Supporting your Children

The rules about Child Support and the Child Support Agency (CSA) are due to change over the next couple of years. A new scheme will be introduced by April 2002. Information about the new scheme will be available from the CSA well before it comes into force.

.: How do I get maintenance for the children who are living with me?

How you get maintenance for your children, once you split up, depends on your situation. If you are getting Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, you must normally use the Child support Agency (CSA). If you are not getting Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, you can make an agreement about maintenance with your husband or wife. This can be made into a court order if you both agree, if you are also asking the court to make orders about other financial matters. Alternatively, you can use the CSA, if it has jurisdiction. The CSA has jurisdiction if all of the following apply to you:-

• The child is the child (by birth or adoption) of both parents. (This means that step children cannot get support from their step- parents under the CSA.)
• The parent with care, the non-resident parent and the child all normally live in the UK. (This includes people who are living abroad but working for UK employers.)
• The non-resident parent is not living in the same household as the child.
• The child is under 16 or over 16 and still in full-time secondary education; and
• There is no existing maintenance order for the child (unless the parent with care starts to get benefit).

.: What happens if the CSA does not have jurisdiction?

In cases where the CSA does not have jurisdiction, such as where the non-resident parent is abroad, or you need maintenance from a step-parent, you can use the court. You can also get an order from the court:-

• For school fees;
• For the particular needs of a disabled child; and
• For a 'top-up' order if the maintenance that the CSA can order reaches a (very high) ceiling.

If your child's father or mother lives abroad, there are ways of enforcing a maintenance order made in the courts here. But you will need the help of a solicitor to do this.

.: How is CSA maintenance worked out?

The CSA works it out using a complicated formula (it is too long to explain in this leaflet). The income of both parents is taken into account, unless the parent with care receives Income Support Jobseeker's Allowance or Working Families Tax Credit. Under the new rules that will be introduced soon, there will be a simpler way of working out maintenance, using the non-resident parent's income.

.: Is there a limit to what the non-resident parent has to pay?

Yes. They cannot be ordered to pay more than 30% of their income, after taking off:-

• Tax;
• National insurance;
• 50% of pension contribution; and
• Their own reasonable housing costs.

A deduction is also made if they have any new children of their own. Under the new rules, the formula will be simpler. The non-resident parent can take off all pension contributions (but not housing costs) and an allowance for any new children or step children from their net income. They will then pay 15% of the net figure for one child, 20% for two children, or 25% for three or more children.

The amount of child support paid for the children will depend on the number of nights they spend with each of you. If you have children who live with you in a second family, this will be taken into account when child support is calculated. The CSA will be able to calculate maintenance on the net income of the non-resident parent only up to £2,000 a week. If their income is higher than this, you may be able to get a top- up order
from the court.

.: How do I apply for maintenance?

If you are receiving benefit, the Benefits Agency will normally help you fill in an application form. If you are not receiving benefit but you want to use the CSA, you can get an application form from your local Department of Social Security (DSS) office or from the CSA direct after you have returned the filled-in form, the CSA will write to your husband or wife with another form which they have to fill in and return within four weeks. The CSA will then make a maintenance assessment and tell you both how much it should be. But if you are receiving certain benefits, the amount of maintenance paid by your ex-partner will be deducted from your benefit payments.

.: How long will it take?

Unfortunately, the CSA can take a long time to process applications. Its target time is 20 weeks, but it can take longer. The changes that are coming in are designed to speed up the process.

.: If I don't have to use the CSA, what can I do?

You can make an agreement with your husband or wife. You can work out what you think is a fair figure. Your solicitor should be able to tell you how much child support you would have to pay if you used the CSA instead, but this might not give you the right figure for your family's situation. If you agree a figure with your husband or wife, and make a written maintenance agreement, you can ask the court during the divorce proceedings to include this amount as part of the consent order. This would make the amount legally binding, and you could then enforce the order if your husband or wife did not pay.

.: What if we can't agree?