If you have children from a previous relationship, you need to understand how much child maintenance costs. A child maintenance arrangement spells out how your child’s living costs will be covered, and it is the responsibility of both parents to cover these costs, no matter what type of relationship you have with your ex-partner or child.
How much child maintenance will cost you depends on numerous factors. You and your ex-partner can decide this by yourselves, enlist the help of a family law solicitor, or leave the decision in the hands of the Child Maintenance Service. In this article, our family law specialists will explain who pays for child maintenance and how child maintenance amounts are calculated in the UK depending on your income and familial circumstances.
How Much Is Child Maintenance?
The cost of child support in the UK depends on various factors. While we will explore these factors in the following section, for an accurate estimation of your child support sum, we recommend using the Child Maintenance Calculator on the UK Government website.
Income
The amount you pay for child support will depend on your income, which refers to how much you take home before tax deductions. Child maintenance rates fall into four different categories:
- Basic rate
- Reduced rate
- Flat rate
- Nil rate
The basic rate demands the most money, following through to the nil rate, where parents are required to pay incrementally smaller percentages of their income. The basic rate applies to parents with a weekly income of £200 to £3,000, however, the parent receiving maintenance payments can apply to Court for additional child maintenance if the paying parent has a weekly income over £3,000.
Under this standard rate, parents will be obliged to give a percentage of their weekly income:
- 12% for one child
- 16% for two children
- 19% for three or more children
As you can see, the number of children also impacts the amount of child maintenance you need to contribute.
Other children
With this in mind, supporting for children from other relationships also affects your rate. If you pay child maintenance to more than one person, your child maintenance fee will be reduced. Following the basic rate, the percentage of the parent’s gross weekly income would drop to:
- 11% for one other child
- 14% for two other children
- 16% for three or more children
Who Pays for Child Maintenance?
Separated parents can decide between themselves who pays child maintenance and how the agreement will work. This is known as a family-based arrangement.
Parents can come to an agreement on any financial matters relating to their child, from practical care costs to buying items for school. However the amount of child maintenance is calculated, the parent who does not live with their child and spends less time with them usually makes payments to the primary caregiver.
While family-based arrangements are typically verbal agreements between separated parents, some parents decide to document their child maintenance arrangements in shared parenting agreements. This not only allows you to commit your financial arrangements to writing, but allows parents to outline their child’s living arrangements without the involvement of the courts.
When Should I Contact the Child Maintenance Services?
If you cannot reach a private agreement, then a statutory arrangement can be made with the support of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). In addition to calculating the child maintenance amount on your behalf, the CMS will assist parents in setting up a Direct Pay arrangement, although parents are responsible for managing it.
It is important to note that the CMS do not offer their services for free. Parents who make and receive their child maintenance services through the CMS incur the following fees with each payment they make:
- The paying parent pays an extra 20% of their child maintenance to the CMS
- The receiving parent forfeits 4% of their child maintenance to the CMS
How Long are You Expected to Pay Child Maintenance for?
You are required to pay the child maintenance amount until your child turns 16. However, you may need to continue payments until the age of 20 if your child continues with full-time education, such as A-levels or equivalent qualifications.
Can Child Maintenance Contribute to My Mortgage?
During the negotiations for a divorce financial settlement, consideration needs to be given to the mortgage eligibility of the parent receiving child maintenance payments. In the past, divorcees were denied mortgage eligibility on the grounds that their lenders would not take their child maintenance payments into account, even in circumstances where these payments constituted a large proportion of their income.
However, in recent years more mortgage lenders have been open to taking child maintenance payments into consideration, provided these payments are supported by the Child Maintenance Service (or CSA) or a Court Order with at least five years remaining.
It is important that you make enquiries with mortgage lenders at the outset of financial negotiations to ensure that the child maintenance receipts will be taken into consideration as this is likely to impact on the outcome of your case.
Do I Need a Solicitor to Calculate Child Support Costs?
You can work out how much child support you need to pay by yourselves or with the help of legal assistance.
If you and your ex-partner can trust and communicate effectively with one another, you may be able to manage child maintenance payments independently. However, if you cannot agree with your ex-partner or if they are refusing to pay their contribution, you should seek the advice of a specialist family law solicitor. A family law solicitor can help to resolve matters amicably and protect you and your children’s best interests. If necessary, your solicitor can also help put a Child Arrangements Order in place via the Court.
You should also speak to a family solicitor if there has been a change in circumstances that can impact child maintenance amounts. For example, if your ex-partner suddenly stops payments or if there’s a change in custody arrangements.
How Can Newtons Solicitors Help?
Calculating how much child payment you and your partner will pay can be complex, especially when trying to deal with the additional practical and emotional challenges of a separation. With this in mind, you should consider seeking the support of professionals who know how to handle this procedure as seamlessly as possible. Our specialist family law solicitors can advise you on child maintenance costs and how to draw up a fair, robust child maintenance agreement to help support your children during the divorce process.
If you would like to discuss your child maintenance payments or family-based arrangement with one of Newtons’ specialist solicitors, please contact us today. We can also assist with other aspects of family law, including child arrangement orders and relocating with your child after divorce.