how can i get most out of csa

sweetiepie306

Hi i have just recently split from partner and gone on income support. I have been told i need to claim child maintenance through csa but read u only keep up to £10 of this. Is there anyway my ex can reduce maintenace payments without effecting my benefit by providng clothes or anything? we just want the children to get most out of it and i dont have a clue how it works.
Thanks

kelloggs36

Not really, although there is nothing (apart from his financial circumstances) to stop him buying the kids stuff.

cooperbob

Cant they leave the CSA out of the equation and have an agreement between themselves where the receipt each other on how much has been paid?

kelloggs36

Because the law states that if the PWC is on Income Support then they must collect CSA from the NRP and offset it against her benefits - she gets to keep up to a tenner per week, so if he is also on benefits and pays a fiver a week, then she only gets that fiver. He can buy things directly for the children without it affecting her benefits, although this will have no effect on his CSA liability.

ticktock1973

you could also try the other way which is to go and get a job of 16 hours a week which would then entitle you to keep all maintenance money so you would all gain

mystery07

sweetiepie306 wrote: »

Hi i have just recently split from partner and gone on income support. I have been told i need to claim child maintenance through csa but read u only keep up to £10 of this. Is there anyway my ex can reduce maintenace payments without effecting my benefit by providng clothes or anything? we just want the children to get most out of it and i dont have a clue how it works.
Thanks

Example. If your ex is nice & wants to do his best for your kids. Then he could try contesting any assessment they make for maintenance from him. Ie the CSA say, that he should pay £30 p/w. But in this case, you only get £10 of it. He could then call the CSA & tell them he couldnt afford this & could only afford, say £10 a week. Thus leaving him, in effect £20 to spend on clothes etc for his children.

If your ex isnt so nice. One thing to bear in mind, is that although DWP say that you MUST claim maintenance through the CSA, IF, this would cause you or the children undue stress (ie he is likely to get nasty about it) then sometimes, they will waiver this obligation. Ie, they will not make you claim maintenance.

Also, another point to bear in mind, is that the CSA put a "low priority" label on cases passed to them via DWP. Therefore, it will take them longer to make an assesment of maintenance. So until the CSA contact your ex, he would have nothing to pay, thus, again leaving him money to spend on his children.

Hope this helps. xxx

TheWaltons_3

If you want your little one to get more money from your Ex partner - get a job, then you can keep all your maintenance and your little one could benefit from a few hours in a nursery mixing with other children, and you can claim Tax Credits then also.

I think it is fair that the parent on Income Support doesn't get all their maintenance - at the end of the day, we need people working in this country and if they can't work/don't want to work they shouldn't reap the same benefits as people who go out to work daily.

If this was the case, nobody would work at all, would they?

kelloggs36

mystery07 wrote: »

Example. If your ex is nice & wants to do his best for your kids. Then he could try contesting any assessment they make for maintenance from him. Ie the CSA say, that he should pay £30 p/w. But in this case, you only get £10 of it. He could then call the CSA & tell them he couldnt afford this & could only afford, say £10 a week. Thus leaving him, in effect £20 to spend on clothes etc for his children.

If your ex isnt so nice. One thing to bear in mind, is that although DWP say that you MUST claim maintenance through the CSA, IF, this would cause you or the children undue stress (ie he is likely to get nasty about it) then sometimes, they will waiver this obligation. Ie, they will not make you claim maintenance.

Also, another point to bear in mind, is that the CSA put a "low priority" label on cases passed to them via DWP. Therefore, it will take them longer to make an assesment of maintenance. So until the CSA contact your ex, he would have nothing to pay, thus, again leaving him money to spend on his children.

Hope this helps. xxx

Sorry, but I don't know where you get this idea from. If the CSA have assessed the NRP as being liable to pay 30 pounds per week, then it doesn't matter whether the NRP feels that he can't afford it -he has no choice. They certainly will NOT say that it is okay not to pay the rest!!!! Whilst a PWC is in receipt of Income support there is nothing they can do but to live with the fact that the NRP has to pay whatever the assessment is, and that they will only get the max of a tenner per week on top of their income support. If she comes off IS and claims WFTC for working 16 hrs per week or more, then she would keep all the CSA money or can get it closed and they can come to their own arrangement as they see fit. Until then, there is nothing open to them.

bench0_1

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Sorry, but I don't know where you get this idea from. If the CSA have assessed the NRP as being liable to pay 30 pounds per week, then it doesn't matter whether the NRP feels that he can't afford it -he has no choice. They certainly will NOT say that it is okay not to pay the rest!!!! Whilst a PWC is in receipt of Income support there is nothing they can do but to live with the fact that the NRP has to pay whatever the assessment is, and that they will only get the max of a tenner per week on top of their income support. If she comes off IS and claims WFTC for working 16 hrs per week or more, then she would keep all the CSA money or can get it closed and they can come to their own arrangement as they see fit. Until then, there is nothing open to them.

your perfectly right Kellogs. At the moment I pay 260 per month for my son which believe me I can not afford as I have him for 175 nights per year and whenever he stays it means 80 mile round trip. Obviously due to the amount of time I have him he has a seperate home with clothes toys PS2 etc with me. The only things that the CSA take into consideration is rent and council tax. They dont give a monkeys about any debts or utility bills you have. In their words not mine we care about money for the child not whats best for them!!!

gypsyjanet

TheWaltons wrote: »

If you want your little one to get more money from your Ex partner - get a job, then you can keep all your maintenance and your little one could benefit from a few hours in a nursery mixing with other children, and you can claim Tax Credits then also.

I think it is fair that the parent on Income Support doesn't get all their maintenance - at the end of the day, we need people working in this country and if they can't work/don't want to work they shouldn't reap the same benefits as people who go out to work daily.

If this was the case, nobody would work at all, would they?

I find remarks like this offensive, Im a single parent on benefits and I hate it.
Im absolutely bloody sick of being poor and would love to go out to work!!!!
I have been forced to home educate my child and Ill challange any one to have a go at this whilst being on IS.
My daughter is sitting exams at the end of the year and I have to find the cost of everything to do with this from finding an exam room in a school, the ajdudicator and the examiners etc....
I might not be able to go out to work but at least my daughter will be in a position to be able to, with luck. !!!!

TheWaltons_3

gypsyjanet wrote: »

I find remarks like this offensive, Im a single parent on benefits and I hate it.
Im absolutely bloody sick of being poor and would love to go out to work!!!!
I have been forced to home educate my child and Ill challange any one to have a go at this whilst being on IS.
My daughter is sitting exams at the end of the year and I have to find the cost of everything to do with this from finding an exam room in a school, the ajdudicator and the examiners etc....
I might not be able to go out to work but at least my daughter will be in a position to be able to, with luck. !!!!

You are choosing to do this - the educational system provides schooling for children, particularly in their final years for GCSE's. For what reason do you have to use home tutoring?

With the Tax Credit system, parents are much better off.

I don't see why my remarks are offensive - I am poor with three very small children and both my partner work full time. I work 32 hours a week, he works 42. It would be in both of our health interests if we claimed IS, stayed in the house all day and 'chilled out' - the interest on the mortgage would be paid and we'd get money from the DSS. We just choose not to. We enjoy working.

I find remarks about being 'poor' when on IS offensive.