This article by Mark Ablett considers the current state of play in relation to child maintenance in the Family Court following Mostyn J’s judgment in James v Seymour [2023] EWHC 844 (Fam) and the creation of his ‘Adjusted Formula Methodology’. The article touches on when the Family Court has jurisdiction at all, versus the usual exclusive jurisdiction of the Child Maintenance Service, before considering how Mostyn J’s judgment has changed the court’s approach. The article goes on to consider some of the limitations of applying a strict formula, notwithstanding the desirability of clear guidelines and how the guidelines apply, or do not apply, when a maintenance claim includes an element of ‘carer’s allowance’, now re-named Household Expenditure Child Support Award.

The full article has published in the January issue of Family Law.