2 kids, 2 ex's, one child being supported through uni

hill79

I have two children to different mothers. Child A is attending university and is recieving support from me (I transferred the payment from their mother to Child A when they turned 18 and will continue this through their time at uni). Child B is still at school.

There is no formal agreement in place with either mother, we've always had a private arrangement based on the government Child Support calculator.

The mother of Child B has asked me to re-evaluate payments for Child B now that I am "only liable for one child". I have done this using the government calculator and the jump in payments is significant (£150ish) however, the calculator doesn't allow me to account for the ongoing payments to Child A and I feel like it should be a factor. 

I'm perfectly willing to provide whatever support is due, but I want to make sure I'm working it out correctly.

PeterTheBraveAgain

Problem is, with Child A being in Uni you are not actually liable for any payments to them as its advanced education. So the CSA will only ever see one child requiring payment now.

hill79

PeterTheBraveAgain said:

Problem is, with Child A being in Uni you are not actually liable for any payments to them as its advanced education. So the CSA will only ever see one child requiring payment now.

Thanks. I did wonder if that was the case but wasn't sure since university grants are means-tested based on parental income, meaning there is the expectation that parents will contribute. I suppose because that expectation isn't legally binding or related to the CMS, they don't account for it in their calculations.

Spendless

hill79 said:

PeterTheBraveAgain said:

Problem is, with Child A being in Uni you are not actually liable for any payments to them as its advanced education. So the CSA will only ever see one child requiring payment now.

Thanks. I did wonder if that was the case but wasn't sure since university grants are means-tested based on parental income, meaning there is the expectation that parents will contribute. I suppose because that expectation isn't legally binding or related to the CMS, they don't account for it in their calculations.

The student receives their loan based on the household income of where they live. So if your Uni student child lives with their Mum it's Mums income she's been assessed on. If her Mum has remarried or co-habits it's Mum's and her new spouse/partner's income. The lower the household income the higher the maintenance loan the student receives.  

hill79

Spendless said:

hill79 said:

PeterTheBraveAgain said:

Problem is, with Child A being in Uni you are not actually liable for any payments to them as its advanced education. So the CSA will only ever see one child requiring payment now.

Thanks. I did wonder if that was the case but wasn't sure since university grants are means-tested based on parental income, meaning there is the expectation that parents will contribute. I suppose because that expectation isn't legally binding or related to the CMS, they don't account for it in their calculations.

The student receives their loan based on the household income of where they live. So if your Uni student child lives with their Mum it's Mums income she's been assessed on. If her Mum has remarried or co-habits it's Mum's and her new spouse/partner's income. The lower the household income the higher the maintenance loan the student receives.  

Thank you, that does make sense. I know where I stand with it now - the uni support is irrelevant.