Even if the parent with care (‘PWC’ – the parent with whom the children spend most of their time) is in receipt of state benefits, then it is not obligatory to make an application to the Child Support Agency (CSA). In other words, the law leaves it to parents to agree the amount of child maintenance if they can. Only if they cannot agree will one or other of them (obviously normally the PWC) make an application to the Agency. Note that courts cannot make child maintenance orders, save in the limited circumstances mentioned below.
If the Agency is not being used, there is no obligation to use the child support formula (see below) but obviously it is a useful guidance in most cases, save where the non-resident parent (‘NRP’ – the parent with whom the children spend less time) has a particularly high income. In such a case, I would suggest that they should pay more than the formula would require them to pay – a figure that has some relation to the standard of living enjoyed by the parents prior to the separation.
If an agreement is reached, the parents can draw up a written
private agreement form, an example of which can be found on
the Child Maintenance Options website – see Appendix 2. Note,
however, that such an agreement is not enforceable – if one parent fails to keep to the agreement, then the other will need to apply to the CSA.