What is Equal Shared Care?

When parents split up, children sometimes live part of the time one parent and part of the time with the other. This is often called shared care.

Many parents assume that if care is shared equally, no child maintenance is payable. In England and Wales, that’s not automatically the case.

Whether maintenance is due depends on who has legal jurisdiction to decide – the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) or the court.

Equal Nights Care

If a referral is made to the CMS, the starting point is consideration of the number of nights the child stays with each parent.

In most cases, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) usually has jurisdiction to deal with child maintenance.

The CMS uses a formula based mainly on:

– How much the non-resident parent earns.

– How many nights the child stays with each parent.

Equal nights mean the child sleeps at each parent’s home for about the same number of nights each year. If nights are shared equally, the amount of maintenance is usually reduced, sometimes a lot—but it does not automatically become zero.

In some circumstances the CMS can be invited to considered whether there is equal day-to-day care in assessing whether there is a “parent with care” to whom child maintenance should be payable

Equal Day‑to‑Day Care

This goes further than just nights. It looks at who actually does the everyday parenting, such as:

– Taking the child to and from school, and who is the point of contact for the school.

– Attending parents’ evenings or medical appointments.

– Organising activities.

– Paying for clothes, food, and daily expenses.

If both parents do all these things equally, there may be no main carer at all and the CMS in those circumstances can assess no child maintenance as then being due to be paid.

Who Makes the Decision on Child Maintenance?

There are two possible decision‑makers:

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS)
Uses fixed maths rules and usually focuses on income and nights spent with each parent.

The Family Court
A judge can decide what is fair, based on the child’s needs and both parents’ finances.

Most of the time, the CMS decides. But in some situations, only the court can decide.

When Would a Court Decide?

The court can step in when the CMS does not have the power to decide. This usually happens when:

– Care of the child is exactly equal, and child spends the same number of nights with each parent, both parents share daily responsibilities equally; or

– The paying parent earns more than £3,000 gross per week (£156,000 per year).

– In certain limited circumstances relating to educational costs which fall outside of the CMS scheme or involving children with disabilities or exceptional needs.

– In cases involving married parents for up to a year from the date of a decision being made.

In these cases, an application to court for child maintenance can be made under schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 for a judge to decide instead.

How Will the Court Decide What’s Fair?

For unmarried couples, when judges make decisions about children and money, they follow rules as set out in schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. Alternatively, if married the Court has regard to the Matrimonial Causes Act1973. The most important thing they must think about the child’s needs in the context of the resources available and overall fairness.

There is no strict maths formula, unlike the CMS.

The OS v DT Central Family Court decision

In a real court case called OS v DT, the judge looked at parents who shared care perfectly equally:

– Same number of nights.

– Same daily responsibilities.

The judge said:

– The court was allowed to decide an appropriate amount of child maintenance instead.

– But in the end, the judge decided no regular child maintenance payments were appropriate from one to the other in the circumstances of the case.

But the judge did order one parent to pay more of the school fees due to their greater resources.

How a Family Law Solicitor Can Help

– Help parents understand where they stand – Equal shared care can sound simple, but legally it often isn’t.

– Explain whether the situation is equal nights or equal day‑to‑day care and if the CMS will be involved or the Courts.

– Help parents reach an agreement – Most cases never need to go to court and can be dealt with privately.

– If care is truly equal and the CMS can’t decide, a solicitor can advise whether the court can decide instead, prepare your case, explain what the judge will consider and help with practical solutions.

– Help apply if the paying parent earns more than £156,000 per year.

We offer free 30-minute family law consultations for new clients, available by phone, video call, or in person at our Sheffield, Rotherham, or Barnsley offices.

Contact us below to book an appointment or call us on 0114 2235 807.