When securing maintenance for your child, you need to know what to do and what not to do so as to be able not to hurt the child’s chances of getting a stable and bright future.
Not only is child maintenance a legal responsibility and a way of each of the parents to stay relevant in their child’s life.
It also helps to make a primal difference on the child’s life since it helps to pay for among other things the child’s education, food and clothing.
There are a variety of ways that you can use. These include the gamily-based agreements where the parents comes together and make an agreement on how they are going to get around it or, you can use a state agency like the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and in some cases, you may also use the law courts to help you get maintenance for your child.
Should you be looking on how to go about getting child maintenance, perhaps one of the most reliable places that you can visit is Child Maintenance Options. This is there to offer assistance for parents, guardians as well as relatives and those that might be concerned about the wellbeing of a child.
There are a number of ways that a parent can be able to do this.
The quickest and most amicable method is the family based agreements and this is more so the case because it also comes with its own variety of advantages that include;
One of the most convenient ways that you can use to tell how much child maintenance you should be asking for is by using the CMS’s Child Maintenance Calculator. This can offer you a great place to start. Also make sure that you keep all the records of expenses and payments since they could come in handy.
What is the option other than family based agreement.
While the family based agreement is highly advocated for, for one reasons or another which includes violence and abuse, it may not work out for all.
In this case, you can apply for a child maintenance which is statutory and is managed by the CMS. Once either of the parents contacts the CMO, they can then apply to the CMS which is able to;
Keep in mind though that this option is very stringent and is not easy to make changes on this platform.
Direct pay.
To curb the hurdles that the previous method poses, CMS also offers the Direct Pay. Her parents are able to organize how and when they will be paying and the CMS is able to offer advice in case the need arises. This platform is more flexible.
The amount that the CMS is able to work out depends on a variety of factors that are provided for by children laws that include;
There are a variety of instances that the court has the ability to order for that include;
Aside from that, a court also has the ability to order for a certain amount of money to be paid or property availed to the children in certain circumstances.
Should a father be named in a child maintenance application and they have an issue about the paternity, the following criteria is followed if the child has not been legally adopted;
The Guide to Child Maintenance provides a helpful overview of the subject. The terms child and the word maintenance should be kept separate, as it is often used in a different context than for married couples.
The Guide also explains the benefits of mediation between parents and children involved in a divorce proceeding.
Child maintenance is paid by both non-custodial parents and both resident and non-resident parents are obligated to contribute towards the costs of raising their children.
The custodial parent is typically the more economically able one, as his or her income generally exceeds that of the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent, on the other hand, usually comes from a low-income family and is not able to meet the financial requirements of contributing to the costs of child care.
In addition, as the custodial parent, he or she has the right to dictate the type of payments to be made by the non-custodial parent to their children, which is usually in the form of spousal support.
When children live with divorced or separated parents, both parties to the agreement are responsible for making the required payments.
It is important to remember that neither parent is responsible for paying any fines or restitution that may be awarded to the other parent.
Therefore, any payment given to the custodial parent should not be used for these purposes. A parent who has custody of a child can submit an application for mediation through the court.
The courts may approve or deny this request, but if it is granted then both parents will be allowed to participate in the process.
Mediation between parents and their children involved in a divorce proceeding involves the cooperation of both parties in order to establish an amicable schedule of payments and support.
During the course of mediation, each parent will present their case to the other and try to work out an amount that the other parent is willing to pay.
If the agreement reaches an agreement, it will be entered into the court as part of a finalized custody order. If the mediation process is unsuccessful, both parents may go to trial and take the matter to court.
If one parent is found to be unfit to care for the other’s child, they may be ordered to pay for the care with assistance from a public welfare agency.
The Guide to Child Maintenance helps guide the reader toward the correct approach to negotiations between a custodial parent and the non-custodial parent regarding child support and spousal support.
The Guide to Child Maintenance also explains what types of mediators may be hired to conduct mediation.
There are many qualified professionals available in several areas who can provide professional guidance to the parties involved in a mediation process.