Child Maintenance Support

In a lot of cases the parents can agree a reasonable level of child support maintenance. However, where there is a disagreement the majority of cases are dealt with by the Child Support Agency (now known as the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission).

A rigid formula is adopted to calculate this child support maintenance based on the parent’s net income and how many children there are. Certain discounts can also be given to reduce this maintenance where, for example, there are overnight stays with the non-resident parent or he/she has children living at home also.

The Child Support Agency, however, can only assess a parent’s net income to a maximum of £108,000 per annum net. If that parent’s net income exceeds this amount then the court can step in to consider whether or not to exercise its discretion to award a ‘top up’ element in addition to the Child Support Agency’s assessment.

If the parents are divorcing (and dealing with the financial issues) then it is possible to allow the court to deal with child maintenance so that the Child Support Agency is not involved. Care must be taken, however, because it may still be possible for one parent to opt out of the agreed child maintenance order and go to the Child Support Agency at a later date subject to certain rules.