Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

[top_kella]

Hi all,

I'd appreciate some advise on the below: I need your 'interpretation' on the point from my Consent Order:

" The respondent do pay periodical payments to the child of the family namely ******* ****** born 22.12.99 at the rate of:
(i) £350 per calendar month in advance until the child attains the age of 17 years OR ceaces full tmie education whichever is the later or until further order. "

The order was amended in 2015 and I now pay £475 PCM.

My daughter has just turned 17 and my ex wrote to the family court after she started her A Levels and I got this reply:

"I write to inform you the maintenance order for your daughter ****** has been extended to the 31.07.2018 as we have received confirmation from her University/College that she will complete her course on this date.

Please note this date may change if we receive further confirmation of ********** continuing in full time education.

You will be notified of any change in due course."

So does that mean I will be paying till she finishes university? or later?

Really confused as the original Consent Order wording seems very ambiguous.

Goverment guidelines from the .GOV website are: Child maintenance payments usually stop when the child reaches 16 (or 20 if they’re in full-time education up to A-level or equivalent).

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[leclerc]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Once they finish their A Levels then that's it.

[top_kella]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Once they finish their A Levels then that's it.

Thanks leclerc but why does the latest correspondence say: Please note this date may change if we receive further confirmation of ********** continuing in full time education.

Indicates to me that they want me to go on paying after..

[Peridot]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Hi,
The original order means that if your daughter left school at 17 then maintenance stops. If she stays on to further education up to and including uni then maintenance will continue, until she finishes full time education. If she leaves school at 18 and doesn't go on to further education then maintenance will stop.

It looks like the 31.07.18 date will be the end of her 6th form, from her age, so if she continues to uni then maintenance will continue until that uni course is finished. The Uni will confirm that she has registered for the course which will prompt a letter confirming the final date for the course, when the maintenance would stop.

If the maintenance is to continue past that point a further order would be required from the Court and there would have to be good reason to make such an order.

I hope that clarifies for you.

[top_kella]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Peridot, thanks very much for the prompt response and yes that does clear that up... But then brings me to another question:

http://www.gov.uk/when-child-maintenance-payments-stop this say otherwise to payments after A-Levels?

[leclerc]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Can I ask you [MENTION=85500]Peridot[/MENTION] why the government website contradicts this?
(I'm not saying you're wrong but that is the reason why I said A levels. My source was here: https://www.gov.uk/when-child-maintenance-payments-stop

and specifically: "Child maintenance payments usually stop when the child reaches 16 (or 20 if they’re in full-time education up to A-level or equivalent)."

[leclerc]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

@top_fella

This link states that the child can apply to the courts for maintenance when they go to University: http://www.separateddads.co.uk/what-...ents-stop.html

[Peridot]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

Hiya,
I may have misunderstood. Apologies.
In any event you will be paying definitely until she finishes her A-Levels. I think I may indeed have misled you with regard to Uni, although with your consent order wording it would be reasonable for a further order to be applied for to continue payments until end of Uni although whether an order would be granted will depend on factors such as whether your daughter's living away from home and what student loan entitlement she would have on the basis of parent's incomes and the like.
Bearing in mind the size of student loan and the accommodation costs I would bank on being tapped for contributions in any event. I'm currently having to pay accommodation for my son in London as the loan he gets doesn't cover food and accom. Crazy world. Anyway, apologies, will just have to wait and see if a further order is applied for after her A-levels. Good luck to her with them.

[Diana M]

Re: Child maintenance consent order: interpretation

@top_fella

This link states that the child can apply to the courts for maintenance when they go to University

That's exactly what my daughter did (I'm the Mother).

My Consent Order said that maintenance continued until she finished secondary education. She then took a Gap Year (no money except from me).

Then she made her own court application for maintenance (with the help of a solicitor) to fund her through uni. She won her application. From memory the court took the view that although she would be entitled to a Student Loan it was just that a 'loan' which would add interest until she paid it off and it wasn't fair to push her into debt when her father could (easily) afford to contribute to her maintenance.

Her father stopped paying the day after she sat her final exam which was before the end of term. Miserable so-and-so

At the moment your Consent Order appears to be poorly drafted because she could continue in further full time education for the rest of her life doing one degree after another.

Di