ABSTRACT
The wife had only an entitlement to nominal maintenance for herself. The husband did not agree a sum for child maintenance and the CSA had not yet made its assessment. He claimed that the court had no jurisdiction to order any child maintenance pending CSA assessment
The court had no jurisdiction to make an order for periodical payments to children where the wife had only a nominal claim to support, unless the parties consented. Although an order for spousal maintenance (a so-called ‘Segal order’) under s 23 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 could incorporate some of the costs of supporting children, which would reduce pro tanto from the date upon which the Child Support Agency brings in an assessment, any such order had to include a substantial ingredient of spousal support to be legitimate.
