Another CSA and paternity question.

elsien

Posting this on behalf of a friend of the family, so I don't have a lot of detail.
The friend lives with a partner and 6 children (not all his, but not sure how many are, possibly only 1.) He works in a supermarket (not management) so has very little spare cash at the best of times.
His previous partner has 2 children which are not his, but she has told the CSA he is the father which he is disputing. I don't know whose name is on the birth certificates as father.
In the meantime the CSA have said he has to pay £450 a month to the woman whilst paternity test etc are sorted. So his questions are
1) Does he have to pay the test, and will it be refunded when it shows the children are not his?
2) Does he have to pay the £450 as he can't afford it, and does not believe he'll get it back off the woman when the tests show he's not the father.
3) How long might the whole process take - if he does have to pay he needs it sorted asap as his family won't be able to manage with £450 going out of his wages every month. (CSA are trying to have the employer take it directly from his wages.)

He's off to CAB on Monday, but any reassurance in the meantime would be appreciated as his current partner has post natal depression and isn't coping - the current stress is having a serious impact on her health and she's just been admitted to hospital with a serious asthma attack.

Thank you.

clearingout

The CSA have two ways of dealing with this - you pay up front at a discounted rate which you get back if you're not proven to be the father. Or, they pay for it and if you are proven to be the father, they will charge you slightly more to have the test done and I assume add it to your 'bill'! So no, if the testing is being done through the CSA, he shouldn't have to pay for it.

The money he is paying in maintenance at the moment is, I believe, refundable once he is proven not to be the father. I think how long they take to give it back is one of those 'how long is a piece of string questions'. Hopefully someone with experience of that will be along shortly to confirm or put me right!

elsien

Sorry, just to clarify, he hasn't started paying yet. Is there any way of not paying until the test comes through, given that he is disputing it. Like I said, it's having a massive effect on his family - not a lot of use it being refundable if you can't afford to spare it in the first place.

clearingout

ultimately, they can push through an order which will deduct it at source from his earnings....and they seem to do this pretty quickly if you don't start paying (I contacted them in April last year - my ex had one of these by June, not that he pays it 'cos he's his own employer!). The employer has to pay it - I think you might find he's between a rock and a hard place really. Hopefully someone with more experience will give some further advice.

chriszzz

If proven that the children are not his then I think in situations like this the csa have to be responsible for any ill effects imposed on the family while having lack of funds to live on.

The law also needs to be looked at and any PWC who give false information for their own gains and causing financial and emotional stress to the family involved. They shoud be made accountable for any harm caused and be made to pay all the money back asap, just shows how easy it is for someone to make someones life a living hell!! :eek:

monicaj

elsien wrote: »

Posting this on behalf of a friend of the family, so I don't have a lot of detail.
The friend lives with a partner and 6 children (not all his, but not sure how many are, possibly only 1.) He works in a supermarket (not management) so has very little spare cash at the best of times.
His previous partner has 2 children which are not his, but she has told the CSA he is the father which he is disputing. I don't know whose name is on the birth certificates as father He can obtain copies of the birth certificates.
In the meantime the CSA have said he has to pay £450 a month to the woman whilst paternity test etc are sorted. So his questions are
1) Does he have to pay the test, and will it be refunded when it shows the children are not his? As far as I'm aware if he not on the birth certificate and has disputed paternity from the offset (when the CSA contacted him) the test will be paid for by the CSA, he will only become liable for the cost if it is proven his IS the biological father.
2) Does he have to pay the £450 as he can't afford it, and does not believe he'll get it back off the woman when the tests show he's not the father. If it has got to the stage of a DEO, he will have no option but to pay. If he pays via the CSA, and he is proven NOT to be the father, he will get every penny back (via the CSA), they will then persue the PWC - my husbands refund took about 4 months and that was for around £30k
3) How long might the whole process take - if he does have to pay he needs it sorted asap as his family won't be able to manage with £450 going out of his wages every month. (CSA are trying to have the employer take it directly from his wages.) Once all the samples have been taken from Mother, Father and child and sent to the testing company, the result will be back within 7 days. The whole process is dependant on the mother agreeing to the DNA test, if she drags her feet or refuses, he would need to go through the courts, however, as mentioned above, a copy of the birth certificates may be a much simpler and cheaper option.

He's off to CAB on Monday, but any reassurance in the meantime would be appreciated as his current partner has post natal depression and isn't coping - the current stress is having a serious impact on her health and she's just been admitted to hospital with a serious asthma attack.

Thank you.

As an aside, I really fail to see how the CSA can assume paternity and make an Attachment of Earning Order if he is not named on the birth certificate and has disputed paternity from when they first contacted him.

Also £450 per month at 20% (CSA calculation for 2 children) assumes an income of £2250 net per month, - I am guessing that the £450 includes arrears which suggests that this may have been going on for some time.

I hope this helps

Monica

Mojisola

He can order the birth certificates here - https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

elsien

Thanks monicaj, very comprehensive.