JARVIS Family Law

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Maintenance and Child Support

One of the major worries on separation will be how to “make ends meet” and ensure that all the household bills are paid. This will particularly be the case if one of a couple (often the husband) has moved out of the family home leaving his wife or partner to provide for and support the children.

What maintenance can be claimed?

The rules are different depending upon whether or not a former couple are married or have children. If you are married at the time of the separation, then the partner with the lower income maybe entitled to claim “spousal maintenance” from the higher earner.

However, if you are not married then you will not be entitled to claim spousal maintenance from your former partner, but will only be entitled to seek Child Support.

How is Child Support worked out?

There is now a simple formula that exists to calculate the amount of Child Support required to be paid by the natural father. This is helpful because it allows you to work out an early stage what the correct amount of maintenance should be, so that you can come to agreed arrangements without the need to make an application to the Child Support Agency for an assessment to be carried out.

The formula is based on a simple percentage of the net income of the paying parent (after deduction of tax and national insurance), the percentage figure used depending upon the number of children.

For one child, the amount of maintenance will be assessed at 15% of the payer’s net income.For two children it is 20% and for three, it is 25% of net pay.

What if I look after the children as well?

If, as is often the case, the paying parent shares in caring for the children then this can reduce the amount of the Child Support that needs to be paid. If, on average, the children stay over with the paying parent for more than one night a week (including extended time during holidays), then the basic percentage payment is reduced by 1/7th. If the children stay overnight on average more than two nights a week, then it is reduced by 2/7th and so on.

What if the other parent won’t pay?

If the parent responsible to make Child Support payments refuses to do so, then an application has to be made to the Child Support Agency by the parent who the children live with. An assessment is carried out by the CSA and is then enforced through their procedures. It is not possible in most cases to make an application to the Court for Child Support Maintenance Orders.The Court does not have the ability to make orders for child maintenance, other than in exceptional cases where the parents are very high wage earners, in which case the Court can make an order to “top up” the maximum amount of maintenance that otherwise can be required through a child support assessment.

How much spousal maintenance might I get?

Unfortunately, there is no simple formula to work out spousal maintenance in the way that there is for child support. In working out the amount of spousal maintenance, various factors have to be balanced against each other:-

• The total amount of the income of the lower earner, including any child support that is received
• The amount that person needs to have to cover his/her reasonable expenses
• The shortfall between income and expenses, being the amount of maintenance that might be required
• The difference between the income and the reasonable expenses of the, and so his/her ability to pay the amount that is needed by the other party

What if we cannot agree?

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to come to agree, despite the best efforts of both partners and their solicitors. It is commonly the case that the surplus income the higher wage earner has left after payment of his/her reasonable expenses is not enough to meet the shortfall of the other partner. In such a case, we at Jarvis Family Law will do all that we could to try to encourage both former partners to make cut backs in their budget, but in the absence of an agreement, an application can be made to the Court and the Judge will determine what is a fair and reasonable amount of maintenance to be paid.

At Jarvis Family Law, Harrogate, we can assist you in negotiations with your former partner or in making an application to the Court should that be necessary. Contact us for more information.