With the cost of living becoming more challenging, more people are having to make difficult budgeting decisions to make ends meet.
One thing that should not be cut is child maintenance, so if your ex has stopped paying, then you need to understand what to do next.
Can a parent suddenly stop paying child maintenance?
Once child maintenance is agreed, it will need to be paid at the specified rate.
There might be an end point baked into the agreement, such as if the child reaches a certain age or leaves education, but this will be known to you ahead of time.
Even a drop in income is not a justification for stopping child maintenance outright.
If the parent who is supposed to pay child maintenance is genuinely struggling to do so, they need to reach out to you or the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) if they are the ones overseeing the arrangement.
What happens when a parent stops paying child maintenance?
The best thing to do if you find that child maintenance payments are being missed or delayed is to get in touch with a solicitor.
If child maintenance is being managed through a private agreement, a solicitor can help you to review the agreement and determine the next steps.
It may be that negotiation or mediation will work to resolve the issue if there has been a genuine mistake.
A solicitor can also help to represent you in court if this proves to be necessary.
Private agreements can be made legally binding through a Consent Order and these can be enforced if either party seeks to break the terms.
Even if the CMS are managing your child maintenance agreement, it is still helpful to have a solicitor support you as they can keep you informed and advise on appealing against any decisions you feel are unfair.
The CMS should make sure that the other parent pays what they owe.
They can directly take money from the person’s bank account, make deductions from their pay or benefits or get a court order for payments.
However, it may not be possible to reclaim all of the owed child maintenance as the other person must be left with enough to live on once other debts like mortgage repayments, rent, utility bills, taxes and court fines are taken into account.
At Palmers Solicitors, we work to support the people of Essex with their legal concerns so that they can continue living comfortably.
If you are having issues with your child maintenance, then our team can support you in finding a resolution that protects your legal rights. Get in touch with our team for compassionate support with child maintenance issues.
