Should we Still Pay Maintenance?

Q.

My step son is 17 years old and is working whilst also studying at college. He recently moved out of his mothers house and in with his girlfriend should we (his dad and myself) still pay maintenance? If so who do we pay it to and what happens if he decides to move back in with his mother?

A.

A person with parental responsibility for a child has a duty to provide for them until they are 18 years old – unless the child marries prior to their 18th birthday. In cases where a child’s parents have separated or divorced the parent who does not provide the child’s main home pays maintenance to the parent with whom the child lives.

The parents may reach an agreement between themselves about the appropriate child maintenance payments or in some cases the Child Support Agency (CSA) may be required to assess and monitor the required payments. The purpose of child maintenance payments is to ensure that both parents make a fair contribution to the costs of looking after and bringing up the child.

When the CSA calculates child maintenance a number of factors are taken into account – these include the non-resident parent’s income, the number of nights the child spends staying with each parent and the number of children living in the non-resident parent’s home. If any of these circumstances subsequently changes the CSA should be notified so that they can recalculate the child maintenance.

It is not clear from the question whether the maintenance your stepson’s father has been paying is based on a private agreement with the child’s mother, a consent order approved by a court or a CSA arrangement.

Child maintenance payments generally continue at least until the child reaches the age of 16. After the age of 16 payments depend on whether the child is still in full-time school education. If the child leaves school and gets a job the payments stop in the September after they left school. If the child is still in education and is studying at least 12 hours a week towards A Levels, payments should continue and may continue until the child is 19. However, if a child over the age of 16 is taking a higher education course the payments may be discontinued. If your step son is not studying for A Levels it may be that the obligation to pay maintenance has already ended.

One of the requirements for eligibility to apply to the CSA to arrange child maintenance is that the parent (or other person applying) has the main day-to-day care of the child. If your stepson no longer lives with his mother, nor depends on her for financial support, then it would be questionable whether she would be entitled to receive CSA child maintenance payments. The situation could, however, be different if the arrangement was made under a consent order or other agreement.

If the child moves back in with his mother and is studying for A Levels it is possible that payments would have to be resumed. Even if the child’s father has no ongoing obligation to pay child maintenance to his son’s mother it is possible that he has an ongoing parental responsibility for the child’s financial wellbeing.

 Share on Facebook  Tweet This!  Stumble!  Digg It!