How long is child maintenance paid for in uk

How much child maintenance should I pay?

If you and your ex-partner have children, you’re both expected to continue to pay towards their costs after you separate. And often that means one parent will pay the other. You can agree this between you or, if you can’t agree, ask the Child Maintenance Service to calculate the amount.

What’s in this guide

• Arranging child maintenance yourselves
• How much are you expected to pay?
• When does child maintenance stop?
• How your income affects how much you pay
• How the number of children affects how much you pay
• How shared care affects child maintenance
• Paying for children from another relationship

Arranging child maintenance yourselves

If you and the other parent are arranging child maintenance between you, you’re free to decide the amount one parent pays the other. This is referred to as a family-based arrangement.

While the Child Maintenance Service doesn’t need to be involved if you do this, it’s a good idea to check the amount you agree against what they would assess it to be.

It’s important to think about what you’d like to include in this payment and how you’d like to pay:

• Do you want to pay a fixed regular amount or will you vary it to help with extra expenses throughout the year?
• Do you want to cover the cost of things like school uniform, activities or holidays?
• Do you want to pay a percentage of your earnings? If your earnings fluctuate, this might be helpful to you but it would mean the amount of child support is less predictable.

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How much are you expected to pay?

If you can’t agree how much child maintenance one parent should pay the other, you can ask the Child Maintenance Service to calculate it for you.

They’ll take into account:

• how many children you have
• the paying parent’s income
• how much time children spend with the paying parent
• whether the paying parent is paying child maintenance for other children.

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When does child maintenance stop?

You’re normally expected to pay child maintenance until your child is 16, or until they’re 20 if they’re in school or college full-time studying for:

• A-levels
• Highers, or
• equivalent.

Child maintenance might stop earlier – for example, if one parent dies or the child no longer qualifies for child benefit.

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How your income affects how much you pay

There are different child maintenance rates according to the paying parent’s gross weekly income – this means how much you receive before things like tax and National Insurance are taken off.

Child maintenance amounts based on weekly pay

(2021 figures - see GOV.UK for more information. )

If your gross weekly income is more than £3,000, you can apply to the court to make a child maintenance ‘top-up’ order.

But before the court will deal with your application, they’ll need to see a Child Maintenance Service calculation showing this.

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How the number of children affects how much you pay

If you’re paying child maintenance and you’re on the basic rate of child maintenance, the amount you pay will depend on the number of children you’re being asked to pay for.

The figures below assume that your children stay with the parent who receives child maintenance all the time.

On the basic rate, if you’re paying for:

• one child, you’ll pay 12% of your gross weekly income
• two children, you’ll pay 16% of your gross weekly income
• three or more children, you’ll pay 19% of your gross weekly income.

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How shared care affects child maintenance

Many parents decide to share the care of their children.

If your children spend some time with the paying parent, this will reduce the amount of child maintenance he or she pays.

There are different ‘bands’ which determine how much child maintenance is reduced by.

The amount of child maintenance is reduced for each child who spends time with the paying parent.

If over the year your child is with the paying parent between:

• 52 and 103 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 1/7th for each child
• 104 and 155 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 2/7th for each child
• 156 and 174 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 3/7th for each child
• 175 nights or more nights: child maintenance is reduced by 50%, plus an extra £7 a week reduction for each child.

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Paying for children from another relationship

If the paying parent’s gross weekly income is between £200 and £3,000, and they pay child maintenance for other children, this is taken into account when working out how much they should pay.

The Child Maintenance Service simply reduces the amount of weekly income that it takes into account. For example, if the paying parent is paying for:

• one other child, their weekly income will be reduced by 11%
• two other children, their weekly income will be reduced by 14%
• three or more other children, their weekly income will be reduced by 16%.

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Your guide to child maintenance in the UK.

Having a separated family can be a stressful situation. When there are kids involved, it’s even more so. In the UK, parents are required by law to provide for their children financially no matter the living arrangement. Especially when one of the parents lives in another country, it can get tricky to navigate. But there are a lots of different options for how paying child maintenance (called child support in some countries) can look. The agency responsible for handling these matters is called the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), though until recently it was known as the CSA (Child Support Agency).

Regardless of whether you’re just treading into these waters or you’ve had an arrangement for awhile and have more questions, read on for a guide on what you need to know about child maintenance in the UK.

