CSA Help Please!!!!

glasgowgirl1

Dear all
Really need some advice and don't know where to get it from.

My husband pays child support for his 15 year old son under the old system. Despite fighting for years to get access to his son, the courts never penalised is ex for breaking the arrangements so as a result he pays every month for a child he doesn't see.

As he is under the old system he pays the highest amount, nearly £400 a month. We know his ex works more than she declares but are scared to ask for reassessment as I don't see why my earnings should be taken into consideration for a child I have never met.

I am now pregnant with our first child and we know his son doesn't bother going to school but are sure his ex will get him to go into further education to keep the payments going.

My questions are;

1) Should the payments have been going down as his son got older? Someone mentioned that a percentage of the payment is carers allowance and should go down as child ages?

2) If we ask for re-assessment what will my husband need to provide (i.e. wage slips etc) and what will they ask for from his ex who is in a relationship and has a child and mortgage with another man? Will they target my wages?

3) Is there any way to get payments brought onto the new system so he is paying less?

4) What should I do when our child arrives?

Sorry for all the questions but it's so worrying!!! My husband is a good man and even his MP has tried to help him over the years fight the CSA, they are hell bent on targeting hard working people!!!!

RAS

It sounds like this is CSA1? Is that correct?

glasgowgirl1

Yes sorry I should have said that, the money comes out directly from his salary, which has been greatly reduced over the last six months due to ill health.

My husband also has a mortgage for another property and I pay for our home.

CSAworkerx

Your case is on CSA1 so my help is limited as i dont know much about it, i have pm'd you some answers to your other questions.

Crellow4

The Maintenance Requirement, which is the starting point for CS1 calculations, includes an element for a 'carer'. This does indeed reduce as the QC gets older and is removed altogether at age 16. Reassessments will only be calculated if your husband asks for them.
If he asks for a new assessment he will be required to provide evidence to support the reported change. So if he says his income has gone down he will have to supply wage slips, if his housing costs have changed he will to supply mortgage statement etc etc He will be asked for your income details but you are under no obligation to supply them.
The only way to move onto CS2 is if your husband is linked to another case on CS2 - he would be subject to phasing so the impact of bring on another scheme would not be immediate.
You can do nothing when your baby arrives or you can report the change! If you report the change and refuse to supply your wage slips, your husband will only receive half the allowance for your joint child and half the family premium - this may be no different to what would happen if you did divulge your income details.
Hope this makes sense.....

glasgowgirl1

What if my husband and I were separated, living at separate addresses and I were to open a case with CSA, how would that affect the money he pays his ex?

Crellow4

But you're not separated and you would be contriving your circumstances to try and get round the system.

glasgowgirl1

Hypothetically would that cause a re-assessment under new scheme?

Crellow4

Hypothetically, yes it would. However it's not that simple. He would be assessed at 20% of his income and you would be half - i.e 10%. The maintenance payable to the first PWC would be reduced by £10 (assuming he earns over £200 per week). The 2 liabilities would the. Be added together and providing the total does not exceed 30% of his income then that what he pays. If the total did exceed 30% then his payments to the first PWC would be reduced. The payments to the first PWC would reduce by £10 per week over a period of 5 years.
Think carefully before you go down this route - would paying 20% of his income to the first PWC be less than he's currently paying, bearing in mind his income has not been checked for some time?

PreludeForTimeFeelers

Crellow4 wrote: »

Hypothetically, yes it would. However it's not that simple. He would be assessed at 20% of his income and you would be half - i.e 10%. The maintenance payable to the first PWC would be reduced by £10 (assuming he earns over £200 per week). The 2 liabilities would the. Be added together and providing the total does not exceed 30% of his income then that what he pays. If the total did exceed 30% then his payments to the first PWC would be reduced. The payments to the first PWC would reduce by £10 per week over a period of 5 years.
Think carefully before you go down this route - would paying 20% of his income to the first PWC be less than he's currently paying, bearing in mind his income has not been checked for some time?

There would also probably be an element of phasing as well with the case moving from CS1 to CS2.

HoneyNutLoop

Also, if you collusively separate and are caught, 1) your husband's first case would be restored to it's original position as if you had never tried to cheat the system, no matter how much time had passed; and 2) your husband could be prosecuted for the criminal offence of knowingly providing false information or possibly fraud. If found guilty, as this is a criminal offence, he would have a criminal record and would be fined on top of paying back child support owed due to his fraud. Having a criminal record would affect a lot of things like car or contents insurance, as you have to declare the criminal conviction. Really, is it worth the risk?

Additionally, if you're claiming anything, like tax credits, you would have to end the claims or submit fraudulent claims to them too, as the fact you were still claiming jointly would raise a red flag. The CSA have access to credit reference data and details from HMRC and other government departments to cross check data.

I say again, really, is it worth it?