Assumption: "If the children stay with me half the time, I will not have to pay any child maintenance."

Court Reality

In the Child Maintenance Service calculation, where the Basic, Basic Plus or Reduced rate applies, overnight stays with the paying parent start to reduce the amount from 52 nights a year, about one night a week. The reduction rises in bands: 52 to 103 nights, one seventh; 104 to 155 nights, two sevenths; 156 to 174 nights, three sevenths; 175 nights or more, a half plus £7 a week for each child in that band. GOV.UK says that having the child for the same number of nights does not automatically mean there is nothing to pay, because the service also looks at who provides most of the day to day care. The number of nights is based on a court order or the arrangement the parents have agreed. Daytime visits on their own are not counted.