You can agree child maintenance with the other parent by negotiating with them directly or through your solicitor. You can record this in a private agreement form available from Child Maintenance Options see Useful contacts. The benefits of an agreement are that neither party will have to pay Child Maintenance Service fees and the parents can change the maintenance rates by agreement as their circumstances change.
Arrangements for child maintenance made by way of agreement are not legally enforceable. This means that if the non-resident parent decides to reduce or stop their maintenance payments you cannot force them to stick to the agreement. If the non-resident parent stops paying or reduces maintenance you should contact the Child Maintenance Service. The non-resident parent will only be required to make payments from the date you apply to the Child Maintenance Service.
Domestic violence and private arrangements. Private agreements may not be appropriate or safe if you have experienced domestic violence. It may be safer to ask the Child Maintenance Service to arrange and collect the maintenance for you.
For further information contact our legal advice line see Useful contacts. Will receiving child maintenance affect my benefits? Child maintenance will not affect your social security benefits. You should, however, let the relevant benefits agency know about the child maintenance you receive. If you are unable to agree arrangements for child maintenance with the other parent then you can make an application for child maintenance.
There are currently three different schemes in place to calculate child maintenance. The information given to CMS by both parents is very important as it is needed to work out how much child maintenance should be paid. You should tell CMS about any changes within seven days to make sure that the child maintenance you pay, or receive, is accurate. Either parent should tell CMS within seven days if:.
If your circumstances change, you may be able to ask for a variation. A variation is when you can get your maintenance calculation looked at again because you:. We will not reply to your feedback. Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers. The nidirect privacy notice applies to any information you send on this feedback form.
Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence daera-ni. If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit. Contacts for common benefits are listed below. There is also the often forgotten provision that may terminate an award earlier where parents live together for six months. What if the children are at university?
Significantly the CMS does NOT impose any obligation for child maintenance payments during the university years — the parents or the child have to go back to the court for that provision, if the rules and there are some dangerous technical traps permit this. James Pirrie is a director at Family Law in Partnership.
He is a specialist in child maintenance and has previously appeared before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee to talk about the practicality of the rules surrounding the Child Maintenance Service. For more information on when and for how long child maintenance payments can be paid, visit our dedicated website page or please contact James Pirrie at E: jp flip.
Read more about complaining about the CMS. We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. You can find out more or opt-out from some cookies. You have 14 days to reply. If you don't think you're the child's parent.
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