Child Maintenance
The issue of Child Maintenance is now primarily the sole preserve of the much maligned Child Support Agency. When contacted, the CSA will work out what the Non Resident Parent (NRP) has to pay the Resident Parent by reference to a percentage of the NRP's net income. The NRP normally will have to pay 15% of their net income for one child, 20% for 2 children and 25% for three or more children. Various reductions are allowed for the number of nights the children stay with the NRP during the week.
If the CSA makes a maintenance assessment against an NRP of more than £1300 p/m, the resident parent can apply to the family courts for "top up" maintenance beyond that level. This is quite a rare application and will normally only apply to those earning in excess of £60,000 net per annum. There are other rare exceptions when the court can become involved such as when the NRP works abroad.
