Time frames

Husband not willing to negotiate anything other than the bare minimum that the child maintenance Agency calculate.

Court dates are about 18 months. Is this true?

The amount that CMS says should be paid is the statutory mimimum. Anything above that is voluntary. There are specific issues orders that may be sought, e. g. to help pay school fees, but as a general rule the courts have little interest in child maintenance.

If the concern is maintenance more generally, then it is possible to apply for interim maintenance whilst court proceedings are in train.

There needs to be a fair division of all the assets of the marriage and priority given to the needs of the children.

Whilst it can in some cases take 12 months or more to reach Final Hearing, few cases get to that point. Settlement can be reached at any stage in the process and is encouraged.

mediation must be tried before an application to court may be made. If it does not succeed or the other party fails to engage the mediator will sign the necessary paperwork for an application to court to be made.

Hadenoughnow

But there is no recourse to have child support above the satutory minimum?

The overall maintenance situation can be dealt with in a range of ways. Previous lifestyle can be considered.
Specific issues clauses can be used to deal with things like school fees, costs of extra curricular activities etc.
It may be that Global maintenance is appropriate. This is where spousal and child maintenance are combined and the total paid cannot be altered even if there is a CMS calculation.
There can also be things like an unequal split of assets to e.g. reduce housing costs.
Without knowing more about the situation it is hard to advise further. It may be a good idea for your daughter to talk through her situation and get an idea of what a fair settlement could look like in her case.

Hadenoughnow

Thank you for this we will look into Global Maintenance and get advice on a fair settlement. Your post has been helpful and it has helped me to be able to express my feelings. Thank you for the supportive, non judgemental way you have responded.

Sorry I referred to you as he in another section. I do appreciate your help.