Maintenance payments for child starting college

LegacyUser

My divorce agreement sees me paying €80pw to my ex for our child.
Child is just 18 and will be starting college in Sept and.....coming to live with me for much of the time as my house is much nearer college..
Doesnt seem fair to pay my ex money for my child who now lives with me ??
My options???

guppy

collegehereicome wrote: »

My divorce agreement sees me paying €80pw to my ex for our child.
Child is just 18 and will be starting college in Sept and.....coming to live with me for much of the time as my house is much nearer college..
Doesnt seem fair to pay my ex money for my child who now lives with me ??
My options???

I think you should get back in contact with your solicitor to see what your options are. I'm not being flippant, I never once got a penny/cent from my child's father (my choice), but I would go back to the experts if I were in your shoes.

James Jones

Is the €80pw maintenance specifically for "the child"?
If so, you should consider applying for a variation of the Court Order and that money should be paid by your ex to you, for the child.

PinkFly

I thought you stopped being a child when you turned 18?!?

Orion

Child support generally continues while the child/adult is in full time education

gcgirl

Its different when your married you have to pay Maintenance to your wife, or ex wife in this case, if your un married you only have to pay the child maintenance, Go talk to your solicitor and they should clarify things for you

Milk & Honey

collegehereicome wrote: »

My divorce agreement sees me paying €80pw to my ex for our child.
Child is just 18 and will be starting college in Sept and.....coming to live with me for much of the time as my house is much nearer college..
Doesnt seem fair to pay my ex money for my child who now lives with me ??
My options???

You can charge your daughter for keep. €80pw would do nicely.

LegacyUser

Hi all

OP here

Many thanks for replies...

Im thinking of sugegsting that I pay my daughter the 80 directly while she is in college....what ye reckon?

Dont really want to go back to court...

The Corinthian

collegehereicome wrote: »

My divorce agreement sees me paying €80pw to my ex for our child.
Child is just 18 and will be starting college in Sept and.....coming to live with me for much of the time as my house is much nearer college..
Doesnt seem fair to pay my ex money for my child who now lives with me ??
My options???

First of all, I am presuming that you're only discussing child maintenance and not spousal maintenance for your ex. The latter is separate and does not change. I am also presuming you're the father and your ex is the mother, for the sake of expediency; please correct me if this is incorrect.

Child maintenance is meant to cover a portion the costs related to a child, so naturally this is largely the day-to-day costs of housing, feeding and clothing them. Ideally this portion is half as the custodial parent also has a financial obligation to maintain their child, although this can vary depending upon the financial well-being of both parents.

If the living arrangements and associated costs for the child have changed, then naturally child maintenance also needs to be changed, otherwise you are in effect paying at least part of it it twice. If the child is spending the majority of the time living with you, then in reality your ex would actually have to pay you maintenance - in theory.

Legally, this must be done via a variation of the original court order. Ideally, you should discuss this with your ex and come to an agreement, then simply go into court to get it stamped, as it were. This may not be possible, as in some cases the loss of income (or even the threat that they may have to pay) may lead to conflict or even her refusal to let your child live with you (although she can no longer legally do so at 18).

Ultimately, if your child is living with you the majority of the time now, a court would almost certainly decrease the child maintenance you have to pay, even to zero, although Ireland being Ireland, I'd be less certain about the court asking the mother to start paying (hence my 'in theory' caveat above).

I'd discuss it with the mother first and if no agreement is reached apply for variance of the court order anyway.

PinkFly wrote: »

I thought you stopped being a child when you turned 18?!?

Only if the child does not pursue full-time education. If they do child maintenance can continue up until the (now adult) child is 23 or ends full-time education. For example, this means that:

• Child goes into full-time work / remains unemployed at 18. Maintenance ends at 18.
• Child goes into full-time education at 18, does a 3-year degree then gets a job. Maintenance ends at 21, when they leave full-time education (not when they get a job).
• Child goes into full-time education at 18, does various degrees and postgrads that continue until they are 28. Maintenance ends at 23.

