Child Support - Travel Expenses

odgious

Hi all,

I currently pay child support towards my daughter who lives with my ex wife and her new husband. They are based in Northern Ireland, and I now live in the UK with my new wife. I've been paying £300 per month towards my daughters upkeep, and I get to see her every 6 weeks or so. Since I have relocated from Ireland to the UK, my travel expenses to see my daughter have increased considerably, now that I have to fly. On average, including flights, airport car parking, car rental, fuel top up etc. this could be £200 per visit.

I am not trying to wriggle out of my responsibilities as I love my daughter, and my ex wife and I still have an amicable relationship, but this additional cost is an increased strain on my resources.

Am I within my rights to seek a reduction in my support payments?

Thanks for any help or advice.

Kieran

Rebecca01

Possibly yes, though the way it works out it may not be much anyway.

Do you have a reduction for over night shared care ? If you do you cant claim travel expenses, its either one or the other.

Now if I remember correctly ( it was a while ago and OH has since made up with the ex and has a private agreement) then the way its worked out is they take the cost off your wage earnt.

So ,you say ,you pay £300 a month , so for arguments sake say you earn £2000 a month. The travel expenses ( however they are worked out now) you say £200 would then be taken off. So your salary would be £1800. Then CSA calculation is applied , so 15 percent would mean a payment of £270. So you would get £ 30 pounds towards travel.

Now someone may be along to correct me, as my memory is hazy but I am also sure theres a random 20 pounds a week added somewhere to.

The point I am trying to make is , its not an eye for an eye as the PWC still has the child to maintain, so she wouldnt just end up with £ 100 because you had £200 travel. Its taken from what the CSA deems you can afford , its often not worth upsetting the apple cart for.

Rebecca01

If its all from a moral point of view and no CSA involved then you still have to remember that you must contribute to her care.

LannieDuck

I would have said 'no' because it was your choice to move. I don't see why your daughter's child support payments should be reduced because your other bills happen to have increased.

If it had happened the other way around, and your ex had chosen to move further away with your child, then i think you'd have had a case to argue.

...however I don't know the legal position.

fannyanna

How do you pay child maintenance? If it's a private arrangement you'll need to negotiate with your ex. If it's via the CSA you can apply for a variation based on contact expenses. The variation you'll receive will be nowhere near the true cost of the expenses that you incur though.

newcook

How old is your DD? Is it possible that she would be able to fly to you occasionally?
You can get some great deals on flights to/from Ireland – my old workmate used to pay about £15

Fire_Fox

There are plenty of cheap flights from the UK to Ireland. Do you have to drive, could you be driven part or all of the way? Trains are super cheap three months in advance, coaches can be found from £1.
http://flightchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-coach-train-ticket-deals
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-airport-parking

choccybuttons

newcook wrote: »

How old is your DD? Is it possible that she would be able to fly to you occasionally?
You can get some great deals on flights to/from Ireland – my old workmate used to pay about £15

I fly back and forth regularly to NI, the cheapest you can get is around £100 at the moment.

odgious

Hi all, thanks for your replies. Due to my and my daughter's locations I am limited to their airports I can fly to/from. True, Ryanair offer cheap flights, but they dont fly the routes that suit me.

My agreement is private, and my ex has been understanding, although it has caused us a lot of grief discussing this. I would rather retain the amicable arrangement that we have.

Is the CSA's calculation 15%?

Thanks for your help

K

Rebecca01

Yes it is.

Amanda65

At the end of the day, you have chosen to move to the UK from NI and the fact that the airlines don't fly the routes that suit you is immaterial -how much do you want to retain your relationship with your daughter?