Maintenance issue

Not sure if any has ever been in this situation but here goes anyway,

Im obliged to pay X amount maintenance to ex-partner each week. I take the kids at weekends and have to feed and clothe them for 2 full days. Am I entitled to ask for money from herself towards this?
I was recently in court for non-payment (long story,she screwed me out of a bit of money,civil matter according to the judge)! But in this case the judge counted any money I gave to her during my period of non-payment as payment. So i was thinking that if Ive to buy food,clothes or whatever then this should be taken out of the maintenance!
Any ideas folks?

Ordinarily, the maintenance you pay would take account of the fact that you have the kids at weekends. So you pay X per annum to her which equates down to (X /52) per week. If you want to change this, you can make an application to vary the current maintenance payable.

It will come down to how much you and your ex each earn, how much you can each afford and how much it costs to "run" the kids on a weekly basis.

mf

In short no, you are not entitled to anything from your ex for the maintenance of the children while in your house.
However, it is not uncommon for the court to rule that all maintenance paid to the custodial parent should include the provision of clothes while with the non-custodial parent, and other such items. It is extremely hard to enforce, and does highlight the fact that people seldom allow for money to provide for the access periods. If it is too costly for you to provide for your children while they are with you at weekends, you should apply to the courts for a variance of the maintenance order.
www.solo.ie has a great calculation tool to help you work out how much maintenance would be needed for your ex-partner, and how much money you need to get by. If all else fails, pop a post on the single parents board on www.rollercoaster.ie
HTH

Thanks for the help folks. Much appreciated.