little girl with baby brother, reading a book. concept for blended families and children

Many are familiar with the statutory obligation of child maintenance following separation of a child’s parents. It is common for separated couples to calculate their child maintenance obligation in consultation with the government child maintenance calculator that is readily available. There will no doubt be plenty of couples who come to an agreement with their respective former partners having regard to the calculation that attempts to determine the non-resident parent’s statutory obligation to maintain their child.

There are inevitably circumstances when the calculator does not cover all eventualities or the individual circumstances of a separating couple. In such circumstances, it can be helpful to seek advice regarding an obligation. There are fees payable to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) if the service itself is used for the collection and payment of maintenance and this can often encourage couples to come to an agreement so to save money and provide more resources for the children themselves.

It is worth bearing in mind that there is a process to seek a revision of or to appeal CMS decisions if as a person with care (PWC) or a non-resident parent (NRP) you feel that an error has been made. An application for a revision must be made to the CMS if the child maintenance decision was made on or after 28 October 2013 and if both of the following apply: –

  1. The Child Support Agency (CSA, the predecessor to the CMS) or CMS has issued written notice of the decision.
  2. The decision notice includes a statement that there is a right of appeal only after the CSA or the CMS has considered an application for a revision and provides information on the time limit for seeking a revision.

This revision process must be followed in the above circumstances before a PWC or NRP may appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal. The tribunal will consider an appeal against:

  • an initial, default or interim maintenance decision;
  • a calculation that has been the subject of a supersession or a decision not to make a maintenance calculation or a decision not to supersede a maintenance calculation;
  • the imposition of the requirement to make penalty payments or payment of fees; and
  • any of the above decisions that have been subsequently revised.

An appeal in the first instance would go to the First-Tier Tribunal. There is a process thereafter for appeals to the Upper Tribunal and then to the Court of Appeal.

It is important to bear in mind that when bringing an appeal, that there is a time limit to comply with. An appeal must be lodged one month after the date on which notice of the decision being challenged was sent to the Appellant. Any late appeal must include a request for an extension of time and reasons why the notice of the appeal was not submitted in time. No appeal may be brought more than twelve months after the expiry of the ordinary time limit for appealing. The clear thing to take away here is that if an appeal is necessary, it is important to take steps sooner rather than later. A month is not a very long time and so if you wish to seek advice or guidance in respect of whether an appeal should be lodged or if you have grounds to appeal, then taking advice sooner rather than later is a key thing to consider.

If you would like to discuss anything mentioned in this article, please contact our Family Law team.