Can anyone help in this situation?

LolitaLove

Hi all,

I'm trying to find out some advice for a friend. Don't know the exact details....just recalling from what we spoke about.
Friend has one grown up daughter, and one son aged...about 11/12. Basically, she divorced about seven years ago. Her husband (the higher earner by a long way) took custody of the son. She then went to live in Spain for a while, and frittered (I can say that cos she doesn't read this forum ) away whatever money she was left with after the divorce and came back to the UK penniless.
She'd had child support payment demands for a few years but for some reason just ignored them. By this time her ex had disappeared with her son, and she hadn't seen her son in years.
She now works part time, 25 hours a week, for minimum wage. She had a court order made for an attachment to earnings. In the judgment she was made to pay £25 a week child support, then £40-odd a week for arrears. In the judgment it says she's allowed something like £116 a week to live on...anything earned over that goes to the CSA.
That was six months ago. She can't live on £116 a week. She says she's been doing overtime at work, and then has more than the 60-odd quid deducted...this week she said it was 80-something.
Does anyone know how she can dispute this? I'm no expert but thought £60 a week when someone is part time earning minimum wage is a bit steep? Could she apply to cut the amount....and if so, how would she do that?
Thanks for reading x

mspa

I would suggest she goes to cab, they will do a financial statement. It will include they money she has coming in. Then they will look at any bills/debts which will be class as priority and non priority. If she has any non priority debts then they may be able to reduce the monthly payment on them, child support is classed as priority so Im not sure they would be able to reduce that payment though. They also mybe able to help if she can claim any benefits to top up her income.

gratefulforhelp_2

Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander I'm afraid.

skibadee

They can take 40% of her net pay to pay arrears. Unfortunately she has ignored demands for payment hence the CSA taking this action......surely she wants to help support her son?

Maintenance payments...as has been said...are priority payments.....any debts etc., are not classed as priority by the CSA.

Regardless as to wether or not her ex was the higher earner she has a responsibility to help financially support her son.

McKneff

Suggest she gets another job on top of the one she has, if thats not enough then another job.

vitriol

so firstly she disappeared to Spain for a while knowing she had a child that was entitled to child support from her but instead frittered money away on anything but her child? she came back 7 years later and the ex and son had moved?. CSA are after payments, im sorry but this happens to thousands of absent parents, male or female, and it makes no odds if resident parent is a multi-millionaire and non-resident parent is on minimum wage, csa want part of that minimum wage. as a parent would you not think of your child in all that time and give your child something and contribute in some way ? im baffled