Is there clarity on the quantum of child maintenance after James v Seymour?

Mostyn J’s judgment in James v Seymour provides guidance on the quantification of child maintenance putting an end to debates on the correct approach stretching back twenty years as to whether the court should be drawing guidance from the administrative formula of the CMS and seeking to draw consistent principles between schedule 1 and matrimonial provision. 

He distances himself from the earlier ‘simply uncap the CMS formula’ approach of for example CB v KB in 2019 and we end with different approaches for:

-      the variation case (index the original award)

-      the conventional case (where a rule of thumb calculation is permissible) and

-      the HECSA or Household Expenditure Child Support Award case where the nuances of budgets recipient contribution and standard of living aspects come centre stage.

The conventional case will see a new form of calculation of net income and a marginal tariff applied to incomes above the CMS £3 000 pw cap.  The guidance is welcome...

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