what exactly is covered by child maintenance?

Hello, my ex seems to think that child maintenance payments cover every expense for children. (and his £7 per week covered it) Could you reference a concise definition of what is (or isn''t) covered by it. For example, I know children''s activities are separate. Many thanks.

It is a contribution towards the cost of bringing up children.

Children''s activities are not separate.

Clearly £7 per week wont cover this but the amount suggests your ex pays via CSA?

If this is the assessed amount then they have no obligation to pay any more. It would be worth reporting any changes in their circumstances that may increase the assessed amount.

Hi all,

Sorry to hi jack the thread but my query is related. My ex and I work out payments amicably using the YouGov Child maintenance calculator. I do the maths and send ,my ex the calcs for her records. So far so good.

We have two boys and I want to contribute and support them but things are starting to get out of hand. I pay for half of all external activities such as Rugby Clubs, swimming clubs etc and to keep the kids contactable we each pay half of the kids mobile phone bills. When the kids are at mine I proactively do stuff like hair cuts and buying new shoes uniform Etc.

My contribution is close to £600/month , she works and her new husband also works. Now I am being asked to contribute to school bus fares...

I am starting to think this is getting close to taking the P@@@. I would love to have the kids more but due to my job I have an un prectable work pattern with overseas and UK trips so I am limited to having the kids at mine five nights/fortnight.

Any thoughts on the bus fare, its £25/month she is asking for but I know for sure one of the kids actaully prefers to walk. I would contribute to a bus pass but the bus operators wont do this. I want to suppoort the kids not to top up their domestic cashflow

I don''t want to cause undue stress arguments or aggravation but I think this is going to too far. Any thoughts.

Just_a_Bloke

Seen this problem many times. The amicable agreement where the amount keeps going up.

You pay £600 per month but I don''t know details of your income, how often you have your kids overnight etc.

Can you afford it?

How do they travel to school now and who pays? If they already travel by bus why does she now expect you to contribute half?

What will be next? Half the cost of sandwiches for their pack up?

What would you pay under CMS if you went down that route?

What effect will it have on your relationship with your ex? IE would it be worth spoiling things for £25 per month

Lots for you to think about but ultimately you need to either say no or agree to it this time but on the strict understanding that it is the last item to be added.

I have seen many examples of no matter how much was paid under a private agreement it was never quite enough so it ended up that the payee had to say "no more" and the PWC went down the CSA (as then) route and was disappointed with the result.

Hi Thanks for the response,

In terms of what I pay I use the Online system honestly and provide evidence that I am using the YouGov Child Maintenance system accuratly. yes I can afford £25 but whats the point of these online DIY systems if folks dont respect the outcome.

I have always wanted to show the kids that adults can behave like adults but sometime enough is enough.

I will leave it for abit and see how it pans out,

JustABloke

There is a concept that I do not understand about child maintenance. Why is it calculated on the basis of a person''s income solely. What about the fact that they may have savings that is just sitting in an account? Or property? Why don''t those matter?

Why is it not based on the receipts of the parent who pays for the actual stuff for the kids? Because if both parents are unemployed, then the one who pays for the kids'' actual stuff gets completely screwed.

Is the idea that one parent is supposed to be able to take on the burden just because the kids live with them and they get child benefit from the government? Someone has got to pay or go into debt in the end. Kids are not free.