Should she be getting maintenance?

[Jerseysilkvelour]

Let's start by saying - I'm a firm, firm believer in maintenance being paid if it's due! Wanting to know how this works, for a friend. I thought no maintenance should be paid by anyone, aibu/incorrect in my thinking?

Separated Parents have 2 DC primary school age.
Each receives child benefit for one of the children.
Parent 1 also has another dependent child from previous relationship, who lives with them.
They share custody exactly 50/50 - very carefully worked out, even xmas every other year with each parent.
They have agreed each will be responsible for costs incurred for childcare and activities while DC are with that parent.
Both parents earn exactly the same (I know this for a fact. Not a guess. A fact!) neither qualifies for any income related benefits, not that that makes a difference.

Parent 1 wants maintenance from Parent 2 because they have another dependent and their household running costs are (apparently) higher than parent 2 (don't know how they know that, I think it may be an assumption because parent 1 rents and parent 2 owns).

Surely both parents could be assessed as having to pay each other therefore cancelling out the other's liability?

So legally still entitled then from the biological father. I don't think your friend will get anywhere with her maintenance claim other than to rock what seems to be quite a calm boat. I'd tell her to not bother. I hope she listenens to you

No cms is payable if it’s 50/50anyway I thought? And the cms wont take her otheradult childinto accou t that’s rediculous

I think she shouldn't rock the boat either, not terribly hopeful of her listening to me though!

So she is willing to fuck over a decent bloke because she can't be bothered to chase the arsehole?

Basically what Boney said

She is screwing over a good bloke and wants more off him because she’s not prepared to go after her previous partner. How is that fair at all

She should of been chasing Older childs dad long ago..The fact he won't pay is not ex 2's probelm.

The other thing to tell her is if she does claim there are fees. I'm guessing if she opens a case he will too so double fees. Opening fees. You have to pay a fee to pay maintenance and a fee to receive. It's percentage based. So as they'll both be paying and receiving they'll both be paying the fees. Ridiculous. I hope she is wiser than she already sounds

Does this help?
In my case 2 DC's live with me as resident parent. Access 2 nights each week by DF.
DF remarried, new wife has 1DC. From a previous marriage that lives with them (50/50 shared care).

Maintenance worked on the normal %'s applied to his wage.

However EH has claimed an allowance for the DC that lives with him (yes not his child and this child is supported by his own DF) so the % paid for maintenance has only been applied after the allowance for the step child has been removed from XH wage.

In practice the allowance from XH wage for the one step child (who is supported by his own DF too) is more than the amount of maintenance that is paid to me for our 2 DC's.

I find that incredulous.

Might help you to think through and apply yo your friends situation or so complicated perhaps not!

How are they each claiming child benefit? You get a reduced amount for a second child do you not so they won't be getting the same?
If everything is exactly how you've described then no, no maintenance is owed.
She's effectively asking for maintenance for the older child that isn't his, is that right?
How old are the children? In general 50/50 custody isn't good for children as they are left feeling 'homeless'. Lots of parents do this to make themselves look good 'look at us, we're parenting equally' without regard for what's best for the children.
There's a reason courts usually decide on every other weekend plus one week night for visitation as a standard.

it wont be a reduced amount for the younger child because they are the first child on that claim. Each parent is reciving it for one child.

You get a reduced amount for a second child do you not so they won't be getting the same?

If they each claim for one child they'll each get the first child rate.

Ok, that makes sense!

We have a similar set up, we don't pay maintenance as we have a 4 nights one week 3 nights another arrangement.

Ex receives all benefits. Each month we pay 3/4 of the payment plan for an old debt they had.

If she tried to get us to pay towards her older dc I'd laugh.

Parent 2 isn't a decent bloke as it happens but that's another story!

Isn't 18 when CB stops?

Wouldn't that be a strange coincidence?

BoneyBackJefferson

Not always. Depending on the further ( not higher) education you can still claim until 21.

I think parent two is pretty horrible tbh. He raised a child from age say 8-16, and then washes his hands of them when he splits from their mother.

In theory both parents should be paying maintenance to each other...mum should be paying for maintenance for the child whose "main" carer is dad and dad should be paying for maintenance for the child whose "main" carer is mum