money etc., and because of housing and food costs I think this also means that the kids spend a broadly equal number of nights at each parent's home), plus both parents share other 'non-financial' responsibilities such as doctor's and dentist's appointments etc., AND THIS CAN BE DEMONSTRATED, then I understand that the CMS take the view that no maintenance is payable.

If however one parent makes a CM claim and it is granted, then the term 'Shared Care' refers ONLY to the number of nights that the children spend at the paying parent's home. The paying parent gets a sliding scale discount (on the full amount payable if the kids didn't apend any nights with them) based on the number of nights per year spent at the paying parent's home. This is to account for the costs incurred by the paying parent in providing housing and feeding their children when staying with them. However the receiving parent is still responsible for ALL other costs such as clothing, school trips, and in fact anything other than housing and feeding. So I understand that for all CM cases, the receiving parent is still responsible for ALL school, expenses (uniform, school trips etc) and other costs.
If the paying parent makes their CM payments on time and pays for nothing else (other than houses and feeds their children when staying with them) then there is no further legal obligation on them to pay for anything else.
(Though of course they may choose to pay for other things - I still give my kids some pocket money for example even though legally I am not compelled to do so, Except it irritates me that I am effectively putting this money in my ex's pocket as she accounts for my pocket money in what she gives the kids herself !)

So in my understanding - by claiming and being granted CM payments, the receiving parent is by definition assuming sole financial responsibility for stuff like school trips etc. even when the children may spend half the time at the non-paying parent's home.

Apologies - I just understood that my response was somewhat off-topic !
Anyway for what it's worth, I understand that if you pay CM then that's all you have to pay and you are not legally obliged to pay for anything else except look after your children (i.e. provide housing and food) for any nights they stay at your home.

yes, you are not obliged to pay anything more than CMS payments. they give you a discount if you get overnights with kids, and that way you use that money to spend on kids when they are staying with you.

@Will99 Hi, I was reading your summary with regards to the detail of shared care and I hope you don't mind but I have a few questions:

1. With the CMS process if there is an agreed arrangement between both parents the CMS do not get involved period or would they still get involved at this stage depending if the agreement is not 50:50?
2. Would an agreed arrangement be in form of a co-parenting plan, even though this is not legally binding?
3. Shared care is in reference to the overnight stays per parent but day-to-day care is this in reference to both parents sharing equal financials & non-financials during day-to-day shared care?
4. If shared care and day-to-day care can be fully demonstrated, then the CMS do not get involved?
5. What if there is a joint lived with court order - so both parents are residence parents.  Would this deter the CMS?

Considering if all the above factors are in place, I am curious if one parent does go to the CMS and a claim is granted - what would trigger a claim being granted?