What is child maintenance? Who pays it?

Child maintenance, called child support by some, is regular, reliable financial support that helps cover a child’s everyday living costs. Those costs include food and clothing as well as a suitable place to live. It’s generally money that the parent without main day-to-day care of the child pays to the parents who does have main day-to-day care of the child. However, families are free to create their own child maintenance agreements that can include buying items the child needs directly rather than sending money.

Child maintenance can be paid by either parent, or even both parents if another relative or guardian provides main day-to-day care for the child.

Under UK law, a person might be responsible for child maintenance if they:

• Are the child’s biological parent
• Are the child’s adoptive parent
• Are the legal parent because of donor insemination or fertility treatment, or
• Are the legal parent under a parental order if they were conceived by a surrogate mother
• A person who isn’t the child’s parent, perhaps a relative or friend, but provides day-to-day care for someone else’s child for at least 104 nights a year, can also apply for child maintenance from either or both of the child’s parents

What is child maintenance used for?

Child maintenance can be used for anything that provides for the child, including (but not limited to) food, housing and clothing. If you’re a child maintenance recipient, it might be a good idea to keep records of how you spend your child maintenance payments in case a dispute ever arises.

What is a parent with day-to-day care, versus a parent without day-to-day care?

In the UK, it’s presumed, at least at the beginning, that parents will make decisions together about education, medical matters, etc for the child. A parent with day-to-day care (previously called ‘residence’) is essentially equivalent to what many other countries call custody.

Child maintenance is paid to the parent or guardian with main day-to-day care by the parent(s) without day-to-day care. It can be paid to someone who isn’t a parent if the person providing main day-to-day care for the child is someone like another relative or a guardian.

• The parent or guardian with main day-to-day care is the person who provides day-to-day care for the child or children for 104 nights or more each year, however, the parents decide to split that time. This is the person to whom child maintenance is paid. Because the minimum is 104 nights to be considered a parent with day-to-day care, that does mean that there may be more than one parent or person(s) who meets this standard. That can make figuring out who pays child maintenance a bit tricky. In general, though, it’s the parent who cares for the children less that pays the maintenance.
• If both parents share care equally - for example if the child stays 4 nights at parent A’s place and 3 nights at the other’s, and then the next week they stay 4 nights at parent B’s place and 3 nights at the other’s - then neither have to pay child maintenance.
• The parent or guardian without day-to-day care is the person who provides day-to-day care for the child or children less than 104 nights per year. This is the person who pays child maintenance.

How do I file a claim for child maintenance support? What are the fees for filing?

In the UK, there are several options for arranging child maintenance.

• Family-based arrangement which is arranged between the parents themselves and is free of charge.
• Direct pay where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates how much should be paid and the payment is arranged between the parents. There’s a £20 fee for using CMS as well as additional costs. More on that later.
• Collect and Pay where CMS calculates how much should be paid, collects the money from one parent and pays to the other - this comes at quite a high percentage cost. More on that later.
• Court-ordered arrangement this is most often used in cases where there are quite high expenses like private school fees or the paying parent lives abroad and the day-to-day care parent is receiving little to no support and has been unable to work this out with the paying parent. If you need a court to intervene, lawyers and court costs can stack up, so it’s advisable to avoid this route unless it’s absolutely necessary.

More on all of these options as well as a more detailed outline of the costs involved in the section on the best way of setting up payments.

How much do I pay? Child support rates in 2018

The amount a paying parent will be asked to pay is determined based on a few factors:

• If other children are covered under child maintenance payments by the paying parent
• The amount of time the paying parent spends with the child
• The income of the paying parent
• The number of children the paying parent has

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However, due to the number of factors involved, you should get an estimate for your specific situation. The UK government provides a child maintenance calculator online.

How do I pay? Who receives the maintenance payment? How do payments work?

In the UK, you have some freedom to decide this for yourself. In a family-based arrangement, both parents decide how much will be paid and how it will be paid. If the CMS has provided a rate, there are still a few options.

Different ways you can pay your child maintenance payment

As mentioned previously, there are a number of ways you can set up your child maintenance payments - Family-based arrangement, Direct pay, Collect and Pay, or via court arrangement.

