Child Support under a court order

MXW

I receive child support under a Court Order, I am a single mum of 2 small boys and work part time. My ex husband does not see the boys (his own choice) and strongly objects to paying for the boys. I have had to have the court order registered as he was not making the payments (which means he pays the courts and then they pay me) He has had me back to court 3 times trying to reduce or revoke the court order altogether and thankfully this has failed. I have now been summoned back to court by him stating that he can no longer make the payments as his income as gone down and he has produced wage slips to back this up. My ex was married before me and when his ex took him to the csa he reduced his income until the csa assessment was made and then increased it again....i suspect that this is what he is now doing. The last time we were in court and he said he was unable to make the payments, he then went on to buy a new 4 bedroomed detached house for his partner and her children and a BMW. I can barely keep my head above water and have £27 per week to live on after my bills etc are paid, i am worried sick and cannot sleep, if my payments are reduced I willlose my home and we will all be homeless. The courts have reffered the next hearing to the county court (where the original order was made) and I have been told that the judge will look at his disposable income if he was on benefits and his disposable income now as to whether he can afford to make these payments or not. Does anyone know how this system works or can give me any advice, I feel like I have no where to turn. He is so adamant that he will not make the payments that he has got our local mp Clive Betts involved. Any advice would be gratefully received.

iceicebaby

I may be wrong here, I am sure someone will correct me if I am , but if the court order is changed so that he doesnt have to pay, can't you then go to the CSA who will charge him a % of his income?

Just a thought.

What does anyone else think ?

MXW

Yes thats true, but inbetween the court order being revoked and the csa assesment being made, I will have no child support at all. We all know how the csa works and it can be months, even years, before the csa do anything about (if at all). This is what he would like, he would then reduce his income to a minimum to pay much less than he is paying now. I suspect that given his past history he would not make the csa payments, knowing that the csa do very little, if nothing about it. Thanks for your input though. xxxxx

Scarlett1

MXW wrote:

Yes thats true, but inbetween the court order being revoked and the csa assesment being made, I will have no child support at all. We all know how the csa works and it can be months, even years, before the csa do anything about (if at all). This is what he would like, he would then reduce his income to a minimum to pay much less than he is paying now. I suspect that given his past history he would not make the csa payments, knowing that the csa do very little, if nothing about it. Thanks for your input though. xxxxx

to reduce his income is he stopping working overtime for a couple of weeks/months ?

I wonder if the courts can apply through his payroll department to look at his work history to see if he is intentionally doing this just to reduce his income for a liitle while ?

I dont know if the CSA will get involved if there is an existing court order in place, maybe kellogs can advise you if she see's this

MXW

Yes, he is in a position where he can reduce his overtime for as long as he likes. When he did this before, he worked his usual hours and asked his wages clerk just to pay him his basic salary and hold back his overtime, the wage slips he handed in to the csa just reflected his basic income, when the csa assessment was made, it was a fraction of what it should have been, his wages clerk then paid him his overtime, he put this into his mother's bank account so it couldn't be traced.....i'm afraid he will try anything, thats why i am so worried. Your suggestion is a good one, I could bring that up in court if the situation arose. Thanks very much for your help. xxx

MJMum

My ex was married before me and when his ex took him to the csa he reduced his income until the csa assessment was made and then increased it again....i suspect that this is what he is now doing.

What goes around...

Zara33

MJMum wrote:

What goes around...

Bit harsh eh!

Just thinking of the top of my head i could be totally incorect here, but i would assume the court order would overrule the CSA
Think about it if a NRP doesn't pay CSA they take him to court to enforce payments.

MXW

MJMum wrote:

What goes around...

This was done long before he met me! His mother told me what he had done, nothing to do with me or my finances.

MXW

Yes, thats correct, but how many years down the line? There are lots of single mums that have become homeless and have got themselves into debt because the csa are doing nothing to collect the payments or enforce it, I have a friend that has suffered this experience. Thanks for your rely.

Zara33

Never ever ever ever depend on any child support

As we all know it can come a cropper tomorrow, look at getting any child support as a bonus<< (not the right word i know)

MXW

You are right, but most women cannot manage without it.