Will child support payments continue during University?

Minnie-the-Minx_2

My apologies - I am sure this has been covered many times here but I can't find a definite answer to my question.

I am divorced with one child for whom my ex pays child support.

The wording of the divorce agreement says that payments will be made 'until she reaches 18 or ceases full time tertiary education, whichever is the later'. There have been no problems with my receiving the payments in the past and there has been no involvement with the CSA or Courts.

My daughter will finish school this summer and go to 6th form College for 2 years. She will then continue on to University for a further 3 years.

I read somewhere that child support payments will cease at the same time that child benefit ceases and if I have read the website correctly this means at the end of the 6th form years with no maintenance being payable during the 3 years at Uni - is this correct?

Many thanks.

DUTR

Yes that is correct, best be on good terms with him, he may continue to support the further education.

Minnie-the-Minx_2

Thank you DUTR - much appreciated.

We are on fairly good terms but I'm quite sure he will stop paying as soon as he is legally able to.

That is assuming he knows of course as until I did a bit of research today I had assumed that Uni counted as full time education and the payments would continue until that ended so this has been a bit of a shock to me.

nicky3

Uni is full time education, but not in the eyes of child benefit and the CSA. I am not sure what the 'tertiary' bit means in your court papers, but I would check your situation with a lawyer. The fact is that children are entitled to support from their parents through further education, it is just that they fall from the radar of the CSA....soooo, a child can sue parents for financial support (it has been done) through universtiy, the difference is though, that they are expected to contirbute to their own upkeep by working to support themselves if this is possible (i think the likes of medical students are exempt because they do placements and such)

skibadee

Uni is HIGHER EDUCATION, which is exempt from CB and CM payments, OP I would suggest being honest with yr ex when the time comes for yr child to go to uni re CM payments, if things have been amicable why rock the boat......maybe you can both come to an arrangement when that time comes.....maybe NRP will help child directly fnancially when that time comes.

sarflee

As far a I am aware, tertiary means third tier education ie university/college etc. I would assume that a court - not that you want to involve them - would enforce payments during university due to the wording of the agreement. Of course there is absolutley no way of knowing for sure what a court would finally advise.

nicky3

surely the wordings of such agreements have a specific meaning? I would go to the flipping court and ask THEM what it means!!

kevin137

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_education

Tertiary education is 3rd tier following on from secondary and may include University but not guaranteed.

If the Ex stopped paying you would have to return to court to try to have it enforced and at that stage he could argue that his responsibility passes to his child and not to you. If that was agreed by the court, it would still not mean he HAS to pay and the child would have to take the father to court and it is very unlikely with current legislation any relief would be granted.

To be fair, if you are looking gfor payment to YOU then you may come unstuck, if you are trying to negotiate support through uni for the child, then it is a different ballgame all-together.

You need to understand the legal definition of child, and that stops at the 19th b/day according to the law in the UK, and even then it is a stupid law, a child stops on there 18th b/day when they have the right to vote in my eyes...!

Minnie-the-Minx_2

The ex and I have a reasonable relationship as long as we don't have to discuss money. Monthly payments are set up to be paid by standing order so there is no need for discussion but I am nervous to raise the issue of Uni if it is at all ambiguous.

He has remarried and wife2 is a difficult woman who begrudges every £ and minute that comes in our direction so I am under no illusion that we may get any more than is legally required. She wears the trousers and if they don't have to pay, they won't.

My daughter is a quiet girl who enjoys a good relationship with her dad so there is no way she would consider taking him to Court unless there was absolutely no alternative.

I will just about make ends meet without his contribution as far as my own needs and home expenses are concerned but I will not have any money to help my daughter with Uni expenses and all the 'normal' costs like clothes, hair cuts, coach fares etc. If there was a way for money to go straight from him to her I would have no problem with that - this is not about funding me but about giving my daughter the means to survive University when I am not in a position to help financially.

I'm not quite sure how Bursaries work at University but I imagine that if it is based on my income alone then she will qualify for help. If her father's income is taken into consideration then she may not qualify whether he is helping financially or not.

duchy

It is based on the household income of the parent the young person lives with. Most university sites have a calculator where you can plug in your income and it will tell you what she will get in loans/bursaries/fees covered. Mine was actually better than I expected. Also check out for charities who offer grants or bursaries-they can have a wide range of qualifications like been born in a particular town or county, having parents in a particular profession (or previous profession) or member of certain trade unions etc-some uni's also offer more -for example my local uni offers £1000 extra a year for students with 3 A grade A levels as well as bursaries for those with sport and music talents.

Do your research it may not be as bad as you fear. If your dughter is planning on getting a part-time job whilst in 6th form encourage her to look at the national companies as often it is possible to transfer to the branch at their university town later (assuming she'll be studying away from home).

shoe*diva79

It looks like your court order means to pay through uni, which is tertiary (3rd level) and if he didnt continue to pay as per the court order you could take your case back to court for enforcement.