With both Family-based arrangements and Direct Pay, the arrangement for payments are set up between the parents. With Collect and Pay, CMS will directly take the money from the payer and give it to the receiver. Court orders will be set up individually, but will generally be enforced by local governments depending on the country where the payer lives.

Ultimately, though, if you’re sending money from abroad, it can be a bit trickier. To cut down on the amount taken from the child maintenance, you’ll likely want to use a service like Wise to make sure your child doesn’t lose out on all of the international banking fees that come with sending money abroad through a normal bank.

When do child maintenance payments stop?

The paying parent is normally expected to pay child maintenance up until the child turns 16, or 20 if they’re still in school or college doing A-levels, highers or something equivalent. There are some cases when it may stop earlier, for example, if one parent dies.

How can I reduce the child maintenance amount that I’m paying? Does shared residency affect child support?

If your circumstances change and you think you should be able to start paying less child maintenance, you’ll have to contact the CMS office that manages your case. They’ll take down your information and tell you whether you qualify to reduce your child maintenance rate.

Another option is joint residency, or increasing the amount of time the paying parent spends providing day-to-day care for the child. Based on the UK’s most recent child maintenance scheme, paying parents can reduce their child maintenance up to 50%:

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How does child maintenance affect my tax benefits?

Child maintenance payments aren’t eligible for tax relief in the UK. On the other hand, though, child maintenance received doesn’t count as taxable income, so that may be helpful.

What’s the best way to set up the child maintenance arrangement?

The UK offers several ways to set up a child maintenance arrangement.

For example:

• Family-based arrangement
• Calculated by CMS and arranged among parents or collected by CMS
• Through court

Option 1: Family-based arrangements

Family-based arrangements don’t involve fees at all as they’re set up privately. If it works for your situation, the simplest and most cost-effective way to set up a child maintenance arrangement in the UK is through a family-based arrangement. This means both parents are in agreement over who pays and how much. They can make payments directly without paying any fees to do so.

However, family-based arrangements aren’t automatically legally binding, so if there’s a dispute, there’s no guarantee that child maintenance gets paid. You can make the arrangement legally binding later with a consent or court order (in Scotland it’s called a ‘Minute of Agreement’). Of course, if you do have to go to court, this will come with a solicitor and court costs. But if the parent responsible for paying stops at any point, the receiver will be able to have the court enforce the payments.

Option 2: Through CMS

If you do make arrangements through CMS, they’ll collect applicable information, such as both parents’ incomes and the amount of time the child spends in the day-to-day care of each parent, and set a rate.

There‘s a £20 fee when you apply as well as possible additional fees to use the CMS, though this is waived if you’re in Northern Ireland, under 19, or a victim of domestic violence. After the rate is set, the parents can choose whether they want to set up an arrangement amongst themselves, or if CMS is needed to collect the payment each month.

These two options are called:

• Direct Pay
• Collect and Pay

CMS option: Direct Pay

After CMS calculates the amount that the parent without day-to-day care needs to pay, the parents will then arrange how and when payments are made themselves. CMS won’t enforce nor monitor payments.

However, if at any point the paying parent stops paying or pays less than agreed, there’s an option to move to the Collect and Pay option - which comes at a much higher cost.

CMS option: Collect and Pay

If you choose the option to Collect and Pay, CMS will enforce the collection in whatever manner they choose. CMS will collect the payment from the paying parent and send it to the parent with day-to-day care. However, the cost for this is steep and it’s a good idea to avoid it if at all possible. As a charge, the one receiving the child maintenance must pay 4% of the amount to CMS, and the one paying must pay 20%. That’s money that could have gone to the child.

Option 3: Through court

There are a few instances in which child maintenance arrangements can be made directly through the courts. This more likely happens if there are extenuating circumstances and the parents cannot agree on payments such as additional school tuition that needs to be paid, if the child has a disability, if one or both of the parents has a high level of income (generally more than £156,000 per year), or if the paying parent lives abroad. If you do end up having to set up a court-ordered arrangement, you’ll likely need to take into account lawyer/solicitor fees as well as court costs. Not to mention the time you may need to take off work to arrange this.

What if one parent lives abroad and needs to pay child maintenance?

If the paying parent lives abroad and no family-based arrangement has been made, there’s a slim chance you can still set up payments through CMS. But only under a handful of circumstances.

