Periodical payments for children

View Family by content type:

News

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

Latest Family News

Court of Appeal denies journalist’s request for extensive access to court papers (Newman v Southampton City Council)

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Court of Appeal denies journalist’s request for extensive access to court papers (Newman v Southampton City Council)

Powers available to local authorities to facilitate applications for settled status for looked after children in the absence of parental co-operation (W and Re Z (EU Settled Status for Looked After Children))

Powers available to local authorities to facilitate applications for settled status for looked after children in the absence of parental co-operation (W and Re Z (EU Settled Status for Looked After Children))

Court of Appeal provides step-by-step guidance on determining whether a European regulation forms part of UK domestic law and sets out how to analyse the impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 (Lipton v BA City Flyer Ltd)

Court of Appeal provides step-by-step guidance on determining whether a European regulation forms part of UK domestic law and sets out how to analyse the impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 (Lipton v BA City Flyer Ltd)

The test to discharge a special guardianship order (Re M (special guardianship order—leave to apply to discharge))

The following Family news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on The test to discharge a special guardianship order (Re M (special guardianship order—leave to apply to discharge))

Featured Family content

Notice of acting

Case number [insert number][In the principal registryORIn the [insert court location] FAMILY court]Sitting at [insert place]Notice of...

Private children—paramountcy of the child's welfare

The paramountcy principleWhen any court determines any question with respect to:•the upbringing of the child, or•the administration of the child's...

Pension attachment orders

The power to make pension attachment orders (previously referred to as earmarking orders) arises from the insertion of sections 25B–25D of the...

The no order principle

This Practice Note explains the no order principle contained in section 1(5) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It explains when the principle...

Practice notes

Sequestration (confiscation of assets) within contempt proceedings

Sequestration is a process for dealing with a contempt of court that would be otherwise punishable by a committal under which the assets of the...

Produced in partnership with David Salter, deputy High Court judge and Recorder 12th Jan

Practice notes

Decree absolute—divorce

Online divorceWhere a divorce is proceeding via the online service note that while rules relating to divorce proceedings are generally to be found in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Application to vary, extend or discharge a non-molestation or occupation order

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

Practice notes

Grounds for judicial separation

Applications for judicial separation are relatively rare in practice. It may arise where the client has strong religious and or cultural reasons for...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Drafting the terms of a financial consent order

This Practice Note sets out the basic principles to be applied when drafting a financial consent order including the preparation and structure of the...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations

The basis of Duxbury calculationsA Duxbury calculation is an actuarial calculation designed to identify the capital sum required to meet a periodical...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Emergency prohibited steps and child arrangements orders

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is void

A void marriage is one that will be treated by the court as never having taken place. The grounds on which a marriage will be void are set out in...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Undefended divorce proceedings

Online divorceOn 6 May 2018 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched its online divorce service nationwide for the public acting as litigants in person....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Void and voidable marriages

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void or voidable and the bars preventing the grant of a decree...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Child Arrangements Programme—the procedure for section 8 applications

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

9th Nov

COVID-19

In-house

Practice notes

Amended, supplemental and further petitions

The distinction between an amended petition, a supplemental petition and a further petitionWhere it is necessary in some way to amend a petition...

9th Nov

Precedents

Specimen statement of issues for a first appointment—financial remedy application

In the Family Court sitting at [location][Case No]Between1[insert name] ApplicantAnd2[ insert name] RespondentStatement of issues for the First...

9th Nov

Practice notes

The grounds on which a marriage is voidable

A decree of nullity granted after 31 July 1971 in respect of a voidable marriage operates to annul the marriage with effect from decree absolute and...

9th Nov

Practice notes

General principles—lump sum orders

This Practice Note sets out the general principles to be applied by the court when considering whether to make a lump sum order within financial...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Declarations of parentage—procedure

The procedure for an application for a declaration of parentage is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt...

9th Nov

Most recent Periodical payments for children content

Precedents

Standard order 2.1—financial remedy order—omnibus

In the Family CourtSitting at [court name]No: [case number][The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973ORThe Civil Partnership Act 2004ORThe Child Support Act...

1st Apr

Q&As

Can the applicant within proceedings as to financial provision on divorce, or under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, seek an order that the applicant themselves pays child maintenance?

Section 21 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) provides that financial provision is for the purpose of adjusting the financial position of...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 15th Mar

Practice notes

Child maintenance provisions via the court

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

22nd Feb

Q&As

Can a mother of a disabled child seek periodical payments under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 to cover the cost of the mortgage repayments on the family home?

Pursuant to Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), the court has the power to make several orders on the application of a parent, guardian or...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

A parent earns overseas income which is not included in their UK tax return, as well as UK income. Will the overseas income be treated as income for the purposes of a statutory child support calculation by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)? If so, does the parent have a duty to disclose the overseas income to the CMS?

