While the emotional and mental strain of a divorce might be the first thing you feel and think about, the financial implications can be far more long lasting and can have significant effects for years after. Child maintenance, in particular, is a difficult topic that can see emotions run high and disputes often settled in court.
What exactly are child maintenance payments? How do they work, and how are they calculated? If you’re getting a divorce and need to know, or even if you’re just curious, keep reading to find out.
What Are Child Maintenance Payments?
When a couple gets divorced, they will need to come to a number of agreements and make decisions about their lives as they move forward. This can be regarding personal issues, living arrangements, or, more commonly, financial issues. When a divorcing couple has children, things can get very messy indeed. The children will need to live with one parent or the other, a decision that can obviously take a very serious financial toll on all involved parties. Often, the parent who does not live the child day-to-day, and instead sees them at weekends or other pre-arranged times, will be required to make regular payments to support the child’s living expenses. These are know as child maintenance payments, child custody payments, or child support.
How Do Child Maintenance Payments Work?
Child maintenance payments are designed to provide help and support for the various expenses that are involved with raising a child. This can include things like money for food, clothes, housing, and other essentials. However, there are currently no laws in place that stipulate that the child’s primary caregiver needs to provide evidence that payments are being used solely to cover the child’s expenses.
Generally, child maintenance payments are paid until the child turns sixteen. In some cases, they can continue until they are 20 if they are in full-time education. The financial circumstances of the parent can affect how much child maintenance payments are paid, as can whether the parent receives benefits.
Payments can be agreed between both parents, while others will have their payments calculated and ordered by a court.
How Are Child Maintenance Payments Calculated?
If payments are agreed solely between both parents, the amount will be decided based on what each party believes is fair. However, if the dispute has to be settled in court, the payments will be calculated and determined by a number of factors.
They will consider how many children you have between you, the income of the parent expected to make the payments, how much time the child or children spend with this parent, and whether any maintenance payments are paid for other children.
If you’re trying to calculate how much child maintenance you or your ex-partner might be expected to pay, make use of a child maintenance calculator. After inputting a few basic details, this can give you a good idea of what you can expect payments to be.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay Child Maintenance Payments?
If you or your ex-partner refuse to pay child maintenance payments it can result in serious legal and financial repercussions. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has the right to take action against a non-paying payment, which can include wage deductions, bank deductions, or court orders.
Conclusion
Divorce is never easy, when children are involved, it can get even more difficult. Deciding where the children stay can be fraught with emotional turmoil, while coming to an agreement about how the child is financially supported can have serious implications for all involved.