Child maintenance with 50/50 care

Hello,

Thanks for the post.

child maintenance is paid to the parent with day-to-day care of the child by the other parent. In cases where parents share the care of their children equally and the main day-to-day carer cannot be determined, the parent who receives Child Benefit for the child will be classed as the provider of day-to-day care. So, even if you share the care of your children, if your children''s mother receives Child Benefit for them, she is the parent with day-to-day care and you have a legal responsibility to pay child maintenance. However, the parent paying child maintenance will pay less as a result of sharing the care. The CSA will work out how much child maintenance should be paid using their normal processes this includes the number of nights the children stay over with the non-resident parent. This is set to change in future under the reforms proposed by the Government.

Having said this, that doesn''t mean you have to use the CSA. I understand that it''s a difficult situation but I would urge you to try and sort things out amicably with your wife, as family-based arrangement (without the involvement of the CSA or the courts) is usually the best option for everyone involved. If you''re able, I would suggest that you speak to your children''s mother again about re-negotiating your family-based arrangement.

For more information about family-based arrangements and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit www.cmoptions.org, or if you''d prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).