Check how much child maintenance you should be getting as a single parent
JANUARY is the most popular time for divorce, meaning lots of parents are planning to separate over the next few weeks.
But regardless of living arrangements, parents in the UK legally have to support their children financially.
Often, this means that one parent - usually the non-resident parent - will have to pay child maintenance to the other.
They still have to pay, even if they never see their children.
This can be a lifeline for struggling lone parents who are carrying the financial burden of raising their kids.
It's up to the receiving parent to spend as they see fit, but can help meet the costs of housing, food, uniform and toys.
It's a legal requirement, so if a separating parent refuses to pay, they can end up in court.
Despite this, research shows that thousands of parents are missing out on the payments.
Calculate how much you should get
How much you are entitled to, depends on how you sort out your child maintenance.
Some parents choose to arrange this between themselves deciding together what should be paid.
You'll need to know how much the other parent earns (including state pension), any benefits they get, and the number of nights your children will be staying with them.
How long will they have to pay?
At the very least child maintenance, should be paid until a child reaches 16.
So if you have three children, the amount you get will be reduced as each child has their sixteenth birthday.
If your kids stay in full time education, such as school or college, then you can keep receiving the payments until they are 20.
University doesn't count, so for many parents child maintenance stops at 18.
Of course, if you arrange things privately, you can decide to keep payments in place throughout university, though the paying parent may want the money to go directly to his or her kids.
How to claim and what if your ex won't pay?
If you can't agree an arrangement privately, or if your ex isn't paying what they should - you can arrange payments through the Child Maintenance Service.
The government scheme will make an assessment based on your ex's income and should backdate any missed payments.
The CMS can attempt to recover money owed by deducting payments directly earnings or bank accounts or by freezing assets if needed.
If you need CMS to collect the money, you do need to pay a £20 fee and may need to stump up for additional costs.
This could include collection fees every time you get a payment.
If you're under 19 or have been the subject of domestic violence you don't need to pay the up front fee.
If your partner refuses to co-operate with CMS then it can be escalated to court.
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