CSA Question....child payment plus mortgage.

Rikki

A quick question.

My friend makes a monthly payment direct to his ex for his two children. This is the figure agreed by the csa and he makes the payment to her without going through the csa each month with their knowledge.
He also pays the full mortgage.
This situation is financially crippling him.

My question is does he have to pay both the maintenance and the full mortgage?

Who does he need to talk to for advice?

Caz3121

legally he needs to pay the maintenance and that is all.

however....what is likely to happen if he pays half or none of the mortgage? will his ex pay it? I assume he also needs to pay for somewhere to live himself so the current situation will not be sustainable (unless he is a high earner) have they discussed what is going to happen to the house?

Rikki

They both have their heads in the sand unfortunately. :mad:

She is on benefits now.
I'm assuming him paying her the children's maintenance will affect her benefits.

Donedoingdebt

He is only legally bound to pay the CSA maintenance charge.
However, if he is named on the mortgage & just stops paying, he will be landing himself with a whole load more problems financially, & somewhere down the line, repossession. I assume she can't continue paying it if she's on benefits.

It doesn't matter how much bitterness there may be between them, they are going to have to discuss the way ahead.

Caz3121

If she is on certain benefits (like income support) she needs to declare the maintenance and anything over £20 per week she will lose £ for £ - so if he pays £50 she will lose £30 from her benefits.
To protect himself he should make sure he has evidence of all the payments clearly marked as child maintenance just in case she is not declaring it, gets found out, and then denies she received anything.
Not sure how long they have been apart, or if they have tried counselling but if the relationship is truly over (on both sides) they may be best to deal with the practical things now rather than later...the bills will not just go away.
My partner stuck his head in the sand for 5 years and paid for most things for his ex and children (and she was the one that ran off with another bloke) and it will take another 7 to pay off the debt he accrued during this period.
It is admirable to want to do the best for his children but if nothing changes it will all stay the same...

pd001

Caz3121 wrote: »

To protect himself he should make sure he has evidence of all the payments clearly marked as child maintenance just in case she is not declaring it, gets found out, and then denies she received anything.

Agreed..read this regarding payment documentation...

Document all payments properly!
By that I mean you should make sure that there cannot be any misunderstanding what the payments are actually for in the future.

You should do more than just cross a cheque.....you should also
send a letter with each payment that you make, to the effect that the payment is specifically made to support your child (ren).


edit...You should name the child (ren) that the payment is for.
edit...The letter has to state that the money is for child maintenance and it must also stipulate for what period

Postal orders will suffice provided that you keep the stub, DO NOT LOSE THEM!
Ensure that it has the correct name in the payee section. Ensure that you cross the order or make sure that it is crossed when you buy it. If you dont cross it then it can be cashed and is much more difficult to trace in the future. Dont forget to send a letter with the postal order as I have specified above.....and again...very important indeed...
DO NOT make cash payments!

If you make payments through a bank, then I would advise that each time a payment is taken from your account, then you also send the letter as detailed above, to the PWC.

Keep copies of these letters, DO NOT LOSE THEM!
Make sure that each letter is dated with the same date that is on the cheque.
DO NOT make cash payments!


Thanks to kelloggs36 who posts on here for some of the above information

TotallyBroke

A couple I know split and he pays the mortgage. He pays no other maintenance for the children. They both agreed this when they sorted the divorce.

pd001

TotallyBroke wrote: »

A couple I know split and he pays the mortgage. He pays no other maintenance for the children. They both agreed this when they sorted the divorce.

I hope that this agreement is all signed sealed and delivered...watertight!
More importantly.... csa tight!

Soubrette

pd001 wrote: »

I hope that this agreement is all signed sealed and delivered...watertight!
More importantly.... csa tight!

Although I think that is only an issue if she is claiming benefits. Otherwise the CSA appear to have no interest in private arrangements.

Sou

pd001

Soubrette wrote: »

Although I think that is only an issue if she is claiming benefits. Otherwise the CSA appear to have no interest in private arrangements.
Sou

Agreed, but if you read the posts on here the csa often comes back to bite the NRP if the PWC has lied in the past.
It is mentioned regularly on here

Cozworth806

Since October 08 the PWC on IS does not have to use the CSA, so they can come to a private agreement and that may just mean he pays the mortgage etc. I would suggest he speaks to her and the lender as she may be entitled to interest paid on the house, which would leave him better off.
If he pays more than £20pw then she will not benefit from it anyway due to the disregard so I would figure that there is a deal to be done.