Child maintenance is an important issue when a couple separates. The level of payments will also form part of the overall financial settlement. Factors which affect child maintenance include:
Child Maintenance Service.
If the parents cannot agree the amount of child maintenance, the payment needs to be calculated using the Child Maintenance Service calculator. The Child Maintenance Service calculation is the bare legal minimum a paying parent should pay towards their children.
It is common for child maintenance to be agreed between the parents at a level higher than the Child Maintenance Service calculation. This is to take account of the actual costs of the children which are often much higher than the Child Maintenance Service calculation.
Changes in income.
Changes in the income of the paying parent. If their income
goes up or down then the amount of child maintenance payable can change accordingly.
Overnight stays.
The number of overnight stays the paying parent has with the children. The more overnight stays, the less child maintenance could end up being paid.
Number of children.
The number of children in the family. The more children, the higher percentage of monthly income the paying parent could need to pay (to a maximum of 3 children).
New family.
If the paying parent has a new family. The amount of child maintenance payable to the original family could be affected if the paying parent has other children.
Shared care.
A shared care arrangement could cancel out the need for child maintenance payments as it will be presumed that both parents have the same costs for the children as they have them an equal amount of time.
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