When children need stuff like uniform etc, who pays?

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I have told DH I want to separate. It will take a few months for him to be able to move out the we can get finances sorted.

I have looked at the maintenance calculator so know what he needs to pay, he won't dispute this. However I for see a situation where he may expect this to cover everything, all the time. DS will be going to secondary school this year so a much more expensive uniform and lots of sports kits needed.

Is it ever right that they dad pays out when larger things like uniforms etc need buying, or is this all expected to come from maintenance?

What extras does your ex pay out for (if he does)?

Well legally all he has to pay is the maintenance. If the maintenance is reduced due to them staying overnight at his house then he should also provide everything the children need whilst there, clothes, nappies, suitable cups etc (age dependant obviously!)

Morally, he should also contribute to additional expenses wherever he can as well such as uniform, coats, school trips etc. It depends whether he's an arsehole and how much disposable income he will have though.

My ex has only recently started contributing towards uniforms and school trips. Separated for almost 10 years! This year he gave me £30 towards £200 of uniform for our 2 kids. He did go halves on DDs trip in April but never has before.

They will both be at high school in September, bus fare alone will cost £80 a month out of £190 maintenance!

As above, but might be worth discussing this with him and agreeing a % towards the cost of uniforms etc on top of maintenance and then putting this in the consent order. My ex would offer towards uniform/trips/extra curricular if i asked, he may have been an absolute cunt to me but he has never shirked his financial responsibility when it comes to the dc.

My ExH pays the bare minimum in maintenance, despite a massive inheritance a couple of years ago. I get £150 a month for our DS and everything has to come out of that.

Definitely worth discussing. We have DSS 50% of the time but DH still pays a small amount of maintenance to his ex, but we then pay for everything he needs at our house including uniform (So DSS has three school jumpers and trousers at each house plus 100,000 school shirts!). His mum will then buy his PE kit whilst we pay for school shoes, usually 2 pairs a year, so it balances out.

Generally mum and dad pay for essential things like uniform between them. Please remember, that includes a school bag and sports bag; things will go missing so both must be prepared to fork out for replacements throughout the year.

Grandparents are often very helpful when it comes to uniform.

You’ll find you will have to pay for everything, unless he is a particularly decent person and men who are divorcing don’t seem to be!

He will argue he pays child maintenance and this is what it’s for. The amount my STBEX pays doesn’t cover even a third of my child’s expenses but he sees it as just extra pocket money for her! He is financially illiterate. What a joke system.

I earn a good whack but have nothing left after lawyers and he thinks he can get maintenance from me! The man has a job. Go figure.