child maintenance.

antwilson

Hi,

Hope somebody can help or give more info on this (which is usually the case!)

My dad had a phone call from the DWP today and they are asking him for £50 a week maintenance for his 3 other kids (12, 14, 17).

They split up around 2 years ago and not sure if there quite divorced or not yet. Everything went through court, had to sell house, she demanded more than 50% and was so stubborn even the solicitor commented! (wouldnt accept £500 less and would more rather go to court again and get charged £3000) (ie as long as my dad didnt get it she didnt care)

She claimed that she was living alone with the kids but we know for sure she lives with a boyfriend (who she was seeing while they were living together), is probably claiming benefits/council tax etc in this regard.
Knew she wasnt as her incomings were less than her outgoings, and she purposely rented a house she couldnt afford herself!

She said she needed the money from the sale of the house to buy herself a new house.

However, soon after she has become part time, then she quit her job and she has applied for and moved into a council house- with lots of money sitting in the bank!

Apparently the CSA get involved automatically now she is unemployed. And knowing her she has done this delibarately.

Is £50 a week right? my dad cannot afford this, is only just getting by as it is. Has put all his money into this house so he could afford mortgage. What does he do to get this reduced if poss?

she has all this money lying in a bank, a boyfriend paying for most things....

And if anyone thought she was the innocent one in this - she got the boyfriend to threaten me and my dad, threaten to break our legs and kill us the next time he saw us! He even went for us outside court!!! My dad wasnt to blame in the break up (although she states he was - is the type of person to get away with anything)


The people on phone said it starts as of today.



Anyone got any info?

Thanks in advance

jellycat40

Hi there ant,

I know that all this is difficult for you but you should not be worrying about this it is not your problem.

Your Dad does have to support all his children and while that may seem hard to you that is his moral obligation as well as his lawful one. Your Dad's ex (your Mum)? maybe playing the system but there are always two sides to a story. Your Dad needs to contact the CSA for a new calculation to be done if he cannot pay.

Good luck

Louise

kelloggs36

There are two issues here.

1. You are making accusations that she is committing benefit fraud. If you suspect this, then you need to report your suspicions to the DWP and Housing Benefit Dept for them to investigate.

2. The issue regarding maintenance is simple really. Regarding her claim, if she is claiming benefits then yes, she has to claim automatically, but it could be that she is legit and has claimed of her own accord. She is entitled to do this. Regarding the amount, whether your Dad can afford it is irrelevant in real terms as there is a set formula that must be followed. Basically, he will be charged at 15% of his net income to support 1 child, 20% for 2 children and 25% for 3 or more children.

Her circumstances will not affect her claim one iota as her circumstances are not considered when calculating maintenance. She will only get 10 pounds per week if she is on benefits otherwise she will get all of it. The amount of money she has is irrelevant too in terms of maintenance.

The only reductions he can get is if he fits certain criteria for a Variation or has the children for at least 1 night per week. If he has to pay for certain debts of the relationship that SHE has the benefit of then this could be a reason for a Variation application but if he has the benefit of whatever the debt is for, he won't get any reduction.

antwilson

He had to pay off debts which were hers when the house was split. Does this count?

He cant see any of them at all, she has made this clear - wont give him addres they are living at - poisons them against him making him out to be the bad one!

Your Dad's ex (your Mum)?

She WAS yes! As far as im concerned the day she started seeing this bloke/became the evil person she is now she stopped being that! She has done lots of things which she gets away with and thats something ill never forgive her for. She has disregarded me as her son - so i have done the same!

kelloggs36

The debts have to be in his name and she has to have had the benefit of them. For example, he took out a loan for a car and she kept it. So, no the debts don't count in this respect I'm afraid.

gizmo111

Presumably all this went to court and the asset was decided then. Your father what ever yout mothers circumstances or lifestyle are is still obligated legally and morally to maintain his children. If he is being denied access then I suggest he seeks legal advice.
A very good divorce forum is here https://www.ondivorce.co.uk

kelloggs36

Absolutely Gizmo.

antwilson

Thanks for your help!

So what happens if he cant afford to live what with these payments. Shes took loads off him, and now this. Told the other kids theyd get ipods and anything they wanted if they came with her/lyed for her etc.

Woman on phone sounds like she was very rude! Told him she didnt care if he couldnt afford things!!!

kelloggs36

If he feels he can't afford it then he will have to re-budget in order to make the payments. He has a mortgage and so needs to work, but his children MUST come next and anything else after that. As I've said, her circumstances are irrelevant now. She is already paying for the upkeep of the children as she feeds and clothes them and pays bills for their housing. She also makes sacrifices and her new partner (if she does have one) is paying for children that aren't his - that's not fair but he is doing it anyway.

If what you are saying about her committing fraud, then you need to consider whether you want to shop her, but that is a completely different issue to that of maintanance.

kondormid

The whole CSA system is unfair. It is a lot better now than when it started out though. It does need a bit of tweeking still but believe me, it is 100% better.

This is the situation I am in...
I am a single parent of a little lad
I also have two children by another woman who live with her.
I am self employed, I get Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
CSA looks at WTC and CTC as part of my income, and help themselves to 20% of it.

The result means, if I earn another £1. I lose 33p tax and NIC. I then lose another 37% of whats left (when my net goes up my WTC drops by 37p for every £1 I earn) which is another 25p gone! This leaves me 42p and the CSA take 20% of it...

Yes, effectively it feels like a 65% tax as I only see 35p of every £1

Now, if I put that £1 in to a pension then it means all the £1 goes in.
Lose 35p now, be £1 better off in the future.

Use pensions as a tool to manipulate your "net" income.

zoezoe_3

£200 a month is not very much for 3 kids is it ???

Why did he get a mortgage that he couldn;t afford ?