Absent parent Definition

GLOSSARY

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What does Absent parent mean?

A term used in relation to regarding statutory child support in relation to the parent with whom a child does not primarily live, now replaced with 'paying parent'.

For the purposes of statutory child support, the term non-resident parent (NRP) is included in the Child Support Act 1991 (replacing 'absent parent') and means the payer of child support. NRP has been replaced by 'paying parent' as a consequence of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.

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Child support—jurisdiction

This Practice Note details the jurisdiction in relation to child support, via the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), and in limited circumstances via the courts. The courts may have jurisdiction to make or vary orders for maintenance for children, for example, where the payer’s income exceeds a specified amount and a top-up order may be made, or where a child has a disability or special needs. The statutory child support scheme is also considered. See also Practice Notes: Statutory child support scheme and Maintenance provision for children under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989.Regarding the jurisdiction of the courts generally to make orders in financial order proceedings on divorce or dissolution, see Practice Note: Financial proceedings—orders that can be made by the court.JurisdictionThe statutory schemeWith effect from April 1993, maintenance for children whose parents lived apart, was determined by the Child Support Agency (CSA), as established by the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) (as amended). Subsequently the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC) was established by the Child Maintenance...

Child support—procedure

This Practice Note provides guidance on procedural matters when dealing with an application to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) for child maintenance under the statutory child support scheme, together with the information that must be provided, enforcement powers, variations, and revisions, supersessions and appeals.PrinciplesChanges were made to statutory child support under the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (CMOPA 2008), initially in limited circumstances. With effect from 25 November 2013 the revised scheme was extended to all new applications. Key aspects include:•the application must be made via the Child Maintenance Service•initially, a charge of £20 for an application under the revised statutory scheme, which was abolished with effect from 26 February 2024, plus:◦a 20% collection fee on top of the usual child maintenance amount for paying parents using the Collect and Pay service◦a 4% collection fee deducted from the usual child maintenance amount for receiving parents using the Collect and Pay service, and◦a range of enforcement charges for paying parents who...

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Where child maintenance is currently payable under the statutory scheme, but the parent with care intends to move with the child to another EU country, can the courts in England and Wales make an order for maintenance prior to the relocation for both maintenance and school fees and would that order be enforceable after the relocation? Will the position be different if the UK leaves the EU?

Where child maintenance is currently payable under the statutory scheme, but the parent with care intends to move with the child to another EU country, can the courts in England and Wales make an order for maintenance prior to the relocation for both maintenance and school fees and would that order be enforceable after the relocation? Will the position be different if the UK leaves the EU? Child maintenance is, as a general rule, governed by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the court does not have jurisdiction to make any order in relation to this, save in certain circumstances. This is set out in section 8 of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991), which provides that: ‘(1) This subsection applies in any case where a child support officer would have jurisdiction to make a maintenance assessment with respect to a qualifying child and an absent parent of his on an application duly made by a person entitled to apply for such an assessment with...

Where a parent with care (PWC) no longer satisfies the definition of a PWC, as set out in section 3(3) of the Child Support Act 1991, do they have a duty to inform the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) of this, and if so, on what authority?

Where a parent with care (PWC) no longer satisfies the definition of a PWC, as set out in section 3(3) of the Child Support Act 1991, do they have a duty to inform the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) of this, and if so, on what authority? A child is a ‘qualifying child’ for child maintenance if one or both of their parents are, in relation to them, non-resident. A parent is a non-resident parent if that parent is not living in the same household with the child, and the child has their home with a person who is a person with care. A person with care is defined by section 3(3) of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) as the person with whom the child has their home, who usually provides day to day care for the child (whether exclusively or in conjunction with any other person), and who does not fall within a prescribed category of person. The person with care need not be a...

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Practical pitfalls—finding solutions in intractable contact dispute cases

Family analysis: In cases where there is no evidence that contact with a non-resident parent would harm a child, yet the resident parent claims that contact would not be in the child’s best interests, can the courts force parents out of their entrenched positions? Sarah Phillimore, barrister at St John’s Chambers, looks at the issues and offers some practical advice.

Do gambling wins constitute taxable income for child maintenance purposes?

Family analysis: Martin Henley, barrister at Great James Street Chambers and counsel for the appellant in Hakki, explains the issues in the case and advises practitioners to always check the detail of any Child Support Agency (CSA) assessment to ensure that non-taxable income, especially gambling income, is not included in the assessment.

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