Child maintenance

[TattyBluebell]

Hello! I need advice please!
DS and his partner spilt up.
They have a four year old son.
DS moved back in with me.
They share 50/50 of childcare.
Nothing legal sorted, just their own arrangement.
Mum claims the child benefit and DSL for their son.
Should my DS still pay child maintenance when the care is 50/50 even if she is still the one who receives child benefits?
I'm writing it like this, with no emotion, or other details in order to get an unbiased opinion.
Many many thanks!

You do realise she's doing him a massive favour by arranging the 50/50 around his needs, right?

If he went to court they would arrange it a lot more fairly so she could also work, and he would have to arrange childcare on his days, which would be a lot more expensive than any maintenence that would need to be paid.

Not if it’s DLA as that’s not her income that’s money for the child.

DS will be starting school soon, then there's surely no reason for her to not work? That will sort out the lack of actual income for her (benefits aren't income, especially when they're for the child)

I definitely see where you're coming from but personally I think it could be a good idea to pay a bit. At the end of the day, it's often the mom ends up doing a more of the little things, such as school crafts/themed days/playdates/medical care
/Suncream/Calpol etc, despite improvements in gender equality. I don't see many fathers organising a present for the teacher at Christmas or their kids communion. It will make a big difference to his sons life too which will benefit your son too. Just my opinion

So on that basis the mother should slso pay.

Shes also claiming the DLA so i assume shes claimig carers allowance etc even though shes only caring 50% of the time
And yes im aware carers allowance is s pittance i m also a carer.

So the things the DLA pays for at her mums don't happen at her dad's? Of course he should get a split of that or it should be taken into consideration as 'income' the child still has needs the other 50% of the time.

Carers allowance is a pittance, but she's doing over 35 hours caring so she's entitled to it.

He also has the child 50% of the time ,sp in an ideal world they would share it to benefit the child100% of the time as its the childs money not the mothers

So is he

No he isn't entitled to carers allowance because he works too many hours.

Not appropriate as it sounds like they were not married

Yes im aware of that ,she still seems to be doing quite well doesnt she
All of the C/B,UC,DLA ,CA it could potentislly be a lot more thsn he earns ,and posters still think he shoukd psy maintenance despite having the child 50/50

Did she work before she had the child?

on the face of it she seems lazy. But I have an autistic child. To get DLA there needs to be significant needs. I can’t find childcare that will take my son so it cost me my availability to work. Can’t even find a school and the LA don’t seem to care. In which case it’s fair he pays maintenance as she’s unable to work due to no childcare for the child and facilitating contact around his work pattern. If she lived off benefits before having the child then my opinion would be very different

But the schedule is arranged around his, pretty awkward, hours.

She will struggle to work on that basis, which means she won't be building her pension or getting herself a career, while he is able to have a career and pension because she is good enough to arrange the 50/50 to benefit him.

It depends on his wages regarding whether he should pay maintenence, that's what the calculator is for, but she's not being awful asking, she's heavily putting herself out for him.

So he has dc while he is not at work, and his work schedule is erratic so she will struggle to work when he is not?

Maintenance may be due if there is a disparity in their incomes.

What sort of disparity would trigger maintenance in a 50/50 situation and would the resulting payment be a certain percentage of the disparity?

Child benefit and maintenance are 2 separate things so one shouldn’t influence the other. With CMS it goes by how many nights he has the kids, best to speak to CMS and they can advise what if anything there is to pay. But as others have said if the split is true equal 50/50 then there is maybe no maintenance due

So the mother basically can’t work unless she finds a job that is the exact opposite of his shifts. Which would be impossible. He is pretty lucky she is happy to work around at his convenience.

He can check this using a simple calculator on the CMS website. No one here really knows if he’d have to pay.

i would say he definitely does not need to pay maintenance.

You would be wrong, it's totally dependent on his wages. He may have to pay something.

These are very valid points. However, her mum and I would both be very, very happy to look after our grandson if she wanted to get herself a job! We get along well and could make our own childcare arrangements.

Thank you all very much for your replies and advice on this.
Since I put this post up ex has had one of these job centre plus appointments. It turns out that DS does not have to pay child maintenance at the moment as it is 50/50 with childcare. Obviously if she chooses to get a job then things will be sorted between DS, ex's mum and me regarding looking after DGS.
Thank you all so much.

Whilst it’s lovely that you and her mam want to help, remember that a judge may well reject a schedule that is entirely based around your son’s schedule (as I mentioned above) The judge said that mam was not his personal child care, and expected dad to commit to days that would also allow the child a chance at equal quality time with their mam too (dad had wanted a 3/3 patten to go with his 3 on 3 off shifts, but the judge ended up going with a 3/4/4/3)