Child Maintenance (CSA) questions (merged)

sweetjamster

sorry, made mistake, he doesn't actually have to stop the payments- you may make an application at any time.

niceshoes_2

I think your arrangement sounds as though it has worked for you both, that I think that it would be a shame to get the CSA involved. You sound as though you remain on good terms, and sound as though you get along fairly well. I think bringing the CSA into the matter, can cause more damage and I personally wouldn't want to destroy the hard work that will have (I assume) gone into keeping your relationship on good terms. The fact that you are willing to help him get his finances in order shows this.

I think that I would explain my financial circumstances to him, and point out the effect that him not paying the maintenance would have on the quality of the boys lives. I'd maybe show him your budget, list your income and outgoings, and maybe this will make him realise that you really can't afford not to have the maintenance that he pays you. I know some will say that your finances aren't really any of his business, but it could be quite a powerful tool and an effective way in which he realises how much you depend on his money for the boys, without things having to get messy or resentful I would then do as you did and offer to help him reduce his outgoings, sort out his debts etc to free up a bit more money.

I personally wouldn't let the CSA put their size 10's all over what seems like a fairly amicable arrangement, and destroy the relationship that you have with the boys father. Keep him on good terms, and I think everyone will be alot happier.

helen21_2

sweetjamster wrote:

apply to the court under schedule 1 of the children act 1989. the csa calculations are only voluntary. if he decides to stop the payments, you can apply to the court for an order for maintenance "for the benefit of the children". if you are not earning a lot, you may qualify for community legal service funding (legal aid)

Could you briefly explain a little about that act as i believed that has gone now and any maintenance after a certain date can only go through the csa and that act is still only there for maintence that had been assessed through the courts before. Now you got me intrigued!

Prudent

I was told by my solicitor that I would have to go through the CSA.

loulou_lemon

Hi everyone,

My son is seventeen and hoping to go to University next year. At the moment, his father pays maintenance for him on a voluntary basis, but I am am unsure about the term "whilst in full-time education" does this include further education.

If anybody can help clarify this I would be very grateful

dwsjarcmcd

loulou_lemon

Simple answer is yes it does include further education.

filigree_2

It depends on what you mean by "voluntary". Was child maintenance spelt out in your divorce papers or did you just sort it out privately between yourselves? The CSA wouldn't pursue the absent parent once the child is at university.

It is a bit of a grey area because some divorce settlements have very wishy washy definitions of "education" and there is a lot of scope for misinterpretation. Once the child is 18 it is his responsibility to pursue child support so it might boil down to whether your son wants to chase his dad for continuing payments.

I think the best bet would be to at least try for an amicable agreement if you get on OK with your ex. Perhaps he'll agree to make the usual payments but pay them directly to the lad instead.

loulou_lemon

Thanks for your replies - much appreciated.

Nothing has been agreed through the courts as yet as the divorce has not been finalised. All arrangements have been made between us, but he believes that being amicable will stand him in good stead when it comes to dividing the assets. He has said he wants half of the equity in the house and it has just crossed my mind that he may have a better chance of getting this if our son is away to University. My dilema is whether to get it sorted now whilst my son is still living at home or wait and save him from a lot of acrimony.

jezbo

I am a non-resident father paying child maintenance for my two daughters, aged 11 and 9. I have always paid the maintenance on time and the full amount (in the early years I even paid more). In the last year or so I have got married, and last year my wife and I had a baby boy.

My daughter's mother asked for a reassessment since I could no longer have the girls for as many nights as I used to.

To my horror the CSA have decided that my child maintenance is to go UP from £112.75 to £173.35 per week, which is quite a substantial increase considering I now have two additional dependents to support which I didn't have before (my wife does not work).

This is going to be incredibly difficult to afford, since even now we are paying out more than we have coming in, and we had hopes for a car for my wife and a larger house to accommodate the family comfortably.

I have gone through the leaflets and I think I can see how the CSA arrived at this figure. Some questions though:

1. How can the "old rules" (pre 2003) arrive at a figure of £173, when the "new rules" (if applied) would mean that I would pay only £103 ? There must be something wrong here, it's such a huge difference. In particular I see it as very unfair that my additional dependents affect the amount only a very little.

2. When might the "new rules" be applied to all cases ?

3. Will the CSA's official letter detail how the amount was calculated ? I may have to dispute the way my "assessable income" has been worked out. In particular I'd like to enquire as to whether weekly expenses for my endowment (£24) and council tax (£26) have been taken into account, and whether I can also make a claim for travel-to-work expenses (£35) and nursery fees (£35) and various insurances/assurances (£10) also to be taken into account.

4. I may have a claim for exceptional circumstances: My wife is Czech and our baby is her family's first of that generation. It's not unreasonable to expect that we can afford to fly at least her and the baby over to her family 4 times a year - the current cost for this is around £1200 (per year, avge £23 per week), but this will almost double once the baby is 2 and has to have his own seat. Could this be considered as a special circumstance to be taken into consideration, possibly by subtracting the average weekly cost from my assessable income?

5. The girl's mother works only part time as and when she chooses. If I were to pay the new amount directly to her she would simply work less and the children would benefit little (and nothing would be saved for their future). I'd prefer to pay part of the amount (the portion over the "Basic Maintenance" the CSA works out as £128) directly into accounts for my children (even though she would not be denied access to these accounts to pay for trips/clubs etc for the girls). Can I do this? I'd be more comfortable paying the new amount if I knew my children would be the prime beneficiaries and that they could be saving the money for their future, rather than their mother using it to support a leisurely lifestyle.

If anyone knows the answer to any or all of these questions, or can offer any advice at all, I'd be very grateful.

Jeremy

helen21_2

Jeremy was a percentage deducted due to you having the children for so many nights?