For more information:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/separation_and_divorce/maintenance_orders_and_agreements.html

Milk & Honey wrote: »

You can charge your daughter for keep. €80pw would do nicely.

He would be liable to pay tax on that, so it's probably not a good idea.

snor

If the judicial separation agreement/divorce says ex has to pay maintenance until the child is 18, do you have to go to court for a variation or does it automatically continue until the child leaves fulltime education or is 23 years (whichever is sooner)? In the case of a variation, does the judge always extend it if income etc of the parents have remained the same? Thanks

The Corinthian

snor wrote: »

If the judicial separation agreement/divorce says ex has to pay maintenance until the child is 18, do you have to go to court for a variation or does it automatically continue until the child leaves fulltime education or is 23 years (whichever is sooner)?

I am not a lawyer, however my understanding is that the person expected to pay is required to do so strictly according to the terms of maintenance order.

This means that if is says (s)he must pay €80 p.w. on the first of the month, then it has to be in the custodial parent's hands (or account) by the first of the month and no later. But they are not obliged to pay anything more - 'extras' are voluntary and outside the scope of the order. And if the order says that it is to be paid until the child is 18, then that's also the scope of the order, which says they must pay up until their 18th birthday and not a day later.

If circumstances change; someone loses a job, wins the lotto, the child requires additional care due to an accident, or moves in with the other parent or goes to college or whatever, then, legally, a variation of the order has to be made to reflect this new reality.

In the case of a variation, does the judge always extend it if income etc of the parents have remained the same?

Depends on the judge. I'd imagine all other things being equal yes, but Irish judges have a large degree of autonomy through which to rule on things, which often leads (not only in maintenance orders, but even criminal sentencing) to vast differences in how one judge and another will rule on anything.

The Corinthian

collegehereicome wrote: »

Im thinking of sugegsting that I pay my daughter the 80 directly while she is in college....what ye reckon?

You may be in breach of the maintenance order if you did; but it depends on what the order says.

Even if not, you have to ask yourself what that money is for. Will she use it to pay twoards upkeep? That is what it's for, after all, not pocket money; otherwise if you also give her free bed and board, you'll still effectively be paying maintenance twice (and TBH, I'm not sure paying a college student €80 p.w. pocket money is such a good idea).

And if she does pay you (as she'll be staying with you) for upkeep, then you're liable for tax on this income.

Dont really want to go back to court...

In practical terms you don't need to go back to court. Enforcement of a court order can only be carried out if the person who is supposed to get the money reports it and so if you have an agreement with that person and good co-parental relationship, then that becomes moot.

As such many parents may have an initial court order in place, after which they vary it privately and never bother with the courts again. Some never go to court in the first place.

Going back to court is mainly important when there is a belligerent relationship and/or lack of trust between the parents. In such a situation, you'll want to cover yourself as even a technical breach of an order can land you in jail.

smirker

The Corinthian wrote: »

He would be liable to pay tax on that, so it's probably not a good idea.

There would be no tax unless there were other lodgers bringing the income above €10k per year. Current outgoings could be apportioned against it. If the wife is not co-operative it is an excellent idea.

pyromania

im in a similar situation paying maintenance while child is in collage.in maintenance still payable during the summer months while he is off collage .he will be going back in september. he is living with his mother...

The Corinthian

You still have to pay, even in the Summer months as he is still pursuing full-time education and is classified as such rather than unemployed (he can't get the Dole, AFAIK).

pyromania

The Corinthian wrote: »

You still have to pay, even in the Summer months as he is still pursuing full-time education and is classified as such rather than unemployed (he can't get the Dole, AFAIK).

thanks Corinthain

Klingon Hamlet

If your child spends more time with you than with the mum then you are technically the custodial parent. Perhaps have this reviewed in court. Alternatively, point it out to your ex and see what she says.