What should child maintenance cover?

Hello Jiz

If you have an arrangement which is agreed purely between the two of you, a family-based arrangement, there are no set rules to follow. Parents who have this type of arrangement often include non-monetary items such as clothes, school trips and even childcare.

When you have a statutory arrangement, such as one arranged via the child maintenance Service, the amount they work out for the paying parent to pay is to cover every aspect of the child’s upkeep. The paying parent would not be expected to pay for anything else on top of that.

So, if you have used a child maintenance calculator, such as the one on the Child Maintenance Options website, www.cmoptions.org, your ex would not be legally expected to pay any more than the amount worked out. Aside from the fact that the calculator only produces an estimate and the actual amount that the Child Maintenance Service would work out could be slightly different, of course.

If you would like further information on the different ways that maintenance can be set up including the family-based arrangement and a more personalised service, you can contact Child Maintenance Options directly.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a web application, ‘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 www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Sorting-Out-Separation.html

Regards

Sarah