Exploring Schedule 1 of the Children Act: Financial provision for children of unmarried parents

Media coverage of the high-profile court case between the footballer, Kyle Walker, and his former partner, Lauryn Goodman, in the summer of 2024 highlighted an area of law which is, arguably, overlooked and underused by many people to whom it may apply.

This law involves applications for financial provision for children under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, which was introduced to make limited financial provision for the children of unmarried parents when they separated. Unmarried couples who separate do not have access to the laws which married couples who divorce have when it comes to resolving the financial issues between them.

Whilst separated parents, whether married or unmarried, can make an application for a child maintenance assessment to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), Schedule 1 claims can be used to seek additional ‘top up’ maintenance for the child where the non-resident parent earns more that the CMS income ceiling of £156,000 gross per annum. Where appropriate, this can include covering the cost of a nanny, nursery or school fees. It can also be used to seek lump sums for items such as furniture, other equipment or a reliable car. Lastly, it can be used to apply for the transfer or settlement of property to provide a home for the child during their dependency, which is usually to the completion of their tertiary education including a gap year. Where a property is provided, it is standard practice for this asset to revert back to the parent who provided it at that point.

Lauryn Goodman was, perhaps unsurprisingly, unsuccessful in persuading the Judge to award a lump sum of £33,000 to install air conditioning in her home or £31,200 for an astroturf football pitch for her 1 year old daughter. However, she was successful in obtaining funds to cover other items including the cost of a vehicle for her nanny, payments for furniture and furnishings and the installation of CCTV. This was, of course, the second round of litigation for the couple, Ms Goodman having already been awarded significant sums in the first round for her elder child, including the provision of a home worth £1.85m until her child completed tertiary education.

Although most parents are not as wealthy as Mr Walker, Schedule 1 applications are not confined to the super rich. It often comes as a shock to unmarried parents who separate, particularly where there is a significant difference in their respective financial positions, to discover that their legal rights to bring financial claims for their own benefit against each other are virtually non-existent.  Schedule 1 can therefore be a useful tool to enable the financially weaker parent to bring claims on their child’s behalf so as to help redress the imbalance between the standard of living and accommodation which the child enjoys with one parent with that which they enjoy with the other, whilst putting the welfare of the child centre stage.

Considering that, according to statistics produced in 2021, 51% of children are now born to unmarried parents, it is an area of law which is likely to see future growth unless new laws are introduced giving enhanced financial legal rights to cohabitees who separate, which is not currently on this government’s agenda.

Should you wish to learn more about this topic, please call our Family Law team today on 0113 227 9285.