In the last few weeks, speculation of Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne’s supposedly imminent split has been splashed across almost every tabloid newspaper and reports that Liam has sought advice from a ‘divorce lawyer’ has only added fuel to the fire. But why would he need advice from a divorce lawyer, I hear you ask. The answer is, he would not. As Cheryl and Liam are not married, they will not need to get divorced and therefore Liam has most likely sought advice about his legal position as an unmarried father and joint property owner from a family lawyer, who may also deal with divorces, i.e. not a ‘divorce lawyer’.
Whilst some may view seeking advice at this early stage to be premature; given the issues that may arise in relation to their child, Bear, it is wise of Liam, and anyone else who fears that their relationship may soon break down to seek advice.
Every parent, even a popstar, has an absolute obligation to support their children financially. This is now governed by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) who, helpfully, have a calculator on their website which will assess your child maintenance liability based on your earnings, among other factors, for you. However, the CMS can only calculate maintenance payments on a maximum gross income of £3,000 a week, i.e. £156,000 per year, if you earn more than this, that additional amount will not be taken into account in the Child maintenance calculation. This can be a useful starting point for discussions even if you don’t earn as much as Liam or Cheryl.
Aside from child maintenance, as an unmarried couple, Cheryl and Liam will only have recourse to Schedule One of the Children Act in order to make claims in relation to financial provision for Bear. This is a notoriously difficult piece of legislation and works solely on meeting the needs of the child or children in question.
Under Schedule One of the Children Act, the Court can Order:
Child Periodical payments – these can act as a top up to the child maintenance that is payable if your earnings are greater than the maximum income the CMS can consider
Lump sums – however, these must relate to the child’s needs, so are regularly for education costs or furnishings for the child – often the cost of pursuing a lump sum order will be greater than the lump sum itself, so these Orders are rare
Settlement/ transfer of property – again, this must be to meet the child’s needs, normally to provide the child with a home. However, case law on this dictates that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the property should revert back to the other parent when the child reaches adulthood so it is not a complete transfer of property and works as a kind of loan
In making any of these Orders, the Court is required to consider a number of factors including the ‘income, earning capacity, property and financial resources’ that the parties have or are likely to have in the future as well as any financial ‘needs, obligations and responsibilities’. With this in mind, it is unlikely that either Cheryl or Liam would be able to successfully argue that they did not have the resources to support Bear but both would need to seek advice as to what contribution to Bear’s needs they should each make.
So if you find yourself in a similar position to Cheryl and Liam, although with less of the tabloid interest, then it is wise to seek advice as soon as possible.