The shared-care brackets (statutory)
The CMS reduces liability purely by overnights per year:
| Nights/year | Typical pattern | Reduction |
|---|---|---|
| 52–103 nights/year | 1–2 nights a week on average | 1/7th off |
| 104–155 nights/year | 2–3 nights a week on average | 2/7ths off |
| 156–174 nights/year | 3–4 nights a week on average | 3/7ths off |
| 175+ nights/year | equal shared care | 50% off plus £7 a week |
Run your own numbers with the overnight-stays calculator; the full mechanics are in the maintenance guide. Official framework: GOV.UK child maintenance.
Disputing the figures — the escalation path
- Mandatory reconsideration first Challenge income imputation, night counts, or shared-care banding in writing with your evidence attached (the contact log is decisive for nights).
- Then tribunal appeal If reconsideration fails, an independent tribunal hears it — papers win these, not passion. Filed logs, statements, bank records.
- Variation grounds both ways Either parent can seek variations (unearned income, assets, Div 1/2 lifestyle grounds). Fathers with fluctuating self-employed income should file accurate figures proactively — imputation is always worse.
What the family court does NOT do: once the CMS has jurisdiction, the court won't usually make child-maintenance orders (top-ups only for high incomes, school fees beyond the formula, step-parent cases). Fighting the number happens at the CMS and tribunal — fight there, properly evidenced, not in the children case.
Questions people ask at Bury St Edmunds
Does the court at Bury St Edmunds set my maintenance?
Almost never — the CMS calculates by formula. Courts keep narrow roles: consent orders in limited circumstances, top-up applications for top-rate earners, and enforcement of whatever agreement was properly ordered before CMS involvement.
She wants cash in hand, no CMS. Should I?
Informal payments are enforceable by nothing and countable by no one — no record builds your 52/104/156-night brackets, and arrears arguments become your word against hers. Formal arrangements protect both the record and the routine.
Can overnights be 'agreed' on paper but different in reality?
The CMS follows actual care. If ordered contact is being blocked, that's an enforcement matter (C79 route) — and fixing the contact fixes the banding.
Before your hearing
Turning scattered messages, notes and dates into evidence takes structure. keep the night-by-night record that sets your bracket — EvidenceCanvas is a guided toolkit that helps you draft a child-focused witness statement, answer a Scott Schedule point by point, and assemble a paginated court bundle. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.