Hello,
Thanks for your post. I''m Sarah the
child maintenance Options Consultant. Contact is a separate issue to child maintenance. Therefore, difficulties over one shouldn''t disrupt arrangements for the other. If you''ve got any questions or concerns over contact you may wish to get in touch with National Family
mediation as they are experts in this area. Their website address is:
www.nfm.org.uk
You may find that an open and honest conversation with your ex-wife may help. If you feel that you can reach an agreement with your ex-wife, then a family-based arrangement might be an option for you, in the short-term and the long-term too. Family-based arrangements give you the flexibility to agree between you what counts as child maintenance, such as paying the mortgage and it allows you change your agreement as your children get older or your circumstances change.
In terms of monetary amounts, you can get an idea what your child maintenance payments would be through the CSA using the Child Maintenance Options calculator. You could also use this amount as a starting point for your family-based arrangement.
If you were to follow the CSA''s legislation, child maintenance would be worked out using the paying parent''s income, which includes earnings, money from an occupational or personal pension and tax credits. They use the amount of income left after deductions such as Income Tax, National Insurance and any money paid into a personal pension scheme. In this case, you wouldn''t be expected to make any additional contributions.
We have a web application that you may find useful, it offers help and support to separating families. The link is:
www.cmoptions.org/en/sortingoutseparation/index.asp
For more information about child maintenance 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).
