Child Maintenance (CSA) questions (merged)

Spendless

nearlyrich wrote:

aroma44 wrote:

Not sure if you are aware but if the parent with the child/children is claimimng Income Support then he/she is only allowed to keep £ 10 per week. So my ex has to pay £76 per week to CSA I get £56.20 Income Support plus £10 from CSA then they keep the rest. In January he has a substatial pay rise and the CSA payment will go up to £110 per week but I still will only get £56.20 income support and £10 from the CSA (thats £10 for family not per child) he wants to pay me direct for the kids but as I am on Income Support the rules say that it has to go through CSA unless it will cause me or kids harm if they approach him!
QUOTE]


I am aware that you can only keep £10 per week, but surely if between the 2 parents there is sufficient money to keep all in a reasonable lifestyle then there should be no cost to the taxpayer? Not sure why an ex should have to pay more than you get in benefits that bit seems unfair especially when so many get away with paying nothing.

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That's the way the system currently works. On IS the absent parent pays maintainance but only £10 goes to his family the remainder goes back in the Governments pot cos they are paying out IS and related benefits.

When it comes to tax credits though, the PWC can keep all maintainance money and it isn't taken into account for tax credit purposes. It means that a PWC can be better off than another even with same amount of kids and earning same wage, just cos one ex gives £10 a week (or nothing at all) and the other gives £100 a week for his kids. I think this is what the OP is getting at -apologies if I'm wrong.

jezbo

jellyhead wrote:

i too think you're probably a decent bloke - but why have you had to cut down the nights you have your children to stay? i don't understand why?

Well, I insist on having them every 2nd weekend, that at least is my right. Asking for every weekend would do no good because their mum wants to do things with them at weekends too - fair enough. Having them sleep over before a school-day turned out to be difficult with the baby as well (he tends to dictate all routines), I know multi-child families have to deal with that but remember that this is my wife's first baby. We are moving into Manchester, 20 miles away from our current town, so having them overnight before a school day just would not be practical then anyway. OK we haven't moved yet but we thought we'd get used to the nightly routine early so that initially Daddy and little-brother would still be around (we didn't want a "big bang" change which may have affected the girls adversely) - they know they can visit whenever they like, they are more than welcome here any time, it's just that they don't sleep over before a school-day any more.

jellyhead

i see, it makes sense to me now :-)
(i've just had a baby, my head doesn't work properly yet lol!)

my sister is annoyed about her ex changing his access to every second weekend only. he used to have them one night midweek too making an average of 2 nights per week (3 one week then 1 the next). he's having to move midweek though as he has to work a few hundred miles away. there's just no way around it, he can't have them every weekend because they're at school and would never see their mum. she's not keen on giving up her midweek lie-in though lol!

jezbo

I just don't see why this should have a bigger effect on the payment (2/7ths of the total is taken off for over 2 nights per week on avge, no discount at all if under) than me having another baby (and wife) to support.

pandas66

You have a protected part of income that covers your needs, your dependants no matter which house they/you live in are included and excluded in the calculations.

jezbo

Yes but I've worked it out : my baby makes a difference of only approx £11 per week in the calculations. He has an allowance of £42 + £15 taken off my assessable income, and my ex gets 20p in every pound from my assessable income over a certain threshold. Personally, I think this is wrong.

Spendless

The reduction for having the girls aso many nights a week, is this able to be averaged over a year?
What does the girls mum do about child care in the school holidays? Even if she's getting tax credit help for 70% she'll still have to fund 30% out of her income.

I don't know if this is a solution but what about in the school holidays the girls sleep at your house x amount of times a week, so you're back to the amount of having the girls you used to have. Their mum doesn't have to pay out as much or maybe at all for childcare. You will probably be at work so it'll be upto your new wife to look after them, but by doing this your maintainance payments don't go up and she can continue to visit her family as much. She desn't currently have to stick to school hols with a 2 year old, so dates shouldn't clash and you can continue with little one in nursery.

Savvy_Sue

Becles wrote:

Just an alternative point of view. While it would be nice for the baby to have the same opportunities etc. that the girls have had, circumstances have changed now so that may not be possible.

When the girls were born, you were one family living in one house on your salary. I'm assuming your ex didn't work and stayed at home to look after the girls.

However, now you have 3 children living in two different houses and you still have to support all of them on one wage.

Just another way of looking at it.

I think this is a very sensible contribution from Becles.

pandas66

jezbo wrote:

Yes but I've worked it out : my baby makes a difference of only approx £11 per week in the calculations. He has an allowance of £42 + £15 taken off my assessable income, and my ex gets 20p in every pound from my assessable income over a certain threshold. Personally, I think this is wrong.

Personally I think its wrong. I have no protected income, as your ex has the children the majority of the time neither does she nor most PWC but that is how it is. If you were to realise that your saying to us (or so it seems), now I have a 2nd family can I contribute less, I have other priorities. But the children haven't changed. As a for instance my ex has now 2 other children in the equation, 2 other families, he's not with either. So now my payment is reduced because he had more children but as many many people will accept my children didn't ask for other children to come into their lives, so why should my children (or your 1st) have less means of financial support that before. You have and do support your family but not to the detriment. I don't feel I'm making my point.
If your contact is reduced and maintenance money reduced, why shouldn't your ex feel agrieved. To treat your children and have relatively financial security is a good nights sleep, when you start trying to make others juggle for what you have done then the nightmare begins.

jezbo

Spendless wrote:

The reduction for having the girls aso many nights a week, is this able to be averaged over a year?
What does the girls mum do about child care in the school holidays? Even if she's getting tax credit help for 70% she'll still have to fund 30% out of her income.

I don't know if this is a solution but what about in the school holidays the girls sleep at your house x amount of times a week, so you're back to the amount of having the girls you used to have. Their mum doesn't have to pay out as much or maybe at all for childcare. You will probably be at work so it'll be upto your new wife to look after them, but by doing this your maintainance payments don't go up and she can continue to visit her family as much. She desn't currently have to stick to school hols with a 2 year old, so dates shouldn't clash and you can continue with little one in nursery.

Yes but, my ex will then point out that I only want my girls extra nights to save money, and why should she agree now she realises she can get more money this way ? In any case, I don't see how this will work once we move, and the move is necessary yes (my job, my wife's potential for a job).