Under the Child Support formula, the amount of child maintenance a parent has to pay his or her children depends upon his or her gross income. If there are two children it is 16%, for one child it is 12%, and for three children it is 19% of the parent’s gross income. However recently the Court ordered a famous footballer to pay over 31% of his gross income. The father appealed.
The case was called Re TW and TM (Minors) [2015] EWHC 3054 (Fam).
Here, the father was a well-known footballer who was ordered by Deputy District Judge Drew at first instance to pay maintenance of £5,000 per month for his children. The Deputy District Judge held that the father’s income was £190,000 per annum gross and that he had put his own enjoyment and expenditure first, before the obligations to his children. £5,000 per month amounted to £60,000 per year.
The father appealed and the appeal was held by Mostyn, J. Mostyn, J found that the Deputy District Judge had been wrong to order the father to pay such a high proportion of his net income. Mostyn J found that the first instance Order of £60,000 per annum was, a percentage of the father’s income of £190,000, 31.5%, almost double the 16% prescribed by the formula in the Child Support Act.
Mostyn J commented that the Deputy District Judge had not referred to the Child Support Act and had failed to justify such a departure from the formula. Although the formula was “not written in marble” it provided an important starting point.
If you have any concerns on the amount of maintenance you should be paying or receiving for your children our experienced family law team would be happy to discuss your options with you.
If you would like to contact our team about Legal Aid for victims of domestic abuse or any other family law matter, then please call 01726 74433 or email family.staustell@stephens-scown.co.uk.