Should she drop an hour?

Lefs

If you live with your partner, and you work, you can't claim for income support. Your partner can put a claim in for Job Seeker's Allowance but it is unlikely that she would get anything more than national insurance contributions due to your income. This will also make no difference to your CSA payment requirements.

karenx

Theres no point saying if your partner works 16 hours or not she will get income support. As she will not get income support unless she is a single parent that isnt working or sick/disabled.
So it doesnt matter how meny hours she works or doesnt work

Spendless

Are you using childcare for your little one? If you are and claiming help with costs thru tax credits? If you are, you'd become ineligible if your wife dropped to 15 hours as the rules require both parents 9in 2 parent) family to work at least 16 hours each to qualify for help.

AnxiousMum

nickdj wrote: »

Maybe it's time to ask for my daughter to live with us and then get benefits...we'd be better off.

Please make sure that your daughter doesn't get a chance to read any of this - how disgusting - wanting a child to live with you in order to claim more in benefits and be better off financially - not one mention of what is best for your daughter. Decisions on where a child should live should be based solely on 'what is in the best interests of the child', not 'what will keep the peace between you and your wife'. Your wife knew (or should have known) when you married that you have a daughter - if you and your wife were to split, how would she expect you to help with your own two children? Look at it that way!

Just 'cos things are rosy now, doesn't mean it won't happen!

sarahjayne1977

Sorry might come accross blunt, but you have 2 children you should pay for both of them.
I have a step son, he stays with us every weekend from Friday till Sunday and most school hoildays and we still pay his ex £50 a month. It's a agreement with his between us and ex wife no CSA involded, end of day he fathered the step son so should at least pay for food to eat. He has his own bedroom with us, we have clothes etc and we have our own daughter

FBaby

so if you pay your ex £5 towards your daughter, you won't be able to pay to feed her when she comes to see you, however, the other way around makes no difference does it?

The situation is that you have a daughter and should do everything to support her financially. You might be struggling financially, but trying to pay less for her when she is not with you so that you have more for your new family and when she is with you is just not the way to look at it. You said your wife decided to work 16 hours a week, maybe it is time to accept that she needs to look for a second job to contribute a bit more if you can't work longer hours. In the end, you have two children to support and both should be supported equally regardless of the circumstances.

Anyway, no you won't be entitled to IS if your wife stops to work, so might as well forget about this one unless you decide to go to the extreme to avoid at all costs to support your daughter and decide to pretend you separated and your wife has become a single parent.

no-oneknowsme

I find it a disgrace that people - not just the OP - would look for ways to worm out of paying for the up-keep of their own child .

To come onto an internet forum and ask people how they can avoid paying is just low in my opinion.

Op , maybe im wrong but in one of your posts you imply that you are not willing to pay maintenance because you dont get to see your child..thats just mad :eek: , regardless of whether you get to see her or not you should take pleasure in the fact thaat by paying for her up-keep you are helping keep food in her belly , shoes on her feet and a winter coat on her back to keep her warm in the winter ! She doesnt stp needing all of these because you dont get to see her.

Loopy_Girl

nickdj wrote: »

Looking more carefully I may be able to get away with the flat fee given the extreme circumstances.

There won't be anything 'to get away with'.

You have told your ex "it's CSA or nothing" and you have been given a figure on your other thread of how much the CSA will assess you on.

Even if you are on JSA of £60 odd a week you still have to pay a flat rate and there are plenty men/parents out there who do that.

I notice that you are able to run a car and yet seem not be able to even pay £5 a week - interesting.

And there are also plenty parents out there that go without to make sure their chldren don't. For you to say that even if you had to pay £5pw means you wouldn't be able to see your eldest just stuns me. And it actually shows just how far up (or down) in your priorities she is. If you had to pay £5pw (and it won't be, it will be £26) then you find ways to make the shortfall. I am sure there are plenty parents that have went without a meal to make sure their kids don't.

If you don't have enough money in your household then it looks like the onus is on your wife to increase her hours. Her wage doesn't get taken into consideration for your CSA liability to your first child so there's no need for cries of 'why should I pay for his kid' from her. Her wage will be supporting the household she built up with you.

Frankly you have got away with it for many many years and now it's time to pay your share - you have been happy enough for the state to bring your kid up vis your wife's benefits so maybe it's time you done your bit.

You can try and think of ways of 'getting away with it' but the facts are that your wife will not be entitled to IS, should she give up her job then she would probably not get CB (JSA) and your income would make her ineligible for IB (JSA) and the CSA liability would still stand.

Should you make the very rash decision for both of you to give your job up then you would still have to pay the flat fee from your joint benefit money.

Valli

sh1305 wrote: »

On the CSA website, it says he'd have to pay £5 per week.

that's what I thought, unless the rules had changed but it was a few years ago when I was getting £5 for mine...

bevvy

nickdj wrote: »

I do. I work 12 hours a day and I had 3 interviews last week alone. An unfortunate circumstance put us here but I'm not unemployed, don't go out, don't drink, don't smoke, and cut costs as much as possible.

Maybe you should speak to your employer as reading your previous posts your annual salary is £12000, you work 5 days a week and 12 hour days, you seem to be hugely underpaid.
60 (hours)x £5.93 (min wage) = £355.80 x 52 (weeks) = £18501
assumming you are on atleast the min wage £12000 equates to only approx 39 hours per week.

Maybe then you wouldn't need to think you deserve benefits