The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have recently reported that there are currently 783,000 children covered by Child Maintenance Service (CMS) arrangements. The CMS is used by separated parents who are unable to agree a private arrangement as to their child’s living costs will be paid.
Many parents who are separated or divorced will come to an amicable agreement as to how they will fund expenses for their children following separation. For those parents who cannot agree matters amicably the CMS can assist but parents may be charged for using the service.
The DWP data revels that 506,600 children are covered through Direct Pay arrangements which means that the CMS works out what the child maintenance should be, but the child maintenance is paid direct.
A further 267,100 children are covered by the Collect & Pay Service which means that the CMS collect child maintenance from the other parent and then pay it to you. There is a charge for this service.
9,300 children are currently awaiting allocation to a service which means their main carer may not be getting the support that they need.
Following separation it is not necessary for separated parents to use the CMS and they can come to a private arrangement. The CMS has a very helpful online calculator that can be used to assess what the amount of support should be. It is always preferable for separated parents to agree child maintenance as it is cheaper, quicker and helps to maintain a more amicable relationship following separation. Sadly, this isn’t always possible and if your former partner fails to provide financial support for your children voluntarily you may need to use the CMS service.
For specialist advice about child maintenance and other types of financial provision for children following separation please speak to one of our specialist Family lawyers.