Otherwise, if the parents cannot come to an agreement amongst themselves, an arrangement can be made through the courts. This will involve court fees that will vary. Either the parents can agree on who will pay court costs, or the court can decide in a disputed case.

If you’re living abroad and need to pay child maintenance payments, you’ll probably want to use a money transfer service rather than your bank. Banks and normal money transfer services routinely mark up the exchange rate 4-5% meaning your transfer costs you - and your child - more than you realize.

Instead, you can transfer money directly to a bank account abroad with Wise. Wise gives the real exchange rate — the one you find on Google. Because Wise has local bank accounts all over the world, those expensive international bank fees are completely cut out. Which means Wise charges just a small, fair transfer fee that’s spelled out upfront. For those who frequently travel internationally, Wise also offers borderless multi-currency accounts, which allow users to send, receive and manage money in multiple global currencies all at once — great if you frequently send money across borders. And for no monthly fee.

If one of the parents lives abroad, over 100 countries, including Australia and those that live within the European Union, have agreements in place such that local courts may be able to enforce child maintenance payments to the UK from parents living abroad. This is called a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) agreement.

If the paying parent lives outside of the UK and refuses to pay, whether he or she can be forced to pay is dependent upon the country he or she lives in. Some options are to contact the CMS, the government of the country where the paying parent lives, or a divorce or family law attorney to learn your options.

Child maintenance can be a tricky and emotionally fraught subject to navigate, but hopefully, armed with this information, you should be able to get the best financial outcome for your child. Good luck!

This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover every aspect of the topics which it deals. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content in this publication. The information in this publication does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from TransferWise Limited or its affiliates. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content is the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.

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Great Britain is the most generous country for divorcees!

Divorce is an unpleasant matter even for the most cynical ladies, because once it all started with great and pure love, a white dress, champagne, falling in love. In a divorce, it is unlikely that you will be able to turn a lemon into lemonade, but a wise and experienced lady is quite capable of sweetening her future life with sugar, and even diamond powder of financial well-being.

If you are a woman and are going to get a divorce, then you should take your case to an English court (if a man, then better avoid it). The fact is that when you divorce in England, you (the woman) are likely to be able to receive huge alimony in the months following the divorce. Much larger than in other countries, as judges consider a large number of factors that affect the amount.

A comparative study has been conducted showing that, unlike Europe, the US, South Africa and New Zealand, England and Wales stand out on a wide range of issues that a judge can take into account.

In recent years, London has gained a reputation as a capital where divorce provides ex-wives with high rewards.

High-paying divorces include ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, who was ordered to pay Heather Mills £24. 3 million after four years of marriage, and John Charman, an insurance magnate who paid his ex-wife Beverly Charman £48 million.

Lately Michelle Young and her husband Scott Young had such a devastating divorce, which resulted in her getting £20 million. In a heated argument, Young claimed he didn't have a penny and couldn't repay. She also claimed that the time she spent on him was worth millions.

In another case in August, an unnamed Russian businessman was required to pay £38 million to his ex-wife, with whom he lived in the UK. This payment affected all of the husband's assets around the world.

Judge Eleanor King, who presided over the case, commented: “fantastic charades, with the husband as a puppeteer in the background”, and said that those who helped his wife in this case “searched the length and breadth of the entire globe in an attempt to track down the husband's income, every penny that was received during the course of the marriage."

Judgments in the case were obtained in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands and the Seychelles, after which the husband was "one step ahead" by transferring his income through Panamanian intermediaries through the Caribbean to Belize.

English courts have also shown their cruelty towards those who do not obey their orders, and also refuse to transfer documents and pay alimony. Mr. Young was imprisoned for contempt of court and for failing to comply with court orders.

Suzanne Kingston, said that payouts in England are largely at the discretion of the judges, compared to other countries where payouts are most often based on formulas.

The German court often uses official guidelines, in particular the Düsseldorf table, which provides confidence in the calculations. The study also showed that England and Wales looks at facts and conditions very broadly on a case-by-case basis.

Some jurisdictions still use the term "divorce originator" and include factors such as unreasonable behavior or infidelity as grounds for denying a maintenance claim.

