A child support agreement must be in writing and must be signed by both parents. The child support agreement allows parents to make binding financial agreements about child support. It operates just like a financial agreement that separating parents make concerning the property and spousal maintenances.
It is necessary to receive legal advice from the bannister law in adelaide before entering into a binding child support agreement. The same goes for when and if the time comes for termination. The legal advice however will not be considered independent in circumstances where;
- One party has provided legal advice to the other party
- One party has provided legal advice to themselves
- The same legal practitioner has provided advice to both parties
What all does a Child Support Agreement need?
- Be in writing and signed by both the parties (parents)
- Include a statement that each party has received independent legal advice before it was signed, and
- Include an annexure, for each of the parties to the agreement – this has to be signed by the person who provided the legal advice.
What Does A Binding Child Support Agreement Include?
It is advisable for a child support agreement to contain;
- Provisions under which a parent is to pay child support to another person in the form of periodic amounts.
- Provisions that help in varying the rate at which a parent is already liable to pay child support for a child to another person.
- Provisions agreeing on any other pretext and that may be included in an order made by a court.
- Provisions under which a parent is to provide child support for a child to another person apart from periodic amounts paid to the other person. This help in reducing the annual rate of child support payable by the parent under the child support assessment.
- Provisions in the form of a lump sum payment that a parent is to provide child support for a child to another person. This payment is to be credited against the parent’s child support liability under the child support assessment.
- Provisions under which a parent is to provide child support for a child to another person apart from the form of a periodic payment, which could be non-periodic or lump sum.
- Provisions under which a parent’s liability is to end from a specified day, to pay or provide child support for a child.
Other payments and benefits:
A binding agreement may also include a provision for child support other than in the form of monetary payment. This could be in the form of goods or services. However, if the provision does not meet the requirements of either a non-periodic payment provision or a lump sum payment provision it could be discarded. If the agreement does specify the provision of goods, services, other payments or benefits,then such an arrangement will not have any effect on the assessment. The goods, services, payments or even benefits conferred under the provision of the agreement will be in addition to any administrative assessment.