Child maintenance is primarily dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service, (formerly the CSA), although the Court does still have the power to deal with child maintenance issues in some circumstances. Also you are able to sort our maintenance yourselves and it can be confirmed via a consent order.
It is important that child maintenance is not confused with child arrangement issues. If you are not careful, it will look as though you are treating the child as an asset to be bargained over or bought. The Courts have made it clear that residence and contact issues relate to the rights of the children. Child maintenance relates to the obligation of the parents to provide financially for the children.
The Child Maintenance Service provides help on reaching a family-based arrangement for child maintenance payments and has an online calculator for ascertaining what those payments should be. They use a 6-step approach for calculating how much should be paid. They can also arrange for payment collection and enforcement of payments.
Finally, if you are separating or divorcing and wish to ensure your wealth is passed to your children if anything happens to you, then you should consider making a Will. If you already have one you should make sure this is up to date. We can do this for you at Routh Clarke.