Ms Kingston said: "France supports this as a discriminatory right, but Malta considers it an important issue when considering the issuance of alimony. "

The study found that Malta remains one of the few countries where the behavior of both parties in a marriage is taken into account in divorce; at the same time, the right to issue alimony is lost if the recipient "caused the breakdown of the marriage due to causes, cruelty, serious injuries or treason for two or more years without a good reason."

In France, the court also has the discretion to refuse payments to spouses in cases of fault as the reason for divorce.

Katherine Thomas, a lawyer at the Vardags law firm who represented Ms Young, said that English courts do not pay attention to the distinction between a breadwinner and a housewife in a state of marriage - which makes London an attractive place for wives to divorce.

According to her, “There is a wide range of questions at the judge's discretion. Here they will look at individual factors and cases (and even their great case law). Sometimes the decision of the court is very difficult to predict, which leads to serious consequences. ”

She added that the complexity of many international divorce cases and spouses with worldwide incomes in various tax havens has led to an influx of family law lawyers in cities.

"Family law should be seen as fairly benign and less intellectually demanding than corporate law, but it has now attracted lawyers who use their skills exclusively in family law, which is seen as a perfectly normal job."

In general, everyone is trying to make money on stupid husbands - both wives, and lawyers, probably, and judges. And if it is profitable to protect your business under English law, and for this our businessmen take companies offshore and other jurisdictions, then getting divorced under English law is somehow not at all fun, especially if you have something to share and if, God forbid , you have sins for which you can be hung.

This is another reason to be careful, keep your hands clean and your head cold. And draw up a marriage contract, otherwise you can at some point understand that your “beloved and dear” stripped you to the goal, informing the press about your “great adventures” to the side. Do you need it?

Therefore, a couple of tips: be careful, sign a prenuptial agreement, choose the right jurisdictions for doing business and evaluate all the risks. It is your job as a businessman to evaluate risks. And the family, unfortunately, is also sometimes a risk.

If you do not know how to check the reliability of your protection against such events, then you should contact lawyers and specialists. To kill two birds with one stone, just write to us, and we will provide you with contacts and information on all your questions: [email protected] .

How to collect maintenance from a foreign citizen?

In order to recover alimony from a foreigner, in any case, it is necessary to apply to a foreign court . The plaintiff may apply to a Russian court with a claim drawn up in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. An application is made for the recovery of alimony from a foreigner. Having received the writ of execution, the conclusion of the court must be legalized in the country of residence of the defendant.

For recovery of alimony from a foreign citizen should apply to the court of the state where he lives, or to a Russian court if the plaintiff lives in Russia. Recovery of alimony is possible if an agreement (agreement) has been concluded between the countries on the recognition and execution of court decisions.

If you decide to collect alimony from a foreign citizen, you can apply to the court of the foreign state where this citizen lives, or to the court of the Russian Federation.

How to accept alimony from foreign citizens?

In the Russian Federation, alimony is collected from foreign citizens in the following ways: Peaceful (voluntary). It is applied in case of conclusion of a voluntary agreement between the mother of the child and the foreign father.

Which countries have signed the Convention on the Recovery of Support Abroad?

More than 60 countries belong to the countries participating in the convention on the recovery of alimony abroad , including: Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Great Britain, Greece, Denmark, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland , Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, France.

How to collect alimony from a foreigner in Russia?

To recover alimony from a foreigner , the following documents must be submitted along with the claim:

1. A copy of the passport and identification code of the plaintiff;
2. A copy of the child's birth certificate;
3. Original certificate of residence;
4. Information about the place of registration of the defendant - foreigner abroad.

How to receive alimony if the husband lives in another country?

According to the rules of jurisdiction in force in Ukraine , the plaintiff, when filing a claim for alimony , has the right to file it at his place of residence. Therefore, an application to the court can be filed both in our country , and in that country where the debtor lives, unless otherwise specified in the international agreement.

How to apply for child support through public services?

How to apply for child support online in Public services in 2022?

1. Register on the State Services, go to the portal and enter in the search " alimony ";
2. The portal will display a list of available services.
3. If this service is available, then you can proceed to filling out the application;

How to apply for alimony for a citizen of Ukraine?

To collect alimony from a citizen of Ukraine you will have to file a new statement of claim at the place of residence of the defendant. That is, according to Ukrainian laws and with the help of Ukrainian lawyers. Some special benefits in case the father of the child does not pay alimony , Russian laws, unfortunately, do not provide.