Child support

Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, a caregiver, or a guardian.

Depending on the jurisdiction, a custodial parent may pay child support to a non-custodial parent. Typically one has the same duty to pay child support irrespective of sex, so a mother is required to pay support to a father just as a father must pay a mother. In some jurisdictions where there is joint custody, the child is considered to have two custodial parents and no non-custodial parents, and a custodial parent with a higher income (obligor) may be required to pay the other custodial parent (obligee). In other jurisdictions, and even with legally shared residence, unless they can prove exactly equal contributions, one parent will be deemed the non-resident parent for child support and will have to pay the other parent a proportion of their income; the "resident" parent's income or needs are not assessed.[1]

Child support is often arranged as part of a divorce, marital separation, annulment, determination of parentage or dissolution of a civil union and may supplement alimony (spousal support) arrangements.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

The right to child support and the responsibilities of parents to provide such support have been internationally recognized. The 1992 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a binding convention signed by every member nation of the United Nations and formally ratified by all but the United States.[9][10] It declares that the upbringing and development of children and a standard of living adequate for the children's development is a common responsibility of both parents and a fundamental human right for children, and asserts that the primary responsibility to provide such for the children rests with their parents.[11] Other United Nations documents and decisions related to child-support enforcement include the 1956 New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance created under the auspices of the United Nations, which has been ratified by the 64 of the UN member states.[12]

In addition, the right to child support, as well as specific implementation and enforcement measures, has been recognized by various other international entities, including the Council of Europe,[13] the European Union[14] and the Hague Conference.[15]

Within individual countries, examples of legislation pertaining to, and establishing guidelines for, the implementation and collection of child maintenance include the 1975 Family Law Act (Australia), the Child Support Act (United Kingdom)[16] and the Maintenance and Affiliation Act (Fiji).[17] Child support in the United States, 45 C.F.R. 302.56 requires each state to establish and publish a Guideline that is presumed correct (but rebuttable), and Review the Guideline, at a minimum, every four years.[18] Child-support laws and obligations are known to be recognized in a vast majority of world nations, including the majority of countries in Europe, North America and Australia, as well as many in Africa, Asia and South America.[19][20][21]

  1. ^ "How child maintenance is worked out: How the Child Maintenance Service works out child maintenance". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  2. ^ Definition of child support: Archived 2012-12-29 at the Wayback Machine "Child support is the legal right of a child to receive financial support from their parents. That right exists whether or not the child's parents were ever married and whether or not they ever lived together. That right continues until the child turns 19 years old. If the child is still dependent at age 19 or older - owing to illness or disability, or because the child is still in school, for example - then the right to financial support will continue." British Columbia Attorney General, Canada
  3. ^ Definition of child support: Archived 2008-01-04 at the Wayback Machine "Financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on each State’s laws." OSCE, USA
  4. ^ [1] Archived 2011-02-23 at the Wayback Machine "What is child support? When parents separate, they need to make financial arrangements for their children. How they do this depends on when they separated and when their children were born." Australian Child Support Agency
  5. ^ "Child support - What is child support". Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-10-24. "Child support is money paid by parents who are not living with their children to help financially support their children" New Zealand Inland Revenue
  6. ^ [2] "Child maintenance is money paid when parents live apart...the parent with whom the child does not live is responsible for paying child maintenance." UK CSA
  7. ^ "Maintenance is in the Best Interests of the Child". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-08-15. "Every child has the right to basic necessities...Children should get these basic needs from their parents or relatives...This support given by parents or relatives is called maintenance." Western Cape governmental information service, South Africa
  8. ^ "FAQs: Maintenance". subcourts.gov.sg. State Courts Singapore. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  9. ^ United Nations Treaty Collection. Convention on the Rights of the Child Archived 2014-02-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Government of Somalia ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child". UNICEF. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  11. ^ [3] Convention on the Rights of the Child
  12. ^ "Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance" United Nations, New York, 20 June 1956
  13. ^ Recommendation 869 on payment by the state of advances on child maintenance Archived 2007-11-20 at the Wayback Machine 1979, Council of Europe
  14. ^ Maintenance claims across the EU European Commission
  15. ^ Convention of 2 October 1973 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions relating to Maintenance Obligations" The Hague Conference, 1973
  16. ^ Child Support Act 1991, Office of Public Sector Information, UK
  17. ^ "Maintenance and Affiliation Act (Fiji)". Archived from the original on January 6, 2007.
  18. ^ "Guidelines for setting child support awards". edocket.access.gpo.gov.
  19. ^ List of countries with reciprocal child support enforcement policies Archived 2010-03-08 at the Wayback Machine U.S. Department of State
  20. ^ List of REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders) reciprocating countries UK Child Support Agency
  21. ^ [4]"Statutes in all countries in the region provide that a man must support his legitimate and illegitimate children" (pertaining to Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana) "Payments for Child Support in Southern Africa: Using Law to Promote Family Planning". Alice Armstrong, Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug., 1992), pp. 217-228