Child Maintenance Solicitors in Wales

Our child maintenance responsibilities expertise

We can assist you if Child Maintenance needs to be dealt with by the Court. There are limited circumstances where this occurs, for example:

• Where the paying parents earn over the threshold of £156,000
• The paying parent or the Child lives outside England and Wales
• Where other applications under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 can be made

Through the Child Maintenance Service, the parent of a child can seek financial provision. Often, this will result in weekly or monthly payments determined using a predetermined formula depending on the income of the other party. For payments under the statutory Child Maintenance Service, you can make an application through the Child Maintenance Options Service. You should be aware that there are some fees and charges for using the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service usually decides how much the paying parent should give to the child's main carer, and if payments are not made, they can initiate enforcement action. Nevertheless, the courts still have the authority to issue or modify orders for child support in certain situations, such as when a parent is earning more than £156,000.00 a year or when the court determines that the absent parent should pay a portion of the child's school fees.

Making a request for financial assistance under Schedule 1 of the Children Act of 1989 is an alternative. In accordance with this act, the Court can issue financial orders for the benefit of children, including payments to cover any costs associated with a child's birth.

Child Maintenance FAQs

How do I apply for child maintenance?

The easiest way to arrange a child maintenance agreement is for the two parties to come to an arrangement privately. JCP Solicitors can help you negotiate such an arrangement. However, in practical terms, this is often not possible.

In this situation, you can apply for child maintenance using the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). Before doing so, you need to use the government’s ‘get help arranging child maintenance service’ to obtain a reference and to begin your application. JCP Solicitors can guide you through this process and offer the necessary advice on the correct procedure.

What should child maintenance cover?

Broadly speaking, child maintenance covers a child’s living costs. This includes food, clothing and housing. However, once made,  the child maintenance payments are not subject to checks - in other words, the party receiving the maintenance payments does not have to prove or justify what the money is spent on.

How much child maintenance should I pay?

The amount of child maintenance payable is dependent on a number of factors.

If you come to what is known as a family-based arrangement, you can agree payments privately, or with the help of a solicitor, and it’s possible to negotiate the amount between yourselves.

Where this isn’t possible, the CMS will set the payments, usually based on the paying parent’s income. The calculator on the CMS website will be able to tell you what should be paid.

The paying parent earns more than £3000 a week

In this situation, the receiving parent would need to go to the family courts for additional payments, which JCP Solicitors can help with.

There are three very limited situations where payments do not have to be made through the CMS - these are if you are a full-time student with no income, share care equally with the other parent, or are in prison.

The government has a very useful child maintenance calculator to help estimate payments, which can be found here.

There are situations where different child maintenance payments may be due at different rates, which are detailed below.

For further advice and support on payments, including setting up an arrangement or dealing with the CMS, JCP Solicitors is here for you.

Who is included in child maintenance?

Child maintenance is payable for children under the age of 16, children aged up to 20 in non-advanced full-time education (up to A-Level or equivalent) and for children up to the age of 20  and living with a parent who is receiving child benefits.

What happens if an ex-partner stops paying child maintenance?

The CMS has broad powers if child maintenance payments are stopped by the paying parent.

One of the primary ways the CMS can obtain money that is owed is via a deductions from earnings order - they have the power to order an employer to make payments from wages. The CMS does not have to go to court to do this.

If money cannot be obtained from the employer (for example, the paying parent is self-employed) then the CMS can ask the bank or building society to make payments from the paying parents account(s). They do not need a parent’s permission to do this.

If necessary, the CMS is able to apply to a court for a liability order, which gives them permission to take legal action against a parent. In addition, they can ask bailiffs to seize property, freeze bank and building society accounts, and force the sale of property or assets to recover monies owed.

When do I stop paying child maintenance?

A parent is responsible for child maintenance payments even if they do not see the child/children where the child is under 16 years of age, or up to 20 years of age if the child is still in full-time education studying A-Levels or equivalent.

How far back can I claim child maintenance?

If there is a dispute or disagreement about child maintenance payments due, or a disagreement about parentage, child maintenance does not usually have to be paid until the disagreement is resolved. Once resolved through the CMS, any payments due are normally backdated to the date the receiving parent made the claim.

Why choose our family law solicitors for child maintenance responsibilities advice?

At JCP Solicitors, we take great pride in our dedication to the local communities of South Wales, West Wales, and East Wales.

We do not deal with matters that the CMS are involved in except in limited circumstances. In those limited circumstances, we can offer clear, practical and relevant support to help you giving you confidence that everything is in place and as it should be.

JCP Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Get in touch with our child maintenance solicitors today 

For further information, please get in touch with our solicitors in South Wales. You can give us a call at one of our local branches in Swansea, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Cowbridge, Fishguard, Haverfordwest and St Davids.

Alternatively, please feel free to email us at law@jcpsolicitors.co.uk or fill in our online enquiry form.