You’ve separated and made an agreement as to how to provide for children, but when a parent fails to pay child maintenance it can be stressful and frustrating.
Child maintenance is designed to support your child’s everyday needs – things like food, clothing, housing, and school costs. If your ex-partner isn’t paying what they should, for whatever reason, it’s important to know your rights and the steps you can take.
What is the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)?
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is the government body that helps parents set up, collect, and enforce child maintenance payments when private arrangements break down.
The CMS can:
- Calculate how much your ex should pay based on their gross weekly income.
- Adjust payments depending on the number of children involved.
- Collect payments directly from your ex, or even straight from their wages if necessary.
- Enforce payments if they are missed, by taking money from bank accounts, applying for court orders, or using bailiffs.
If your ex isn’t paying, applying through the CMS gives you an official route to secure financial support for your child.
Do I need parental responsibility to pay child maintenance?
No. Parental responsibility (PR) and child maintenance are separate issues. PR gives a parent rights to make decisions about a child’s upbringing whereas child maintenance is purely about financial support and is based on parentage, not PR.
This means that even if a parent does not have PR they may still have to pay child maintenance if they are the child’s biological or adoptive parent. The CMS can confirm parentage through:
- A birth certificate,
- A DNA test,
- A declaration of parentage from the court, or
- An adoption order.
How does shared care affect child maintenance?
The amount of child maintenance payable depends not only on income but also on how many nights the child spends with each parent. This is known as “shared care.”
The CMS reduces payments if the child stays overnight with the paying parent for part of the year:
- 52–103 nights a year (approximately 1 night a week): payments reduced by 1/7.
- 104–155 nights a year (approximately 2 nights a week): reduced by 2/7.
- 156–174 nights a year (approximately 3 nights a week): reduced by 3/7.
- 175+ nights a year (at least 3–4 nights a week): considered shared care, which can reduce payments further.
This ensures maintenance reflects the level of care provided by both parents.
What if we can’t agree how much time the child should spend with each parent?
Sometimes, parents can’t agree on contact arrangements — and this can create disputes about child maintenance. If you can’t decide how long your child should spend with each parent, there are a few routes to consider:
- Mediation: A trained mediator can help both parents reach an agreement without going to court.
- Negotiations through solicitor: If direct discussions or mediation aren’t working, each parent can instruct a solicitor to negotiate on their behalf. Solicitors can help keep communication structured and professional, and may resolve disputes before court action becomes necessary.
- Family court: If mediation fails and negotiations are not successful, you can apply to court for a Child Arrangements Order, which sets out legally how much time a child spends with each parent. The court’s decision can then be used to inform CMS calculations.
Remember, the court will always make decisions based on the best interests of the child, not the convenience of either parent.
For further advice about issues relating to your children following separation, and divorce, our expert family team are happy to help; contact us on 020 8944 5290.