How To Pay Child Maintenance.

                                                

This article assumes that an application has been made to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and that a schedule of payments has been issued by the CMS.

So you have received the payment schedule and you are wondering what to do next.  First thing to do, is to read the schedule.  It might say you have to pay £50 per week, but there might be arrears meaning that you have to pay £55 per week.  So skip past the headline figure and go to the table where it says on what day you have to pay and how much.  


Its common to have arrears at the beginning of a case.  This is because payments are calculated from the date the case is opened, but there could be a two week delay as the CMS collect details and produce a schedule.

All arrears are normally paid off over the course of the year.  So make sure you are following the schedule so that the arrears disappear over the year.  Never pay the arrears figure.  Ignore it.  Only pay the payment figure.

Here are the tips for paying.

1.  Rule number one is never pay cash, unless the other person is going to sign for it. 

2.  Rule number two is never pay by cash, even if the other person signs for it!

3.  Pay by standing order so you never miss a payment.

4.  If you cant pay by standing order, pay by bank transfer.  Set a weekly alarm on your phone so you dont forget.

5.  Dont use the childs name as the reference.  It could be argued, its a gift.  For the reference, make sure you put CMS or Child Maintenance

6.  Use the parents Name for the Name to pay to followed by Maintenance if there is room.
  

        ie.   Amy Short maintenance

If you follow steps 5 and 6 it should show on the bank statement of the receiving parent as 

               Amy Short Maintenance CMS 

7    Use one bank account to make payments from.  Dont use it for anything else.  At some point you may have to use the statement to prove payments.  You don't want others to see your salary and expenditure.

8   Pay the exact amount due, on the day it is due.  Never pay late or early.

9.  When you first speak to the CMS they will arrange a payment schedule and will ask you what frequency you want to pay.  Avoid paying on Mondays due to the large number of bank holidays, as that means you will be late at least 5 times per year.  Also consider avoiding a Friday schedule unless you get paid on a Friday.  At least one Friday per year is a bank holiday, ie Good Friday.  Sometimes Christmas Day, Boxing and New Years Day are also on Fridays.

10  If you dont know the account to pay it to, ask the CMS to log the fact you don't have the account details.  They will get them for you.  Chase daily until you have the bank details.  If you do not have the bank details within two weeks, ask the CMS to close the case as the other partner is being non compliant.  Save the money until you have the details and then pay it.

11  Don't pay online via the portal.  It wont get to the other parent on time, so you will be late, and you may be charged up to 20% for doing so.

12  Tick the payments off of your payment schedule as you make them.

13  If you receive a salary increase, pay some of the salary to the account so that you have the money ready when the payments are revised upwards.  

14.  Do not arrange to pay the day before pay day if you struggle to budget.  If you are paid weekly on a Friday, don't agree to pay every Thursday as you will be late at some point if you have spent too much money.  If you arrange to pay monthly, don't ask to pay on the 28th of the month if you get paid on the last day of the month.

15.  If you pay monthly, choose a day between the 1st and the 28th.

16.  Child Maintenance is a priority bill.  Do not forget to pay or you could be put onto a DEO.  That will cost you 20% more money.

17.  Only pay what the schedule says.  Build up a reserve in case your payments are increased.  You will get no future credit for underpaying or being late in the future even if you paid extra previously.

18.   If in arrears and a schedule is arranged.  Demand to pay arrears off at £5 a week, dont over commit yourself.  

What is Child Maintenance

In the UK, there is actually no legal requirement to pay child support (although of course, there is a moral arguement) and many parents come up with their own agreement.  This could take the form of parents absorbing their own costs when the child is in their care, or one party paying for things, whilst another person contributes another way.  The vast majority of seperated families, do not use the Child Maintenance Service.  

However in cases where thats not possible there are three ways to obtain child support payments.  All three methods impose legal commitments on one parent to provide child support to the other parent.  

Options for child support are:

1.    Apply to court if paying parent earns over £156,000 per year.

2.    Agree via a divorce consent order.

3.    Apply to the Child Maintenance Service.

In order to try to keep child maintenance out of the courts, courts do not deal with child maintenance below earnings of £3000 per week, equivalent to £156,000 per year.  So most families cant go to court, and are directed to the Child Maintenance Service instead.  If you are divorcing, or seeking court maintenance payments, you should probably seek advice from a divorce law firm.  CMS costs £20 to set up.  A fraction of what the best divorce lawyers would charge.

Many years ago the government introduced the Child Support Agency to administer child support.  The Child Support Agency does not exist any more, so its not possible to apply for CSA maintenance, only CMS maintenance.  (The schemes are different).

The current government department that deals with child maintenance is the Child Maintenance Service.  Shortened to CMS, the CMS can only deal with child maintenance.  It cannot produce a spousal support calculation, that would have to go to court.

If parents cannot agreee on child support, they can go to the Child maintenance Service.  Who are able to make financial arrangements for child support.  Often called the CMS, it is part of the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain, and the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. 

Parents do not have to use the Child Maintenance Service, and could probably make life a lot easier if they didnt.  Parents can make their own arrangements, and do not have to tell or get the Child Maintenance Service involved.  The CMS do however have a calculator on their website that can be used to work out a child maintenance figure when parents dont use the service.   The CMS is responsible for implementing various laws concerning child support, and can pursue parents that don't pay child support.  Child support is payable until the child is 16, or until they are 20, if they are in school or at college full time.  A child over 16 that is, or has ever been married or in a civil partnership is no longer a qualifying child for child maintenance purposes.  People often refer to The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) as the CSA or Child Support Agency.  The CSA was the name given to a former agency, and that name is no longer used.  In some cases where there are outstanding CSA arrears, the CMS may be able to collect. When the CMS service is used, payments can be made using either the collect and pay service or the direct pay service. 

Direct Pay 

The CMS work out an annual payment plan that is reviewed each year which is primarily based on the gross earnings of the parent without care, with allowances made for pension contributions and regular care.  The paying parent then pays that money to the receiving parent as per the schedule worked out by the CMS.  Around 350,000 children have their maintenance paid using a direct pay arrangement.  Direct pay is free for both parents to use as the parents pay direct to each other.  The best way to do this is by a bank standing order.   The paying parent must keep to the payment schedule or they may be placed on a Deduction from Earnings Order. 

 

Collect and Pay 

The CMS collect the payment from the paying parent and pay it to the receiving parent.  Collect and Pay is not a free service, both parents pay.  They charge the paying parent 20 per cent, and charge the receiving parent 4 per cent.   Either parent can open a case with the CMS, although it is normally the receiving parent that starts the process.  The CMS will open a case and write to the other party advising them that they are the subject of a child maintenance claim.  Within three weeks they produce and assessment and the Non Resident Parent (NRP) is expected to begin payments. Where possible, it is strongly recommended that parents save money and use a direct pay arrangement.  It is better for the child if that the money goes to the receiving parent rather then being used to pay the CMS charges. Between June 2014 and March 2016 the Government received £11,298,200 in charges from parents on the Collect and pay Scheme.

Opening a Case

To open a CMS case, you need to contact Child maintenance Options, who will assess you, via chat to see if you should use the CMS.  Contact details for Child Maintenance Options and the CMS are here.

Contacting the Child Maintenance Service