Child maintenance and child moving out of family home

[traumaqueen]

No idea where to post this one!

DP is paying maintenance to his ex wife for their 16 year old son, and the agreement is that this will run until he is 18.

Son now wants to move in to his girlfriend's house; gf lives with her mum. Girlfriend's mum is happy with this.

DP has offered to switch the maintenance payments to gf's mum. Son's mum and GF mum happy with this. So far so straightforward.

GF mum has said she doesn't want/need as much as DP is paying for maintenance and that she will give what she thinks she doesn't need straight to son. DP most unwilling to let this happen for very good reasons to do with what son is likely to do with the money.

Anyone know the legal situation here? Is DP obliged to give his son's girlfriend's mum the full amount of maintenance? Should he still be giving it to his son's mum even though son has moved out?

What form of agreement is it? Court-ordered, CSA, or mutually agreed?

Maybe the easiest solution is for your DP to give gf's mum however much gf's mum thinks is appropriate, and to pay the rest into a savings account for son to access when he's 18 or as a university fund.

Thanks snorbs - it's mutually agreed at CSA rate; they are divorced so does that mean it's court ordered to? court didn't decide the rate.

I certainly think yours is the best option but wondered what the legal situation is.

The legal situation is, if there is no court order, that your partner and the guardian of the child could choose to either pay an agreed amount privately (so Snorbs suggestion of paying her what she asks for and any remainder saving for the son would be fine) or she could contact the CSA and ask for the amount they would deem appropriate. So if GF's Mum is happy to receive a lower amount and let his Dad save the rest that is perfectly legal ...

Although what is the son doing now? Is he still in full time non advanced education (ie. school, sixth form or college)? If he leaves, your partner's entitlement to pay child support would end. (there might be a short period, where child benefit would still be paid after, which normally ties in)

If the child is still in education, then the GF's Mum should apply for the child benefit.

Child support is paid to the person looking after the child, so once he moves in with his GF's Mum, your partner would stop paying the mother.

If there was no court ruling on maintenance rates from the divorce case then (as far as I am aware, but I'm not a lawyer) legally it's moot.

Provided both your DP and his ex-wife are in agreement then they can do what they want. If one or other of the parents subsequently decide to involve the CSA then it might get more complicated but whatever the CSA might decide it wouldn't be retrospective anyway.