Child maintenance and overnight stays

[notagain2018]

Hi there, I know you calculate maintenance on your ex's salary and how many overnights they have children.
What about holidays? Is this included and averaged out?
For example, my ex has our 2 DC every other weekend for 2 nights. So, averaging out at 1 night per week. However, he sometimes has them for several extra nights in the holidays. Are these nights included or are they just extras? He has said he will be reducing my payments because he is having them some of the school holidays.

Yes, holidays are included.

Any nights the NRP have are included.

Most NRP have the kids half the school holidays (if you have a formal contact order).

Thanks. I've worked it out and it still shouldn't change his payments. It averages out at 1.2 days per week! Thats with an extra 15 nights per year.

The number of nights are in bands:

Less than 52 a year
52 - 103
104 - 155
156 - 174
175 nights plus

If he has them EOW (presuming Fri + Sat night) that’s 52 nights a week (puts the calculation in the 2nd band).

15 nights seems low for holiday contact. Have you included Christmas, Easter, all the half terms, the school summer holidays?

Even if it’s just the extra 15 nights the calculation will probably bring it into that 2nd band.

15 nights is a bit of a guess but its no more than 20. He tends not to have them overnight a lot of the holidays, just during the day.
It certainly won't go into the 3rd band, I know that much for sure.

Children Access to NRP. I have agreed to 52 days overnight in the year with 50 additional days to offer from school holidays in order to keep my CMS in band 2. Seems fair but he wants more access so to get into band 3 and reduce his CMS. The children are content with the current plan. How do I deal with this ? Also, is there anyway of proving we operate within band 2 if he disputes and says to CMS he has them more then 103 days in the year ?

What is it with the nrp parent (mainly fathers) wanting the children more nights to reduce the payments?! This makes me cross. My ex has tried this including lying to the cms and I eventually got it back dated!

Hmm. Morally, I see absolutely no difference between the NRP seeking more days in order to pay less maintenance, and the RP seeking to limit days in order to get more money from their ex. Both those parents are using the kids as financial pawns for their own gain. Both should be equally unacceptable.

Residence arrangements should be decided by what is best for the child - not what is best for either the father or the mother's pocket.

Maintenance should then follow residence - it should never be the factor that determines how many nights he seeks, or how many you "agree".

@overijse12 - 102 nights a year is significantly less than half. Has he said that he is seeking more nights in order to pay less maintenance, or are you just assuming that? Perhaps he just wants to be a hands on dad? That is something that should always be encouraged, for the sake of the children, who deserve a strong relationship with both their parents.

You've explicitly said that you are trying to keep the number down so that you get more maintenance - maybe it is time to re-evaluate your motives here?

Totally agree with @SlightlyMisplacedDad - god forbid that a father actually wants to be a hands on dad and see his kids more rather than it be about money.

I really feel for dads who have contact EOW. How would mums like it if the shoe was on the other foot and they only got to see their kids for 48 hours every 2 weeks?

It’s not about money, it’s about the kids having a relationship with the NRP.

IMO it’s morally wrong to stop contact because you’ll get more money (and vice versa).

Agree totally with @SlightlyMisplacedsingleDad and @NorthernSpirit it is totally unacceptable for either side to want to change contact just for the sake of money. As a dad who does not live with his son I see him as much as I possibly can and this is the most important thing not the money. Assuming the dad is just after more contact to decrease payment is a very negative attitude to have toward the situation. Perhaps he is just trying to be a better dad.