Financial Remedy Order - impact after cohabitation

Hi,

I am divorced and pay my ex-wife periodical payments for the benefit of herself and the children of the family under a global order.

The Global order states, "Payments continue until the first to occur of: ...the applicant's cohabitation for an uninterrupted period of 6 months or more."

If she then cohabits for more than 6 months, do I just stop paying? Or at least notify her of my reason for not paying? Or do I need to get the court to amend the order?

Can she then apply to the child maintenance Service or Child Support Agency (CSA) for child maintenance payments?

Thank you for your help.

The order only requires that level of maintenance to be paid whilst the conditions are met. Once the conditions are not met the maintenance can cease - the crucial words are "Payments continue until".

You have to ensure that the trigger events have occurred though. Cohabitation can be difficult to prove if it's a case of the new partner moving in with your ex. It is better to give notice of your intention once the 6 months has been exceeded.

Yes, an application can be made to the CMS - the court has no jurisdiction over the payment of child maintenance.

Charles

Hi Charles,

Thank you for clarifying the position of cohabitation and child maintenance as raised in my original post.

That was very useful and helps to clear up any confusion on these two points.

Many thanks for your quick reply.

Regards,