Advice on child maintenance/full time work

meltonlad

Hopefully some of you could advise me on a small child maintenance issue.
My son is 18 doing a college course and now also working 20 hrs a week, I don't have a problem with supporting him by paying maintenance but do I still have to pay it with him working 20 hrs a week (classed as full time). His mother refuses that I pay him direct but my son wants me to as she never buys anything for him anymore as she is meant to.

So just want to check where I stand with it first before I do anything. The CSA are not involved as we have always had a mutual agreement !!

Thanks in advance

HappyMJ

meltonlad wrote: »

Hopefully some of you could advise me on a small child maintenance issue.
My son is 18 doing a college course and now also working 20 hrs a week, I don't have a problem with supporting him by paying maintenance but do I still have to pay it with him working 20 hrs a week (classed as full time). His mother refuses that I pay him direct but my son wants me to as she never buys anything for him anymore as she is meant to.

So just want to check where I stand with it first before I do anything. The CSA are not involved as we have always had a mutual agreement !!

Thanks in advance

If the college course is an A level type course and he is doing it full time even though that might only be about 20 hours a week or so face to face time then you must still keep paying the parent with care even if the son himself is working part time. Kids can work from 16 with virtually no restrictions, keep everything they earn and still be expected to be supported by their parents. Although if it were a kid of mine and they were working and didn't offer to help out by buying their own things such as clothes then words would be exchanged...but that's another story....

Mum may not be buying anything for the young man as you say but she will be contributing towards the gas, electric and water bills on his behalf. She will also be either buying or renting a larger house than she would otherwise need....and my bet is she'll be helping out in other ways possibly by doing his washing and ironing for him when required.

You've not long to go before you can stop so just wait till he's 19...in my opinion...unless he's done all his A Levels and he's doing another more advanced certificate where you could stop now.

shoe*diva79

As the CSA are not involved, you could opt to pay your son direct, however, if he is still eligible for CM in the eyes of the law, then there is no reason your ex cant open a case with them.

As MJ says, she will be contributing in additional rent, utilities etc. Does he earn a wage from job? If so, does he pay his mother house keeping?

meltonlad

He does earn a good wage and his mother is charging him a small amount of rent. The course he is doing is a level 3 NVQ.

shoe*diva79

I think he is still eligible as level 3 is A Level I believe so legally you should still be giving money to the PWC.

Might she be happy to receive a lesser amount with the remainder going to your son?

meltonlad

She says she wants the full amount paid to her and nothing paid to my son.
Looks like I will have to grin and bear it until he is 19 as I would rather keep things calm with her seeing that I'm in a grey area About this.

shoe*diva79

Very cheeky of her to expect house keeping off him in addition. Only thing I can think is she is teaching him the value of money, living costs etc.

paddedjohn

Pay your son direct, the worst she can do is go crying to the csa. You are giving her cash towards your sons upkeep and it sounds like she is taking the p1ss by not channeling it to him. She is in for a big shock soon when child tax credits and child benefit come to an end and theres no more cash coming from you.

zzzLazyDaisy

Just be aware that if you pay your son direct you are NOT paying maintenance according to CSA rules, as that money must be paid to the PWC. So if you stop paying your ex and she goes to the CSA you could find yourself building up arrears while they sort it out, as the payments to your son won't count.

I also think that you may be underestimating the cost of supporting an 18 yr old - she is presumably providing a roof over his head, which means she is paying rent/mortgage for an extra bedroom, plus the extra gas/electric which comes with having an extra person in the house - and as for feeding an 18yr old boy - most of them eat enough to feed a small family! Your son may believe she isn't spending the maintenance on him, but he also probably takes it for granted that his mother will provide a free home and food on the table, and doesn't consider where the money comes from to pay for this.

Also, I don't want to ruin your day - but the upper age limit for receiving child benefit (and therefore CSA) is now 20yrs.

RAS

meltonlad wrote: »

He does earn a good wage and his mother is charging him a small amount of rent. The course he is doing is a level 3 NVQ.

You need to check whether an NVQ3 is considered a full-time course for Child Benefit purposes - it may depend on the arrangements at college.

duchy

Posts like this always sadden me.
It's all about not giving the mother money to support the household the child lives in.

I do wonder what message fathers like this are giving their sons and daughters -and how it will impact on their attitudes in later life.

As for a parent who gets CS expecting a child to contribute to the household from a part-time job -surely that's a good lesson for any child -if you earn -you contribute to the household ?