The Family Court ordered extra financial support for children from 268 unmarried parents in the year to December 2022, said TWM Solicitors.
Under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, unmarried parents can be required to provide extra financial support for their children, if their standard of living exceeds that of the parent who the children live with.
This extra financial support can be used to cover ‘maintenance’ costs for the child, such as school fees, if (for example) the parent who the child does not live with earns more than £156,000 per year. It can also be used for ‘lump sum’ costs such as buying a car for the child, regardless of the higher-earning partner’s income.
Schedule 1 is most often used to request funds to re-house a child of unmarried parents. It must be proved that the parent with whom the child lives cannot afford to rehouse the child themselves. This payment is structured as a loan and must be returned to the other parent, usually not later than once the child is 18.
The number of children born outside of marriage or a civil partnership has risen 43% over the last twenty years, with 346,760 children born outside of marriage in 2022 compared to 242,032 in 2002. This leaves fewer primary caregivers – often mothers but increasingly fathers as well – with access to the financial provisions provided in a divorce, meaning they may need to make a Schedule 1 application. Sarah Archibald, Partner at TWM Solicitors, said:
“Schedule 1 rights help parents ensure that their former partners can’t walk away from their responsibility to pay for their children’s upbringing. Disputes over who pays for the VAT that is being added to private school fees could lead to more of these Schedule 1 cases.
These are the issues that would normally be dealt with through a divorce for a married couple. For some unmarried parents, Schedule 1 cases can be the only way to ensure that their children get the financial support they need from the other parent.
The number of Schedule 1 cases in the Family Court has fallen since its height of 650 cases in 2015 as more couples turn to mediation to resolve their disputes. Sarah Archibald says:
Some people have found that the outcome of a Schedule 1 case in the Family Court can be unreliable, leading to more choosing to deal with their case through, for example, mediation.”
Archibald said that over the years, Schedule 1 cases have shown they have unpredictable outcomes, with the Family Court denying claims as often as allowing them. She added:
“This uncertainty can put families off going through an expensive court process when there is no guarantee of success.
The problem of parents not supporting their children continues, but families are finding quicker ways to resolve disputes than going through the courts.”
