Many unmarried parents assume that if they split up from their partner, they will have the protection of the law as they are a parent of a young child.
Some people think their family law rights stem from the concept of common law marriage asthey assume their relationship has the status of a common law marriage either because they had a child with their partner and so are protected under children law or because of the years they lived with their cohabitee.
It is always hard for a family law solicitor to explain to a parent that an unmarried parent does not have the same rights and legal protections as a husband, wife or civil partner if their relationship breaks down.
Family law solicitor, Angelique Holm, can advise you on your legal rights and claims if you are separating and you are an unmarried parent.
For family law advice call Angelique Holm on 0203 488 8620 or email
[email protected] or visit our website Hopeholm Family Law.
Your rights as an unmarried parent
Your rights as an unmarried parent are more limited than if you were married to the father or mother of your child.
You can claim:
- Child support – if your child’s care is shared equally between you and the other parent then you may not be able to claim child support under the Child Maintenance Service rules. It is best to understand how child support works and how it is calculated by the Child Maintenance Service before you finalise your plans on where you and your child will live after your separation. No child support, or less child support than you anticipated, may mean you may struggle to afford a planned mortgage or rent in a preferred area in the Southeast. It is also helpful to know how the level of child support could change if the overnight parenting arrangements are altered so you can plan your finances
- Housing – if you need help to rehouse your child after your separation you can ask the court to provide you with housing by making what is known as a Schedule 1 Children Act claim. The housing provision under Schedule 1 is not for life – just whilst your child is 18 or under or in secondary education
- Lump sum payment – if you need a lump sum to pay for something for your child you can ask the court to make an order under Schedule 1 of the Children Act. The item must be needed for your child. The order will only be made if the expenditure is affordable after assessing your ex-partner’s income, reasonable outgoings, and any savings
- Top-up child support – if the Child Maintenance Service makes a maximum child support assessment you can ask the court to order top-up child support if your ex-partner has sufficient extra disposable income to be able to afford to pay more in child maintenance
- School fees – if your child is already being privately educated or if you think it is in your child’s best interests to go to a private school you can ask the court to make a school fee order to require the other parent to pay all or a proportion of your child’s private school fees. Whether the court will make a school fee order depends on your ex-partner’s income, their reasonable outgoings, and your child’s needs
- Extra financial support if your child has a disability– if your child has a disability and there are extra costs associated with their disability you can ask the court to order that your ex-partner pays those costs. This type of order and financial contribution is in addition to any child support paid under the Child Maintenance Service rules
Schedule 1 housing claims
You may not need to bring a Schedule 1 housing claim if you are the joint owner of the family home or if you can claim a share in the equity in the family home using trust or property law rights as you have a beneficial interest in the property. These types of claims may mean you get a share or all the equity in the family home in your own right. You therefore have complete control over the money you are awarded and any house lived in is yours – you do not have to give the house back when your child turns 18 ( possibly until 21 if there are exceptional circumstances).
There are many situations where you are one half of an unmarried couple and you are not a joint legal owner of the family home and you cannot claim a non-legal beneficial interest in the family home under property or trust principles as you did not contribute towards the property. In that scenario, a Schedule 1 housing claim may be your best option.
If the court orders housing provision under Schedule 1 you get to stay in the family home or another property until your child reaches a specified age. When your child reaches that age you both must leave and control reverts to your ex-partner who can either move into the property or sell it and keep all the equity.
There are some cases where you may have got some equity out of the family home but not enough to rehouse yourself and your child even with a mortgage. In that situation, you might be able to negotiate staying in the family home or the purchase of a house but when the property is sold when your child is an adult you get a proportion of the equity based on the amount of your contribution to the house purchase.
Schedule 1 housing claims can be complicated as your ex-partner may say that they cannot afford two homes and mortgages or that if they are looking after the child 40% of the time it is only reasonable that any financial support acknowledges that they need to be able to afford to buy a comparable property to house themselves and the child during their parenting time.
Legal help if you are an unmarried parent
Navigating your way around your legal and family law rights as an unmarried parent is not easy, especially where your separation was fraught or if you have been unable to agree on the future parenting and contact arrangements for your child.
Angelique Holm can help you with advice on whether you should apply for a child arrangement order to sort out the residence and contact arrangements that work for you and your child or help you resolve your child support and Schedule 1 claims to enable you to plan for your new future.
For advice on resolving family law disputes advice call Angelique Holm on 0203 488 8620 or email [email protected] or visit our website Hopeholm Family Law.