Where a person is resident in the UK but earns income or makes capital gains in respect of foreign income or assets, they are ordinarily obliged to...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Where a financial consent order provides for child maintenance to the end of university education, when the child is aged 18 or 19, can either party still seek a maintenance calculation from the child maintenance service on the expiry of one year after the making of the consent order?

The courts have only limited jurisdiction in relation to child maintenance orders, the primary jurisdiction lying with the child maintenance service...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Two women, who were not married or in a civil partnership, had a child through in vitro fertilisation via a licensed clinic. The first woman provided the eggs and carried the child and both women are named on the child’s birth certificate. Where the first woman is the parent with care, is the other woman liable to pay child support?

Section 1(1) of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) provides that, for the purposes of CSA 1991, each parent of a qualifying child is responsible...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

If a non-resident parent (NRP) is in receipt of state pension and private pension income and has shared care of the children then the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) online calculation suggests a nil rate. If an NRP is receiving state pension are other income streams ignored?

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates the statutory scheme (since 2012) for the calculation and payment of maintenance by a non-resident parent...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

When calculating a maintenance assessment, will the Child Maintenance Service take into account payments made by the non-resident parent in relation to the mortgage on the family home?

Parents are able to reach private agreements between themselves, without making use of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) at all, as to the level of...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Are there any recently reported cases in relation to an application for periodical payments under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 for the benefit of a child, where the maximum assessment for statutory maintenance under the Child Support Act 1991 has not been met, but the child has a disability for which disability living allowance is received?

By virtue of sections 8(8) and 8(9) of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) the court retains jurisdiction to make orders for maintenance where there...

13th Feb

Q&As

Can a non-biological father be liable to pay child maintenance to the biological mother either by virtue of a calculation by the Child Maintenance Service or as a result of an application by the mother for financial provision under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989?

The starting point with regard to a calculation sought from the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) against a named parent is that the CMS will request...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Where a paying party receives a redundancy payment, including in lieu of notice and holiday entitlement, together with ex gratia and disability payments, will the Child Maintenance Service take those payments into account on a maintenance assessment? How would the maintenance be calculated in such circumstances? Could the court make an order for child maintenance by treating the ex gratia and disability payments as capital sums?

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates a statutory formula to calculate the level of child maintenance, based upon a percentage of the gross...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Can a party send copies of documents that were annexed to the Form E filed by the other party in ancillary relief proceedings to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) with the aim of contradicting information provided to the CMS by that party, or is the ancillary relief information confidential? What are possible consequences of the information being sent to the CMS?

Relevant legal provisionsRule 29.12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 provides that no document or copy of a document filed...

Produced in partnership with Charmian Jackson of St Ives Chambers 13th Feb

Q&As

The parties to a marriage entered into a consent order which provided for global periodical payments (spousal and child maintenance until the child finished secondary education). The ‘child’ is now over the age of 18, has completed secondary education, is entering tertiary education and the original maintenance order has ended. What options are there for the recipient of the global maintenance to seek financial support for the child at university given that they are too late to apply to extend the child periodical payments in the consent order?

If there are special circumstances, or they are receiving further education or training, a child who has reached the age of 18 may apply themselves...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

A child periodical payments order was made (in a consent order on divorce), to end on the child completing their secondary education or attaining the age of 18, and has now lapsed. Can the child now apply for provision for their tertiary education? Does paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 prevent such an application being made? If the child cannot apply, can the parent with care apply on their behalf?

The child is now over the age of 18, has completed secondary education and is entering tertiary education. The original maintenance has now come to an...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Can a child maintenance claim be made for a child who is age 17 where the parents agreed that a claim would not be made, and the child sometimes splits their time equally between the parents?

Crozier v Crozier is authority that while the parties can achieve a clean break between themselves, they cannot do so in respect of their child, see...

13th Feb

Q&As

In financial proceedings, is it acceptable to take into account payments that a party has historically paid to a nephew or niece in respect of school fees?

It is more common for the court to be concerned with the affordability of school fees in relation to a child or children of the parties, and there...

13th Feb

Q&As

A financial order between former spouses makes provision for periodical payments for the children. The Child Maintenance Service has not been asked to make a maintenance calculation and the paying spouse now lives in another jurisdiction. Can the paying spouse make an application for a downwards variation of the order?

The Family Court has jurisdiction under section 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) to make an order for periodical payments in favour of...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb

Q&As

Where there is a dispute as to who the child will live with and an application for a child arrangements orders is pending can a decision by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) be delayed? Will the resident parent’s income be relevant for the CMS calculation? Can expenses incurred for contact and expenditure on the child be deducted from the maintenance payments?

Section 4 of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) provides that an application for a maintenance calculation may be made to the Child Maintenance...

13th Feb

Q&As

Where a payer of child maintenance receives a pension lump sum, will that sum be treated as income by the Child Maintenance Service to calculate the child maintenance payable?

The appropriate level of child support that a non-resident parent should pay the resident parent in respect of a qualifying child is calculated by the...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 13th Feb