Child Maintenance Query

[Lou141]

Hi,

I am on a private agreement with my ex for child maintenance. This was from our divorce 2 years ago. Last year in May he increased my payment as he got a better paid job. Can I go to the CMS at any time if I decide that I would rather they dealt with them rather than being on a private arrangement.

What would be the pros and cons to this?

TIA

Yes you can if you’d prefer to, but without knowing how much he’s giving you versus how much CMS would say you’re entitled to it’s impossible to say which is the better option.

Main pro’s of going via CMS is that you know you’re getting the amount you’re entitled to, and it can be taken direct from their payslips if needed so can be more reliable than him “forgetting” to send it, so if he is frequently late or skips payments then that would be the pro.

The main con would be if he is already giving you more per month than what CMS say he has to give you then obviously you will be worse off going that way.