Challenging child maintenance

How to Challenge a Child Maintenance Decision

If you believe the child maintenance you pay - or receive - is unfair or incorrect, there are legal routes to challenge or vary the decision. Whether it’s a Child Maintenance Service (CMS) assessment or a court-ordered payment, understanding your rights is essential.

In some cases, parties may be able to agree any child maintenance between them, and therefore if one party wishes to vary the amount paid, the first step will be to raise this with the other party and try to come to a further agreement. 

What Is Child Maintenance?

Child maintenance is the financial support paid by one parent to the other for a child’s living costs. It can be arranged:

• Privately between parents
• Through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)
• By a court order (in specific cases)

Most commonly, child maintenance is determined by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). Where the paying party earns less than £156,000 gross per year, they will be subject to a child maintenance assessment and the child maintenance payable will be calculated through a standard formula by the CMS. 

Where the paying party’s income is over £156,000, and the CMS has awarded a “maximum assessment”, the court has jurisdiction to determine additional “top up” child maintenance. 

Challenging CMS (Child maintenance service) Decisions

To vary the amount of child maintenance you pay, you can contact the CMS and apply for variation. 

The CMS conduct an annual review of each case, but if there have been changes to the paying parent’s circumstances, affecting their income or expenses, or to the child’s living arrangements, the CMS should be notified as soon as possible. 

If you believe that the CMS have made a mistake in calculating the child maintenance payable, you can dispute this and ask them to look at their decision again. Whether they determine that their original award was correct or incorrect, you can appeal within one month of receiving their decision. If you appeal later than this, the other party may be asked whether they object to it being accepted after this time limit.  

An appeal form will be provided by the CMS, and the appeal will then be heard by a First-Tier Tribunal of the Social Entitlement Chamber. There are specific issues that cannot be heard by the tribunal due to a lack of jurisdiction, such as:

• Disputed parentage 

• Appeal against a deduction from earnings order (DEO) 

• Appeal against a deduction order 

Challenging court ordered child maintenance decisions

The court does not have the power to make or vary child maintenance orders where the CMS has jurisdiction. Where the court has jurisdiction and has made an order for child maintenance, such as school fee orders, top-up orders, consent orders, and orders for maintenance for children with special needs, you can apply to appeal or vary the court order in much the same way as for spousal maintenance. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I challenge a CMS decision after one month?

A: Yes, but you’ll need to explain the delay, and the other party may object.

Q: What if my ex’s income has changed?

A: You can request a variation through the CMS or apply to vary a court order if applicable.

Q: Can the court override the CMS?

A: No. The court only has jurisdiction in specific cases, such as high-income earners or special needs.

Q: What if the CMS made a mistake?

A: You can request a mandatory reconsideration and, if needed, appeal to a tribunal.

Q: My ex is refusing to pay child maintenance, what can I do?

A: Refusal to pay child maintenance determined by the CMS or ordered by the family court can have serious consequences, and if your ex continually refuses to make payments, they may face serious punishment. Read more on this here.

If you believe that the child maintenance you pay, or that is paid to you, is unfair or should be changed, contact Vardags today for a free consultation with one of our expert family and divorce solicitors. 

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