Child maintenance meaning

This quick-reference checklist supports calculating whether an applicant meets the relevant thresholds for eligibility under family immigration routes. It specifically helps with reviewing both the main financial requirement and the adequate maintenance requirement for routes under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules... Which financial requirement applies? New application from 11 April 2024: £29,000 Renewal or extension from 11 April 2024 (including fiancés converting to partner): £18,600 (plus applicant child increment, capped at £29,000) Pending application made before 11 April 2024: £18,600 (plus applicant child increment, no cap) Sponsoring applicant in receipt of a specified benefit or applying on a specified route (e.g. as a parent): Adequate maintenance based on current income support rates (see below) Where applicable, child increments are: +£3,800 for the first child and +£2,400 for each extra child; e.g. +1 child = £22,400, +2 children = £24,800, +3 children = £27,200, and +4 children = £29,600 (unless capped at £29,000). British children and those with leave under...

This flowchart outlines the procedure required to be followed for an application under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), seeking either capital or maintenance provision for a child...

Simkova v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2025] UKSC 41 What are the practical implications of this case? First, it is settled that EU nationals living in the UK, whose children reside in an EU member state, cannot receive the Universal Credit child element for those children. This holds even where the parent pays towards the children’s maintenance and support, notwithstanding the realities of cross‑border family life. Second, the judgment shows the courts continue to grapple with dense EU law even after Brexit, specifically in areas where the UK‑EU Withdrawal Agreement preserves direct effect. It underscores the ongoing need to interpret and apply those preserved rules when they bear on disputes arising in the domestic benefits system, for cases such as this. Third, this appeal did not give the Supreme Court an opportunity to define the scope of its discretion to seek a CJEU ruling on a question under Part Two of the Agreement concerning citizens’ rights. That discretion applies only to proceedings...

See Q&A: In relation to a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, where the deceased’s three children are residuary beneficiaries of the whole net estate, if one adult child brings a family provision claim, is a favourable outcome likely when the Will directs that they are treated the same as their siblings? Assume that: the deceased was domiciled in England and Wales there are no limitation issues Under section 1 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975), a child of the deceased can make a claim against the estate on the basis that the testamentary dispositions fail to make reasonable financial provision for them (I(PFD)A 1975, s 1(1)(c)). Reasonable financial provision is defined as such financial provision as it would be reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for the applicant to receive for their maintenance (I(PFD)A 1975, s 1(2)(b))...

In this issue: Practice and procedure Financial provision Private children Public children International children LexTalk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content New Q&As New legislation Useful information Practice and procedure UKSC Deputy President gives speech on the law and AI On 30 November 2023, Lord Hodge, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, delivered an address at De Montfort University, Leicester, on the relationship between the law and artificial intelligence (AI). He underlined the imperative to reshape legal rules to recognise and regulate emerging technologies, and pointed to the opportunities these innovations offer to strengthen both the legal and justice systems. See: LNB News 03/01/2024 44. Survivors of domestic abuse and their lived experiences with temporary ‘safe’ accommodation in England The Office for National Statistics has released qualitative research examining survivors’ experiences of accessing, living in, and moving on from temporary ‘safe’ accommodation in England. MoJ...

This Practice Note outlines the concept of parental responsibility for children under section 3 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It describes what sits within the scope of parental responsibility and how the courts have read this concept in connection with matters such as education, religious upbringing, consent to medical treatment, changing a child’s surname, and removing a child from the jurisdiction. Definition Parental responsibility relates to the care and raising of a child until they reach adulthood. Under the ChA 1989, parental responsibility comprises all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, in law, a parent holds in respect of their child and the child’s property. It also embraces the rights, powers and duties that a guardian of the child’s estate (appointed before the ChA 1989 commenced) possessed in relation to the child’s property. Those rights extend to receiving or recovering, in the guardian’s own name for the child’s benefit, property of any description and wherever located to which the child is entitled to receive...

Practice Note This Practice Note sets out guidance on the court’s authority to order periodical payments and/or lump sums covering school fees and other educational or training outgoings. It outlines the steps to be taken in matters involving parents who are or have been married or in a civil partnership, as well as in situations where the parents have never been married or in a civil partnership, and prescribes the process to follow. Significant limits apply to the court’s ability to make periodical payment orders for a child where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has, or would have, competence to carry out a maintenance calculation. Even so, the court still has power to direct that a parent, or any person who has treated the relevant child as a child of the family, must pay or contribute towards the expense of a child receiving instruction at an educational institution, or undertaking training for a trade, profession, or vocation (whether or not in paid work). Most frequently, such directions concern the...

