Separation agreement and CMS

[Chopsticks2829]

Hi all,
I was wondering if I could get some advice on this something please.
Myself and my ex husband separated 10 years ago. We are now divorced. We have a separation agreement that states he only has to pay me until my child reaches 18. My son is still in full time education studying for an HNC at college, with a view to continue to university. He was 18 in May this year and my ex husband has stopped his payments as per the separation agreement I’m guessing.
I went through the CMS a few years ago as his payments were sporadic. My son never stays over at his fathers and lives full time with me.
Where do I stand now with regards to any help from my ex husband or is it just the case that the separation agreement stands? Can the CMS enforce anything as he is still studying.
He also has a part time job but it’s only 16 hours a week.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

CMS is usually payable until September it will only be backdated to the date you started the claim though. The court agreement will be overridden.

Thank you. I’ve been claiming maintenance through the CMS for a few years now but he stopped the payments when my son turned 18. What are my next steps? Thank you

Tell CMS he hasn't made the payments

I told them today. But my question is does the separation agreement from over a decade ago still stand and he’s off the hook helping his son through college and possible Uni?

If you have a court agreement for child maintenance then the CMS do not normally get involved. If he hasn't honoured those payment then you can let the CMS know this and also the courts. Now the separation agreement is no longer valid as your son is 18, this means you can claim child maintenance now via CMS if your child is in full time education until he is 20. My friend went through something similar last year. She had two kids involved.

Your son will be expected to fund his own way through university, whether it's by a part time job or a student loan etc.

When does his child benefit stop as you might be able to keep cms going until then.

If your DC is still in full time education (up to A level) then CMS is payable until the end of August after they turn 18.

Afaik a court ordered separation agreement alone does not include finances - even if it did I believe this can be overridden by a CMS application after 1 year and a day. If you have had CMS involvement since the separation agreement then just go back to them.

CMS is definitely payable until the August after DC leaves ft secondary education (my ds birthday is September - my ex went nuts when he found out he'd still be paying until DS was nearly 19 and finished a levels!)

Thie first part of this answer is wrong. Once a court order is more than 12 months old, either parent can go to the CMS and their calculation replaces the court order.

@Chopsticks2829 As your son is in full-time education, you can claim through the CMS until he reaches 20.

Are you in Scotland OP?

Apparently HNCs are NOT an eligible level of study for child maintenance to continue unless I’m reading it wrong.

https://www.mygov.scot/child-maintenance/who#:~:text=The%20eligible%20level%20is%20up,at%20on%20the%20SCQF%20website.