Do I "OWE" my ex?

daska

Please check before assuming! You might find it's not that clear cut. You'll do well to ask on the Child Support board, but my understanding is that the CSA base their decision on who owes who maintenance on who is claiming the Child Benefit. i.e. Parent A is claiming CB therefore Parent B is liable for maintenance but children are with Parent B for x nights a year therefore reduce it by a set formula. So you could find that not only does she have a higher income than you but she is also getting Child Benefit and possibly Tax Credits (it'll be a single claim based on her income now) AND you will have to pay her.

Also, if she moves back to Poland, with or without your child, any enforcement of maintenance will have to be sorted out via the courts and REMO

Gigglepig

when you paid 1/2 mortgage, was that lot less than 1/2 market rent in the area because she had already paid down most of it? Could that be where she is coming from?

Edited to say - if you were a couple then personally I don't see why you should be paying market price rent, but I'm just speculating what the ex's reasoning might be...

CJC01

I was paying her £500 a month to live there and the mortgage was £1000 (ish) per month.

adamantine

what what i understand from this board you have to show a direct link between your money and the mortgage repayment before you can be seen to have a beneficial interest in the property ie you transferred the money to her bank account and it was marked "mortgage cont" for example. if it was cash in hand or simply transferred with no reference then you will have a hard time proving anything.

Mojisola

CJC01 wrote: »

In real terms I was paying half the mortgage cost, car repayments (which is also in her name), house and car insurance, half the childcare, council tax, sky and utility bills.

adamantine wrote: »

what what i understand from this board you have to show a direct link between your money and the mortgage repayment before you can be seen to have a beneficial interest in the property ie you transferred the money to her bank account and it was marked "mortgage cont" for example. if it was cash in hand or simply transferred with no reference then you will have a hard time proving anything.

If the amount going from one bank account to the other added up to 50% of the bills each month, it would be hard for the ex to claim it wasn't contributions towards the mortgage, etc. It would be an amazing coincident if the amount one person "gave" the other just happened to be 50% of the outgoings.

adamantine

Mojisola wrote: »

If the amount going from one bank account to the other added up to 50% of the bills each month, it would be hard for the ex to claim it wasn't contributions towards the mortgage, etc. It would be an amazing coincident if the amount one person "gave" the other just happened to be 50% of the outgoings.

but its just 1 persons word against the others. without something legal written down a court wont listen.

she could have been letting him stay there totally rent free making no contribution to anything. he could have been paying the bills while she paid the mortgage and council tax. the £500 could have been for absolutly anything. she could say it was him paying off the car since he was paying towards that too.

CJC01

Off to the solicitors tomorrow so I will let you all know what their take on the situation is.

Wish me luck!!!

CJC01

Right, she can not leave the country without prior consent from me. I do not need a residence order as our "agreement" has been in place for over 6 months and the courts will not entertain it.

Also I was right, I do NOT OWE HER A PENNY. This is due to the simple fact it is all money she claimed I owed her was for her financial agreements - mortgage and car. I hope my solicitors letter will put all this behind us!

adamantine

she SHOULD NOT leave the country. there is nothing physically stopping her leaving and your arrangement isnt formal and binding until its been to court. she could be gone back home by this afternoon and once she is there it will be so much harder to get your child back.

daska

Adamantine is right. She shouldn't but that doesn't mean she can't. Does your child have a passport? Is it in your possession? If no to either of those questions then a very basic level of protection would be to get a passport and lock it up. (I would provide them with a copy of your residency agreement.)