Can i claim csa although still live together?

tattynatty

Hey! Before i start i must apologise for the randomness of this next question but there is a method in my madness and hopefully someone will be able to set me straight!

ok,so my partner has a child from a previous relationship whom he sees regularly and pays £400 a month CSA,this was started from the month his son was born up until now (4 years later).

My understanding is that if my husband and myself was to have child of our own then the PWC would receive 10% less.

( £400 - 10% = £360)

So if I'm correct the CSA work out that our child has £40 a month whereas the PWC has £360.

Now,correct me if I'm wrong,if myself and my husband was to split and i made a claim for CSA for our child,then the £400 would be equally divided between both children, (ours,and his son from the previous relationship.)

So,my question is,why should my child suffer for us being together,and is it possible to make a successful claim whilst still living together and being married? wouldn't it be the most fair option to do this and let the children have 50/50?

I have many,many more questions to ask,but i won't make a fool of myself anymore and my ideas that may not be entirely true!

thanks in advance! :beer:

Caz3121

Just to correct your sums

£400 CSA = £2667 wage
If you had a child together from that wage they would allow 15% for your own child then calculate CSA on the rest, so £340 for the one absent child and £2327 left for your family (not £40)
If you really were apart each child would get £267 (CSA increases from 15% to 20% and then divided by 2)

CSA is paid by the 'absent' parent. If you live together then there is no 'absent' parent so no CSA is due.

Did you know your husband had another child when you got together? Does you husband know you feel like this?
Pretending to be apart seems a little extreme to save under £17 per week which will be replaced by child benefit.
Where does it stop...would you claim as a single parent and claim income support and tax credits as a single person since you are not classing yourselves as 'together'?....you probably won't qualify for tax credits as a couple but others may get £250 per month so it only fair your child gets the same......

PreludeForTimeFeelers

If the two of you had a child together then the reduction would be 15% of his net income, and then the assessment would be made on that - so in your example, if the assessment is £400 per month this would mean the net income was £2666, they would give you a 15% reduction for the child in the household, and then base the calculation on that.

15% is £400, so that would make the new assessment 15% of £2266, ie £340 per month. (this means the Csa would value the child living with you as costing £400 per month, and your husbands other child as £340 per month, something to bear in mind)

You can claim child maintenance while living in the same household, although the situation you suggest sounds fraudulent if you're intending on doing this to reduce the amount of maintenance leaving the household. The Csa assessment would be 20% of the £2666, with this being split equally between the two parent with cares, ie £266 each. This could backfire though, as it would be open for appeal/investigation by the other PWC.

Also, I'm no expert but I would say having a child to reduce child maintenance payments would be counterproductive - I'm guessing the extra costs involved would be more than the £134 per month you'd save...

PreludeForTimeFeelers

Caz3121 wrote: »

Just to correct your sums

£400 CSA = £2667 wage
If you had a child together from that wage they would allow 15% for your own child then calculate CSA on the rest, so £340 for the one absent child and £2327 left for your family (not £40)
If you really were apart each child would get £267 (CSA increases from 15% to 20% and then divided by 2)

CSA is paid by the 'absent' parent. If you live together then there is no 'absent' parent so no CSA is due.

Did you know your husband had another child when you got together? Does you husband know you feel like this?
Pretending to be apart seems a little extreme to save under £17 per week which will be replaced by child benefit.
Where does it stop...would you claim as a single parent and claim income support and tax credits as a single person since you are not classing yourselves as 'together'?....you probably won't qualify for tax credits as a couple but others may get £250 per month so it only fair your child gets the same......

Aha, it took me so long to type my response on my phone that you'd beat me too it!

One thing though, it is possible for couples to still live in the same house and for a Csa case to be open, I've experienced it a couple of times. The tricky thing is defining shared care, then you've got to look into things like who normally prepares the meals or puts the child to bed, if they're young. A case I was looking into was a little more straight forward as the PWC actually slept elsewhere one or two nights a week, meaning they were times when it was clear that the NRP was responsible for the child.

clearingout

*seen it all now*

McKneff

You OH must be on one hell of a salary to be paying £400 for his 1st child.

Why do you say 'why should my child suffer' is your child suffering?
If so, in what way.

clearingout

McKneff wrote: »

You OH must be on one hell of a salary to be paying £400 for his 1st child.

Why do you say 'why should my child suffer' is your child suffering?
If so, in what way.

because it's not enough that her child has the benefit of a loving, stable family environment with 85% of dad's good salary coming into her household?

kevin137

There is always one...!

This is one of the reasons why the CSA is so bloated and useless, they are constantly fighting people who do nothing but try to reduce payments by underhand means.

You don't deserve to have that sort of income if you don't want to support children...

Lets hope that what goes around comes around (figuratively speaking), you never know, it may be you on the receiving end of despicable behaviour one day, then lets here you cry foul...!

clearingout

:mad::beer::D:(:eek::o

not sure which smiley is most appropriate. so take your pick.

kevin137

clearingout wrote: »

:mad::beer::D:(:eek::o

not sure which smiley is most appropriate. so take your pick.

You are right not to know which smiley. Anger is all i can see when i read the OP's post.! It makes me angry that people think children deserve nothing in life.

To the OP

I know it is only a hypothetical question, but the fact that you think like this is wrong.

Child support is set out (wrongly or rightly) in a format that allows for the single parent to be in a position that means that the child can be supported by using a percentage of the NRP's income. It does not even come close to the cost of what it costs, and as you rightly point out, it does seem a little unfair that you get such a small reduction but they get so much money.

Now think that, in theory, your partner, the NRP is responsible for half of the housing, half of the heating, half of all the bills for the household that the child lives in. They both made that child, so he has a responsibility for the cost, does £400 cover everything...? Even if you siad, she would be responsible for half and then he would only be responsible for half of the remaining half... Would that come close....? Possibly, but in the real world that is how it is.

So now you decide to have a child, the cost to you is negligible in comparison, you get a reduction yes, but there are two of you in the home that are already paying for everything regardless of children, so the added cost is significantly lower.

Your income is not considered in any calculations for his previous child, so why should your child be considered significant in the reduction of his liability to his and his ex's child...?

We could argue this all day long, but i think you will be met with nothing but contempt if you chose to go this way as a means of reducing CSA payments.

And as i said before, what goes around comes around, you are opening up a real can of worms with this when it comes to your future and what you would be entitled to as it will probably backfire should you ever be in the same situation.

Shermanator123

My ex partner is doing exactly this his girlfriend whom he has 2 kids with and they live together have made a claim just to reduce my payments for my daughter, as a parent i find it disgusting that another parent will go to these lengths over money. Shame on you!