Financial Settlements and Neurodivergent Children - Rainscourt Family Law Solicitors

When a relationship ends, there will need to be some discussions or negotiations about how finances are to be dealt with. If your child is neurodivergent, they will have additional needs.

This financial settlement will primarily need to consider the financial needs of a child. This will be a priority of the court and should therefore be your primary focus too if you are separating.

If you are married, the financial settlement will be dealt with primarily under the divorce laws. If you are not married, the settlement will be dealt with under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 named “Schedule 1”. The financial settlements will be reviewed by the Family Court to ensure that they become binding, enforceable arrangements.

The Child Maintenance Service is not part of the Family Court and is run by the Department of Work and Pensions. The settlements to meet children’s financial needs dealt with under divorce laws or the Children Act are dealt with by the Family Court. The Child Maintenance Service does not take into account whether you were married or not and assesses child maintenance on the basis of a percentage of the income of the parent with whom the child spends fewer nights. The Family Court reviews children’s needs in a different way, assessing this on the basis of the financial position of the parents, the financial needs of the child and importantly, any physical or mental disability of the child.

If your child is neurodivergent, they are likely to have additional financial needs. This means that when your former partner is assessed by the Child Maintenance Service and starts to pay child maintenance, you may find that you are not able to make ends meet on the income that you receive. The costs of therapy and additional supports which your child requires may be expensive. This is the reason that the court has the power to make financial awards to parents and divorcing spouses to meet the financial needs of children.

If you are the parent of a child with additional needs, it is important to ensure that on relationship breakdown that the settlement takes into account all of your child’s financial needs.

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