child maintenance

whichwaytuturn

i am not sure if im in the correct place so if im not i do apologise and feel free to move to the correct board. my ex oh are trying to sort out child maintenance, i know after speaking to my solicitor that im entitled to 25% of his net income as we have more than 3 children. after speaking to him today he said that it dont include overtime i argued that as he does 8 hrs per week then it should be included. but he said its not guarenteed as if he is on holiday or off sick then he dont get the overtime.

his is correct i dont partically want to go down the csa route as we would rather sort it out by ourselves. but i just need to know if anyone knows whether he is correct.

thank you in advance

caitlyn22

My other half (who works for CMEC) advises that you are always best to go through them, most probably as he deals with lots of cases every day of 'amicable' agreements have gone wrong and they can only help you from the time a case is opened. If you did go through them, then he says your ex's assesment would be made on the most recent of his payslips (usually the last two where possible) and that if overtime was in question (i.e. your word against his), they'd simply contact the employer and find out what the average overtime was.

You do have the option of keeping a private arrangement with your ex but simply going through the agency for the assessment.

DUTR

whichwaytuturn wrote: »

i am not sure if im in the correct place so if im not i do apologise and feel free to move to the correct board. my ex oh are trying to sort out child maintenance, i know after speaking to my solicitor that im entitled to 25% of his net income as we have more than 3 children. after speaking to him today he said that it dont include overtime i argued that as he does 8 hrs per week then it should be included. but he said its not guarenteed as if he is on holiday or off sick then he dont get the overtime.

his is correct i dont partically want to go down the csa route as we would rather sort it out by ourselves. but i just need to know if anyone knows whether he is correct.

thank you in advance

If what you say is true, then stop bickering over 8hrs overtime, some you will find on the csa section get nothing!
What is 25% of 8hrs net pay going to equate to?
Not worth fighting over.

whitewing

If you don't go down the csa route then be very careful to make it clear that payments increase when salary increases. I think it's better done officially (as I didn't and wish I had).

Fang_3

If the overtime is not guaranteed why would you expect him to pay it? I don't know how old your children are, but you might want to consider getting a job yourself because once they've left education, you're going to have a massive drop in income.

You might also want to consider that he needs to be able to house himself too, because if he can't, then that's not fair.

markeymark

best tip is to avoid csa if at all possible

Bloomin_Freezing2

Sorry but this post has pee'd me off a bit. I won't go into personal details but when people make payments to the CSA it can take quite a good chunk from their wages. If said person then wants to top up their wages a little by means of a few hours over time that should be fair enough and not have another percentage taken from that, especially in this case when it's only 8 !!!!!!!g hours.

pinkpig08

What sort of relationship does he have with the children? If it's a good one then is it worth souring the water by wanting a percentage of the extra 8 hours? A good relationship with your ex needs compromise on both sides.

grey_lady

Probably best to keep it all official and get these details ironed out now, to me 25 percent of net income means just that including any overtime but your solicitor should be able to clarify.

rachbc

Fang wrote: »

If the overtime is not guaranteed why would you expect him to pay it? I don't know how old your children are, but you might want to consider getting a job yourself because once they've left education, you're going to have a massive drop in income.

You might also want to consider that he needs to be able to house himself too, because if he can't, then that's not fair.

I'm sorry if I misread it but at what point does OP say she doesn't work?

I would expect him to pay 25% of the ot when he gets it - after all is he is on a decent wage, and overtime is time and a half it could be a significant amount - they are after all his children so he should be paying for them!

whichwaytuturn

thank you for everyones replys. i appreciate that people have different views on the subject of child maintenance. this is not overtime that he does occasionally this is overtime that is done weekly. ie friday hours are classed as overtime the only time he gets a basic pay is holidays ans if he off sick.so granted its not a lot of hours over the week but would make a difference on his annual income.

FANG my kids are teenagers as to getting a job that would not be a possibility as i have considerable health issues that are degenerative and will only get worse as time goes on. i do understand that when kids leave full time education that i will have a drop in income, but by then the mortgage will have been paid off so it should balance things out. as to him finding somewhere to live at present he is living with his parents but i suppose he has the option to move in with the woman that he left me for where they will both be working.

Bloomin Freezing2 thank you for your comments as i said i dont want to involve the csa i would rather sort it out together this is not money for me but for his kids. who he hasnt given a single penny to since he left not even pocket money.

pinkpig08 since the children found out about the other person they dont want to see him has he tried to talk to them no. he has thrown his dummy out of the pram as they didnt approve of what he has done. he basically has told them if thats how you feel have a good life. as to his parents they never wanted me in their family we have been together over 22 years and since the split they have broken all contact with me and havent even tried to contact the kids as when it all came out in the open to protect thier son they tried to get our eldest child to lie to me as to where dad was the night before. as he left child with his parents while he went to see his gf. that was the 1st time child had stayed over with him since the split. so far the kids have lost their dad and it looks their only living grandparents. all in the name of protecting him.

grey_lady i have to agree with you to me 25% of net income is just that and as his overtime is included in his wages then that is what it is based on.

i never wanted any of this like a lot of people i thought i was married for life it is him that is turning this petty by throwing his dummy out of the pram whenever he dont get his own way. ive lost my best friend and i miss that. but hey ho thats life. lol