In the midst of couples breaking up what gets slipped under the radar is the financial relief for the children. More often than not the financial battle is between the couples. This is where the Schedule 1 of the Children Act is so key to offer financial protection for the children.
Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 allows for a parent, guardian, anyone with a residence order in respect of the child or a child to make an order for financial relief against a parent. Such claims are made for the benefit of the child and not the parent. This can be by way of:
– Lump Sum payment – this could cover situations like a car required for transport, equipment etc
– Transfer/settlement of property – housing needs that the child requires. An important point to note is that once the child no longer requires such property e.g. has reached adulthood then the property shall be transferred back to the parent
– Periodical payments – this can be for education and training needs. The scope of financial provisions under Schedule 1 are separate to that of child maintenance service payments.
The Benefit of using Schedule 1 is to allow the child to have better financial support, especially where the fee calculated by the child maintenance service is very low and in cases of wealthy families not even a fraction.
Whilst in most cases it will be the parent or guardian who makes the application on behalf of the child. A child themselves can also make an application. In addition, this can also include adult children who have reached 18 but require financial support by way of education or further training.
Some parents are reluctant to offer financial support to the child not because they don’t want to but because they are worried that the financial help would be used by the other parent for their own lifestyle as opposed to for the child. A key distinction about Schedule 1 which would alleviate any concerns of such parent is that the provisions are for the benefit of the child and not the parent due to the restrictions that are associated with it e.g. education, housing etc.
