The Divorce Negotiator | Divorce Financial Settlement Mediation | Financial Consent Orders | Pension Sharing on Divorce

Child Maintenance and Financial Consent Orders

Child maintenance and financial consent orders do different jobs. Most separating parents need both, and the two interact in ways that catch people out.

Child maintenance

Child maintenance is the money one parent pays the other towards bringing up their children after a separation.

It can be agreed privately between the parents without any court involvement. What it is based on:

• The paying parent's gross income
• How many children there are
• How many nights the children stay with the paying parent

Financial consent orders

A financial consent order is the court order that records how property, savings, investments, pensions and debts are divided. Once approved by the court it is binding on both parties.

Child maintenance can be written into it if both parties want that. We draw up financial consent orders as part of the mediation, so there is no need to instruct a solicitor separately.

The twelve month rule

This is the one to know. Where child maintenance is written into a court order, that order holds for twelve months. After that, either parent may apply to the Child Maintenance Service, and the CMS formula takes over from whatever was agreed.

Worth understanding at the outset rather than a year later.

How else they differ

• Timing: child maintenance can be agreed at any point, with or without a divorce. A consent order forms part of the divorce
• Changing it: maintenance can be revisited if circumstances change. Capital terms in a consent order are final once approved
• Scope: a consent order covers everything. Child maintenance covers one thing
• Cost: a private maintenance agreement costs nothing. A consent order has a cost, which for us is fixed and quoted before you start

Child maintenance keeps the children provided for. The consent order severs the financial ties between the adults. They are separate things, and most separating couples need both.

If you would like to talk through how this applies in your own circumstances, get in touch for a free initial consultation.