In the following article, we will get to know about various topics related to child maintenance including when do you stop paying child maintenance. One of the major questions that arises in our mind when we talk about child maintenance is how child maintenance payments are calculated.
As we know that Child maintenance is an essential aspect of family law that ensures the financial goodness of children, whose parents are separated from each other or divorced. The system of child maintenance is made to ensure that both parents will give up on the upbringing of their children, even when they are living separately.
Therefore a basic question arises in the mind that when do I stop paying child maintenance? Let’s take a closer look at this given topic.
What is the Child Maintenance
The financial support given by one parent to the other for the upbringing of their child is referred to as child maintenance This kind of support basically covers important expenses of the child including housing, food, clothing, education, and healthcare.
In the UK ,there is a service available known as the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) who’s the agency responsible for looking after the child maintenance arrangements.
Child Maintenance Payments
Now you must know about Child maintenance payments, they are determined by using various factors like the income of non-residential parents, the number of children there, and the duration of time they spend with each of their parents.
The CMS uses a specific formula to calculate the cost of maintenance to be paid for the child, some factors are there such as gross income, overnight stays, and shared care arrangements.
Legal Obligations for Child Maintenance
Parents have a legal function to support their children financially until they reach the age of 16 or the age of 20 if they are in full-time secondary education or vocational training. However, there are some exceptions.
For example, if the child gets married or enters into some civil partnership, or starts living independently before the age of 20, the obligation to pay child maintenance may cease.
Circumstances that impact Child Maintenance Payments
Here are some circumstances that may impact child maintenance payments, leading to adjustments or the cessation of payments are mentioned below:
Change in Income: If there is a critical change in the income of any of the parents, it may permit a review of child maintenance payments. For instance, if the paying parent suffers from a decrease in income, they may be eligible for a reduction in the amount they pay.
Change in the child’s living Arrangement’s: If the living arrangements of a child change, such as they move in with the paying parent or going to live with a third party, it can bump the child’s maintenance calculation. The CMS also examines the number of overnight stays with each parent when determining maintenance.
Child Financial Independence: When the child becomes financially independent or is no longer in education or vocational training, the law to pay child maintenance may be abolished.
Reaching the age of majority: If the child reaches the age of 16 or the maximum age is 20 if the child is in full-time education or vocational training, the legal obligation to pay child maintenance typically ends.
Ceasing Child Maintenance Payment
Here are some steps to cease child maintenance payments are mentioned below:
Contact the Child Maintenance Service – If the paying parent is paying through the CMS, then any of the parents can contact the CMS as fast as they become conscious of any substitute that may affect the payments of child maintenance.
Agree on a new Arrangement– Parents can make a family-based arrangement without involving the CMS if they want to make some changes in paying for child maintenance. However, it’s necessary to make sure that both parties are in agreement to avoid any disputes in the future.
CMS Assessment– The CMS will conduct a reassessment based on the new information given, If both parents could not reach a mutual agreement disagreement.
Some Frequently asked questions
Every parent has the major responsibility to pay for their child until the age of 16. When they are legally allowed to leave school and get a job then they can stop paying. After this age, it depends what your child chooses to do.
So, if a child finishes their college or university education at age 18, the paying parent only has to pay child maintenance till they finish, because university education does not fall under the syllabus of secondary education.
No, the general rule to stop paying maintenance payments until your child reaches the age of 16 or 20 years.
If the child reaches the age of 16 then you can stop paying child maintenance or if the child is in vocational or educational training then the age to stop child maintenance payments is 20 years.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that child maintenance is completed once a child is out of their full-time secondary education. Some cases, this could be up to their 20 years but generally is when they finish School education. In this above mentioned article we got to know about when we stop child maintenance payments.
Some argue that child maintenance should be determined by a parent’s financial situation, while others believe it should be based on their ability to meet the needs of their child. What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?”,
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