When families separate costs of children are often a great concern, including how these will be covered when housing costs are then duplicated.

In December the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) publish edits annual report on how much it costs families to provide a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for their children. The report found:

• The cost of raising a child to the age of 18 is £260,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent.A lone parent with two children working full time on the minimum wage can only cover 69% of the costs of a child, whilst a couple can only cover 84%. 
• An out-of-work family with two children has less than half the income required to meet the cost of a minimum acceptable standard of living (39% in a couple family, 44% in a lone parent family). 
• For families in work, the shortfall is worse for larger families. For a lone parent on the minimum wage with three children, the share covered falls to 45% (63% for a couple on the minimum wage with three children). 
• Families are further away from reaching a decent standard of living than at any point since the research began.
• The key driver of these alarming figures is that costs have risen much faster than income via social security for all family types.

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The full report can be accessed at: https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/Cost_of_a_Child_2024.pdf

Children’s costs are often part of the discussions in mediation.  Although the Child Maintenance Service retains the ultimate decision-making authority for the calculation of child maintenance, some costs can fall outside of this and if married, parents can look for spousal maintenance to meet needs where these cannot be met from their own income.

If you would like to know more about how mediation can assist call us on 0800 206 2258 or email hello@familymand.co.uk