In Scotland, the parent with whom the child lives (known as the parent with care) should receive regular financial support from the other parent (known as the non-resident parent). This is known as child maintenance, and will go towards the child's upbringing, contributing towards the costs of food, clothes, hobbies and general upkeep.
How To Arrange Child Maintenance.
There are two ways you can arrange child maintenance:-
1. Mutual Agreement.
It may be possible for both parties to reach a mutually agreeable solution regarding child maintenance. If a couple are divorcing, they can include their agreement into divorce proceedings. The arrangement should be presented to the court in the form of two affidavits, detailing how much maintenance will be paid, as well as how and when it will be paid.
If you wish, a solicitor can make this arrangement legally binding by registering a 'Minute of Agreement'. This will allow a sheriff officer to collect payments from a non-resident parent should he/she fall into arrears.
2. The Child Support Agency.
Alternatively, you may want to ask the Child Support Agency (CSA) to organise the payment of child maintenance on your behalf. Assistance from the CSA may be sought from either parent, or from a child between the ages of 12 to 18 (inclusive).
The CSA can calculate how much maintenance must be paid, and set up the transaction for you. It also has the power to enforce payments which have been missed.
How Much Should You Pay?
When deciding how much maintenance should be paid, the CSA will first asses the weekly income of a non-resident parent. He/she will fall into one of the following bands:-
* Basic rate - on an income of £200 a week or more;
* Reduced rate - on an income of more than £100 but less than £200 a week;
* Flat rate - on an income between £5 and £100 a week;
* Nil rate - on an income of less than £5 a week.
Once a rate has been determined, the CSA will adjust the sum of maintenance according to information provided by both parents. This will consider factors such as:-
* How many other children live with the non-resident parent;
* How many other children the non-resident parent pays maintenance for;
* How often the child stays with the non-resident parent.
The CSA will then take into account all these elements and calculate an appropriate sum of child maintenance. Therefore there is no set amount: how much you pay will depend entirely on your individual situation.
Author Resource:-
Need specialist Family Law Solicitors Edinburgh?
McKay Norwell are Edinburgh Lawyers serving individual and business clients across Scotland.
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