What does child maintenance cover?

[Jojo1084]

Partner is starting to pay child maintenance for his daughter, we have her 3 days a week and up until now paid for all school commitments, school dinners, uniform, gymnastic classes, swimming and around 80% of her clothes. I’m wondering once we start paying maintenance do we need to also keep up paying for everything else? Its going to be very tight if we do.

I’ll also add his daughter stays with his parents one night a week also but child maintenance say this doesn’t count although its one night less his ex has their daughter.

Why has he paid for all that?

Officially no, the CMS is it. Unofficially it is frowned upon to not pay towards school uniform. Classes I would argue should be paid by which ever parent (or both parents) who want them to go to the classes, even if they are on the other parent's time.

I’m wondering once we start paying maintenance do we need to also keep up paying for everything else and I would also start seeing it as what your partner has to pay not what we have to pay. Your income doesn't come in to it.

Are his parents covering a night for him? If so he’s got majority care and his ex owes him maintenance.

She hasn’t wanted to pay towards these things, shes said its his job to pay for them.

Unfortunately child maintenance have said it doesn’t matter if she stays at her grandparents as its still only 3 days he has her himself.

It’s not just his job to pay for them. She’s being ridiculous. He should pay the CMS figure based on the 3 nights and stop paying for anything else unless he explicitly wants to. His costs for accommodating, feeding, clothing and entertaining her will be exactly the same as hers so he can and should say no to extra stuff. If she chooses not to provide for her child he should go for full residency and she can pay child support through the CMS.

He has to pay CM and stuff she needs/does on his days. So if he has her on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday then he pays school dinners, uniform, clubs and clothes worn on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Mum pays Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday.

I think that's a bit unfair personally. If both parents have decided ballet classes are in order then both should pay for them no matter who's day it is. Fair enough if it's just the one parent who wants them.

Does she stay with grandparents instead of a day with him or instead of a day with mum? If the former he should make it clear that it’s a day with him, just happens she regularly sees grandparents that particular day but it’s in his time.
If it’s likely to cause issues and mum stops the day to grandparents probably best not to rock the boat as she could stop it altogether to ensure she gets the maintenance.

Maintenance is the minimum he should pay. Anything extra depends on time spent with each parent. Sounds fairly equal if you ignore the day at grandparents they have half time each. So he should probably pay half of uniform, activities etc