This Practice Note deals with maintenance agreements where one of the parties to the agreement has died. For practical guidance on varying a maintenance agreement while the parties are still alive, including applications under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), refer to Practice Note: Variation and alteration of maintenance agreements during the lifetime of the parties, during the parties’ lifetime. See also Practice Note: Formalities of maintenance agreements. Where a maintenance agreement within the meaning of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) provides for periodical payments to continue after the death of one party, and that party dies domiciled in England and Wales, the surviving party or the deceased party’s personal representatives may issue a variation application to the court. The application must be brought within six months of the grant of representation; otherwise the permission of the court is required. If the court decides it is just to alter the terms of the agreement, the...

This note offers broad guidance on financial support for children. Your family solicitor can give tailored advice to suit your particular circumstances and needs. Child maintenance Under the law relating to child maintenance (also called child support), the court is generally unable to make a child maintenance order other than by the parties’ consent (agreement), except where certain exceptions apply. Any consent order for a child’s maintenance binds for only one year, after which either parent may seek a calculation from the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), if they wish to do so. Where you and the other parent cannot settle the level of maintenance, either party can apply to the CMS for a formal assessment...

Parties This Agreement is entered into on [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ] [ Insert name ] of [ insert full address ] ( PARTY A ) [ Insert name ] of [ insert full address ] ( PARTY B ) Whereas (A) Intended [ marriage OR civil partnership ] This Agreement is prepared in anticipation of, and is contingent upon, the intended [ marriage OR civil partnership ] of PARTY A and PARTY B on [ insert date ] 20[ insert year ], or on such later date as PARTY A and PARTY B may agree (‘the [ marriage OR civil partnership ] ’) (B) Children [ (i) ] PARTY A and PARTY B jointly have [ a child OR children ], [ name(s) and date(s) of birth ]. AND/OR [ (ii) ] PARTY A has [ a child OR children ] [ name(s) and date(s) of birth ] and PARTY B is...

In the Family Court sitting at [ court name ] Case No: [ case number ] [ The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 OR The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 together with Schedule 7 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 OR The Civil Partnership Act 2004 OR The Child Support Act 1991 OR The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ] Concerning the [ Marriage OR Civil Partnership OR Relationship ] of [ applicant name ] and [ respondent name ] Having heard [ name the advocate(s) who appeared ] Upon reviewing the documents filed by the parties [ [IN THE CASE OF AN ORDER MADE WITHOUT NOTICE] Having read the statements and taken the evidence of the witnesses identified in para [ para number ] of the Recitals below ] Order issued by [ name of judge ] on [ date ], sitting in [ open court OR private ] [ FOLLOWING A [ RESERVED OR WRITTEN OR EX TEMPORE ]...

The young person is now past 18, has finished secondary schooling and is moving on to higher education. The prior maintenance arrangement has now ceased, and the child intends to seek financial provision under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) by making their application. Under ChA 1989, Sch 1, a parent, guardian, or special guardian of a child, or any person in whose favour a residence order is in force with respect of a child, may apply for a range of orders for the benefit of a child as provided under Sch 1...

Broadly, a capitalised maintenance order is intended to achieve a clean break, bringing to an end each party’s financial responsibilities owed to the other, both during life and on death, pursuant to the relevant statutory provisions of section 25A of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) See the Practice Notes: Capitalised maintenance—Duxbury calculations, and Financial clean break orders in family proceedings...

The statutory formula for child maintenance under the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) The statutory formula for child maintenance under the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) does not link the amount payable to whether the paying parent has contact with the children, other than insofar as the shared care rules operate. Under CSA 1991, s 3(5), it is recognised that, for the purposes of the Act, there can be more than one person with care in relation to the same qualifying child. The Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, SI 2012/2677, reg 46(2), further provide that any calculation must be grounded in the number of nights the non-resident parent is expected to care for the qualifying child overnight during the 12 months commencing on the effective date of the relevant calculation decision. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) retains a discretion to take into account a shorter timeframe where appropriate in making that assessment...