Equal care but still paying CSA

[Hennypen321]

In what circumstances would a parent have to pay the other parent CSA even if they both have the child equally? I’ve heard of cases going through like this and wanted to know what the reason is. I wonder if it’s due to the day to day care like appointments? Would the receiving parent need to prove that they provide this day to day care and the other parent doesn’t?

If one parent earns over a certain amount then I believe that CSA is still payable so that the child isn't having massively different financial experiences in their different homes.

My understanding of it happening is when there is a large disparity in household income.

Is that a recent change?

When equal care doesn't mean equal costs, or there is a large disparity in income.
If my ex had our DD 50/50 and didn't pay for her school uniform/trips/shoes/clothes etc I would expect him to pay maintenance based on those things.

Please ignore the other replies, they are wrong. Income does not come into consideration of equal care. Its about day to day care only.

They would need to determine who/if there is a primary carer of the child. Overnights may be 50/50 but this doesn't automatically mean say to day care is equal.

Parents would be expected to provide evidence to support their statements. So if Paying parent is saying it's equal they would need to provide evidence that supports this. A decision will then be made. If no primary carer can be determined, as both parents are providing equal day to day care then the case would close.

@Sparkle123ryou seem very knowledgeable on this matter. When did this change? I have been divorced over 10 years. Had court ordered maintenance for a while which ex managed to get removed. There was no possibility then to get CM as 50:50 care was in place. This slight change in emphasis is new. Perhaps it's come about as more and more 50:50 share care orders are made.

It's been the case for more than 10 years. There has been no new change. Once your Court Order had been in place for 12 months you could have made an application for Child Maintenance if you believed your 50/50 wasn't equal day to day care. If you were in agreement that 50/50 meant you were parenting 100% equally then no you would not be eligible for Child maintenance.

Every case application would be need to be considered in their own merit with evidence required to support.

Thank you for your reply. We are now past this stage, but I am not sure this nuance is properly communicated to those who might need to know. The evidence...I could demonstrate that I was 1st named contact at the GP surgery, but I took my DC far less. Why? Because fundamentally my ex and I had a different view about health care matters. I was prepared to wait to see how things worked out. He took DC to the gp for a cough, cold or sore throat. That evidence of number of visits might imply he was the greater caring parent. In fact, he was the hypochondriac putting that onto DC. Interesting. Thank you again.

What if there IS equal care from both sides day to day in terms of childcare and health appointment taking (the other parent is very savvy about the CSA process). BUT the one parent who doesn’t receive child benefit tells the other parent who does, that it’s their responsibility to use that money to pay for all haircuts let’s say, and they also aren’t forthcoming in buying new uniform, dressing the child in too small clothes, whilst the other parent takes them for every haircut and renews clothing, for it then to be used and kept at the other parents house when they child goes there.

What evidence can the receiving parent provide that the care is unbalanced? Or what can the paying parent provide to show they don’t need to pay?