advice/help please

curlytop12

hello.
will try to br brief:
ex-H has paid to support our son since divorce,voluntary-£425 per month.
totally controls my life,if i don't go along with him he's always threatened to go to csa,saying we would get less maintainance.(i do work by the way,i'm not expecting him to fund My life,just towards his son)however,i have just found out that he is earning in excess of £55,000 per year.
i earn £14,000.
does anyone know roughly how much csa would state?
website asks for monthly NET earnings,i only know £55,000 gross earnings (at least)then its 15 % of that.
thank you for any light you can shed on this,if the amount is not a lot less,then i wouldn't have to put up with his demands/blackmail and be a lot happier!:j

sumsup

plugging £55,000 into an online "take-home-pay" calculator gives monthly pay of £3,230 ( that does not take into account any pension contributions). The CSA rate for 1 child is 15 % So 15% of that is £485 per month ( that would be reduced by 1/7 if your son stays with his father more than 52 nights per year. )

hope that helps.

kelloggs36

trouble is you don't know how much he pays into his pension - as that is also taken off before they work out the percentage payments due.

curlytop12

thankyou for taking the time to help me
cheers.
gem.

curlytop12

well,thankyou! so am thinking i possibly won't be worse off going down the CSA route,and as i have said,the relief that he can't control situation unfairly will mean a lot to me.MSE rules!!

shell_542

gem68 wrote: »

well,thankyou! so am thinking i possibly won't be worse off going down the CSA route,and as i have said,the relief that he can't control situation unfairly will mean a lot to me.MSE rules!!

Like the two previous posters said, the amount above was if he does definitely earn £55,000 and pays no pension at all. If he earns less or pays into a pension, you may receive less or if he is self employed he may have a lower "income" and do you'll receive less.

There's no guarantee you won't be worse off until the assessment is done by the CSA but then perhaps you would rather accept less a month and not have him use the maintenance against you.

alwayspuzzled

Can the NRP apply to the CSA without the consent of the PWC?

missmontana

Yes, either parent can apply to the CSA.

13Kent

As a NRP family we initially had no choice but to go down the CSA route, but when the PWC started talking about having a private agreement we decided for our sanity to stay with CSA (as much as we hate the whole CSA system) because there is no dispute then about what has been paid to whom and when, (we were already lumbered with arrears from the PWC being dishonest and saying she hadn't recieved money that had been paid to her) and also the PWC cant change her mind on a whim, and use the CSA to threaten us etc. Much as we hate all the hassle with the CSA it's much easier than the stress of dealing with a greedy unscrupulous PWC!

DaisyChainMaker

Even if you end up with less money for your child by going through the CSA, surely the lack of hassle and control from your ex will be worth it? Afterall, any amount of money towards your childs upbringing is going to benefit your son.

dizzydusty

My NRP threatned withholding maintenance all the time every time we had a disagreement (this was pre CSA), but he did 9 times outa 10 pay up by standing order. He chose to go thru the CSA himself when he moved in the GF and her son. Think he thought that what he paid would drop loads.

I now don't discuss money with him, and he can't use it as a stick to brow beat me down as its in the CSA's hands. He cant withhold maintenance if he decides to take my son on holiday (which he no longer does), he can't decide just not to pay this month (he's got arrears so its DEO) and the best bit is that those arrears just don't dissapear once my son turns 19, the CSA will continue to pursue him until they are paid off.

I have had no end of bother, time wasting and delays on the CSA's part, they are slow and cumbersome, so be prepared to have to chase things up on a very regular basis. I would say that its worth it just to be rid of the stress involved in a private arrangement with a control freak NRP (when it comes to money anyway).

Best of luck whatever you decide!

Dizzy