When the first statutory child maintenance scheme was launched, one of the fundamental objectives was to limit the court’s power to make child maintenance orders. As a result the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has primary jurisdiction for assessing and enforcing child maintenance. Our team can advise you on the CMS’s jurisdiction to make a child maintenance calculation and the factors that will be considered. We can also advise you on the court’s limited jurisdiction to make orders for child maintenance where:

• The CMS does not have jurisdiction.
• The parties agree a child maintenance order by consent – which is most common in divorce cases and where orders for:
  • educational expenses;
  • costs attributable to a disability;
  • top-up orders; may be available and appropriate