Advice on entitlements to money from father and access arrangements please

wimbleQ

Hi,

Please is anyone able to advise what would be reasonable maintenance to expect a father to pay for a 1 year old child and if he refuses to pay this amount at all or regularly what steps can be taken to enforce this? (Couple are not married.) We've heard of the CSA but don't know how it all works - is this something you can apply for yourself as a mother or does it involve solicitors and courts etc? Is the CSA the best route to go down as have only really heard bad press about it.

Any general advice on entitlements and access arrangements would be gratefully received. Can a father who drinks to excess and is verbally abusive to mother and a generally threatening presence be refused sole access and allowed instead only limited access whilst mother is present - she is too concerned to leave the child in his sole care as doesn't feel he can be trusted. Father is calling for full days of access. Also the environment child would be in would not be safe as there is no stairgate and the place is generally messy and dirty.

shell_542

wimbleQ wrote: »

Hi,

Please is anyone able to advise what would be reasonable maintenance to expect a father to pay for a 1 year old child and if he refuses to pay this amount at all or regularly what steps can be taken to enforce this? (Couple are not married.) We've heard of the CSA but don't know how it all works - is this something you can apply for yourself as a mother or does it involve solicitors and courts etc? Is the CSA the best route to go down as have only really heard bad press about it.

The CSA guidelines for child support is 15% of NET income for 1 child. The Non Resident Parent would get an allowance in their income for any children living with them. 15% taken off of the NET income first for 1 child, 20% for 2 and 25% for 3 or more.

It would then be up to the parents to come to an agreement on a reasonable amount taking into account their circumstances. If they could not come to a decision or the NRP did not keep to the agreement, the Parent With Care can apply to the CSA. They have a website with all the information on. They can apply online or over the phone etc. No courts are involved with the CSA application.

The CSA may be the best route to go down if the NRP is not willing to pay. It doesn't mean it will be plain sailing, but there's more chance of getting some child support if they are involved. In My Opinion, they are not the best route if a private arrangement can be made and is stuck to.

wimbleQ wrote: »

Any general advice on entitlements and access arrangements would be gratefully received. Can a father who drinks to excess and is verbally abusive to mother and a generally threatening presence be refused sole access and allowed instead only limited access whilst mother is present - she is too concerned to leave the child in his sole care as doesn't feel he can be trusted. Father is calling for full days of access. Also the environment child would be in would not be safe as there is no stairgate and the place is generally messy and dirty.

Basically, the entitlements are that the child is entitled to a relationship with both parents.

If the Mother is concerned about the welfare of the child whilst in the other parents care, then she can insist on supervised contact, either with her somewhere or in a contact centre. If the other parent isn't willing to do this, they can apply to the courts for a contact order, but it is unlikely they would get unsupervised access if the mother made claims of alcohol abuse. The courts are very quick to use contact centres and instruct supervised contact at first, even when they aren't necessary, so that should work out OK.

They'll work towards increasing contact and making it unsupervised if the father can prove he can look after the child. It can be hit and miss with the courts though after that.

Hope that helps some.

gratefulforhelp_2

Think shell has covered it all. Sorry to hear about these difficulties. Does the mother have a decent family law solicitor? And does she know not to mix matters of contact (access) with financial matters?

DX2

wimbleQ wrote: »

Hi,

Please is anyone able to advise what would be reasonable maintenance to expect a father to pay for a 1 year old child and if he refuses to pay this amount at all or regularly what steps can be taken to enforce this? (Couple are not married.) We've heard of the CSA but don't know how it all works - is this something you can apply for yourself as a mother or does it involve solicitors and courts etc? Is the CSA the best route to go down as have only really heard bad press about it.

Any general advice on entitlements and access arrangements would be gratefully received. Can a father who drinks to excess and is verbally abusive to mother and a generally threatening presence be refused sole access and allowed instead only limited access whilst mother is present - she is too concerned to leave the child in his sole care as doesn't feel he can be trusted. Father is calling for full days of access. Also the environment child would be in would not be safe as there is no stairgate and the place is generally messy and dirty.

If the father is as you say verbally abusive and has a threatening presence avoid the CSA at all costs! They will just make things ten times worse, the CSA strain even the best of relationships.