Child support calculations

I've been on the CSA website and found the publication on child support which suggests that payments (under CSA) are calculated on a weekly basis (certainly in the words and examples). I have my kids 2 nights one week and 3 the next. This averages out at 2.5 days / week, so following the logic for relief would give me 2.5/7 ths relief on my payments.

Yet the calculator on the site gives it in bands (104 - 155 days), suggesting I would only be allowed 2/7 ths relief.

What is the actual situation?

Beta

Welcome to Wikivorce.

As the relief is worked out in stages of 52 nights, you just miss out on moving up to the next band..

Have you factored in holidays/bank holiday weekends, etc into your nightly stay calculations? The CSA would take these into consideration when working out your maintenance and any subsequent variations. If you include these, you will most likely move up to the next band, and receive a 3/7 variation.

Hope this helps.

My partner queried the same thing as he didn't feel the brackets were very fair, particularly if you have your children overnight 103 nights per year and get the same reduction as if you were having them 52. They claim it's easier on them but that's the CSA all over.

I think it's logical in the sense that way too many separated parents would tit for tat on how many nights they had and demand recalculations every five minutes if it was calculated on the actual number of nights each cared for the children in question. So everytime an extra night was had becasue of a holiday or weekend away a recount could be demanded by either side! The CSA are over-worked and can't calculate correctly as it is!

Of course if you have the children around the thresholds, it must be very frustrating but it works both ways. If a PWC shouted about being paid less because her ex has managed to squeeze in another night in, he/she would be shot down for being money-grabbing. No one wins on either side, do they?

Yes I see your point. I was just thinking along the lines of parents who perhaps have a Contact Order in place that sets in stone a set amount of nights every year.

Obviously with regard to additional nights here and there I'd like to think that neither parent would be silly enough to race to the phone to report to the CSA that an additional night had taken place or been cancelled and they wanted the payments recalculating! lol Not just because it's petty but because it just throws CSA into a further tail spin and you'd be waiting ages for a recalculation anyway.

A contact order doesn't always reflect the reality of the situation eg different regular arrangements may have been agreed out of court since the order was made or the NRP for one reason or another doesn't take up the contact defined in the order.


The bottom line is child support is a blunt instrument but it is now relatively straightforward compared to what it was before 2003 when no one really understood how the figures were arrived at.

It probably doesn't but in cases whereby people do rely on their order for contact it is a good base to go on to work out reductions even if it is slightly out of date. My partner was asked to submit his contact order to the CSA as back up for overnight stays.