Clear advice on child maintenance and child support, so your children are properly provided for.
Working out how your children will be provided for is one of the most important parts of separating, and one of the most confusing. Who pays what, how it’s calculated, and how it fits with everything else can feel overwhelming just when you have enough to think about.
Our specialist child maintenance solicitors, led by Louise Halford and Robin Charrot, take the confusion out of it. We give clear, holistic advice, so you understand how child support relates to your divorce financial settlement and child arrangements, and can make confident decisions about your family’s future.
A lot of child maintenance is handled directly through the Child Maintenance Service, and for straightforward cases that works well. There are situations where expert legal advice makes a real difference, though:
If any of that sounds familiar, we can help you get it right.
The Child Maintenance Service uses a set formula based on the paying parent’s gross income, the number of children, and how many nights the children stay overnight. You can get an initial estimate using the government child maintenance calculator, and we can calculate it for you too, alongside advice on how it interacts with the rest of your finances.
Where a paying parent’s gross income is above the level the formula covers, the court can add “top-up” maintenance. And in certain situations the court can go further than the Child Maintenance Service is able to, which is where specialist advice becomes important.
If you’re unsure how child maintenance works or what you’re entitled to, you’re in the right place. Get in touch, tell us a little about your situation, and we’ll explain your options clearly, with no pressure.
Getting child maintenance sorted with us is straightforward:
We listen – you tell us about your situation, your children, and where things stand with the other parent.
We work out the position – we calculate what should be payable, and show how it fits with spousal maintenance and your wider financial settlement.
We help you reach an agreement – through direct negotiation or family mediation wherever possible, keeping things as amicable as we can.
We formalise or enforce it – we make sure any agreement is properly recorded, and step in to help with enforcement or arrears if the other parent doesn’t pay.
We show how child support fits with your settlement and children arrangements.
Experienced family and child maintenance solicitors who do this every day.
Clear help with disputes, enforcement and complex incomes.
Everyone you deal with has a personal stake in getting it right for your family.
Our fees are published online.
You’ll work with a named specialist from start to finish. Louise Halford and Robin Charrot lead our child maintenance work, and you’ll have your solicitor’s direct contact details, so you can always reach the person handling your case.
If parents can’t agree, either can ask the Child Maintenance Service to assess how much is payable, or get advice from child maintenance solicitors. Once the amount is worked out, parents can arrange payment directly, or ask the Child Maintenance Service to collect and pass it on, though there’s a charge for that, which is why direct payment is encouraged.
The Child Maintenance Service uses a set formula based mainly on the paying parent’s gross income, the number of children being supported, and how many nights the children stay overnight with the paying parent. Above a certain income level the formula reaches its limit, and the court can make additional “top-up” orders, looking at a range of factors including the child’s needs. We can calculate the likely figure for you and explain anything that might affect it.
It depends on your gross income, how many children you’re supporting, and how many nights they stay with you. We can calculate it for you and explain anything that might affect the figure.
Child maintenance is a contribution towards a child’s everyday living costs, such as food, clothing and a share of housing and household bills. There’s no fixed rule on exactly how the receiving parent spends it.
Child maintenance is usually payable until a child is 16, or up to 20 if they stay in approved full-time education (up to and including A-level or equivalent) or approved training. It can end sooner in certain circumstances.
The amount is reduced by one-seventh for each night a week, on average, that a child stays with the paying parent. With more than one child staying different numbers of nights, an average is used. It’s worth keeping a record of overnight stays, as they affect the figure.
Their gross income is reduced before child support is calculated, by 11% for one other child, 14% for two, and 16% for three or more they’re financially supporting.
No. The receiving parent’s income and personal circumstances, including remarriage or living with a partner, aren’t taken into account in the formula.
No. Child maintenance you receive doesn’t reduce your universal credit or other benefits – it’s disregarded when your entitlement is worked out.
A Child Maintenance Service calculation generally takes effect from the date of the application rather than being backdated before it, but once it’s in place, unpaid amounts build up as arrears that can be enforced.
Yes. It can go up or down as the paying parent’s income, pension contributions or circumstances change, or as the number of children they support changes. It’s worth getting regular advice so your arrangement stays right.
They’re two separate payments, though often paid together in one transfer for simplicity. Child support uses a set formula; spousal maintenance doesn’t. It’s sensible to get advice so you understand how they fit together within your overall settlement.
The court’s powers are limited, but it can order payment of school fees or educational expenses, extra provision where a child has a disability, support for children aged 20 or over in full-time education, a lump sum or provision for housing, top-up maintenance for high earners, and maintenance where both parents agree to a court order.
The Child Maintenance Service can’t order school fees, but the court can order one parent to pay or contribute towards them, weighing up affordability among other factors. If parents disagree about private versus state schooling, either can ask the court to decide.
Yes – by phone or video wherever you are, or in person at our Manchester or Cheshire offices.
Getting child maintenance right gives you and your children security and peace of mind. Whether you need help agreeing an amount, dealing with a high or hidden income, or enforcing what you’re owed, we’ll make it clear and straightforward. There’s no pressure and no obligation.
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We put a lot of legal information on our website and if you have a single question about your situation, you should find an answer in our blog here.
If you need a greater level of help, please use this form and one of our team will call you to make an appointment. Please note that we cannot offer Legal aid.
Unfortunately due to the level of single question enquiries we receive, we cannot guarantee to provide written answers to individual questions posted via this enquiry form.
Call us on 0345 222 8 222
Email us at info@evolvefamilylaw.co.uk
