Relying on child support

System

I don't think my mum relied on my dads child maintence payments. She had enough that if he hadn't paid it wouldn't have been the end of the world (though we are talking less than £20 a week). Things did kick off when he tried to ignore the court order that made him pay it to my mum, but he eventually relented and went back to paying it as normal. Tbh £18 a week never seemed that much to me tbh. Even as an adult £18 doesn't even cover my weekly travel costs so i don't know how much further my mum could have made it spread. I think you need a back up option in case it doesn't get paid. I mean you should be able to rely on it but circumstances can happen out of your control.

As far as divorce goes they split when i was 2. When the whole "i refuse to pay it even though there is a court order" !!!!!!!! came up he'd recently married and moved into a 7 bed country house so money clearly wasn't the issue :rotfl: ot everyone ends up worse off

Sambella

copperclock wrote: »

Why did she get to live there for free? Was the mortgage paid off?

Probably state aid (Housing Benefit)

A lot of single parents are better off financially than what they were as a couple. I know I was. I didn't get any maintenance and I managed just fine as I was better off. I even bought a house.

One thing with benefits and child maintenance is that when the kids leave education, bang it's gone !!! Huge cliff edge unless you earn more than you were getting in benefits. This sort of evidences how much the single parent gains from having the kids. The kids will go on to get jobs whilst the single parent scrambles to adjust to the loss of income.

By the way, My previous post wasn't referring to the calculations per se but rather about the level of the paying parents income where calculations start, it is this which hasn't changed for 18 years. It is madness to make someone on £73.10 pay £7 out of that. It can only be seen as a punishment rather than any meaningful support and they may be paying it to a receiving parent who is on benefits also and possibly getting up to £20k which would include Housing Benefit. If they have contact they don't have to pay this £7 but where's their support when the kids come to stay for the weekend, where can they take them to and treat them on that kind of income? Crazy system if you ask me.

Yes NRP's should pay something If they can afford to.

With CSA/CMS contact and support are linked as it's all worked out on income and contact nights.

jamiehelsinki

As stated in a previous post, the mortgage was very small and paid by myself. It was originally my house, so I had always paid it.

Apart from child benefit there were no benefits being claimed at this point.

Top_Girl

I could manage without it, but it makes things more comfortable.

It's a good job as the CSA and his work are a special kind of useless and I can never rely on it coming in on a certain date anyway, so it tends to go on things that don't *need* to be paid at a certain time, like topping up my son's parentpay account for his school meals, Christmas and birthday presents in advance, into savings for school uniform etc. Our salaries pay for day to day living.

maman

Just out of curiosity, does anyone choose not to have maintenance?

DH and I brought up our 2 (one DD each) without a penny from either NRP. We didn't want anything to do with them. We, obviously, would have been better off financially with extra money but we managed. I suppose it's different if you're a single parent but for us it was like having another child.

My DD managed on her own almost no maintenance due to unreliable ex. Many years down the line his new ex-wife applied and he had to pay arrears to DD as well. Bonus to put into DGD's savings. No way would have she relied on it to pay mortgage and bills.

Is this unusual or am I asking the wrong people?:)

iammumtoone

maman wrote: »

Is this unusual or am I asking the wrong people?:)

I think it depends on the family set up, in your situation I would agree. two adults two children should be manageable.

However in lots of familys one of the adults is paying child maintenance to another family so if that money is not made up from maintenance received elsewhere they could struggle.

I my situation if I had a partner (who had no maintenance of their own to pay) assuming they were earning an average wage then I wouldn't need the maintenance I receive from my childs father.

I wouldn't receive benefits either but would as a household still have more disposable income excluding benefits/maintenance. I see lots of threads that when a partner moves in the income drops, personally mine would increase, I think this is related to housing benefit which I assume I would qualify for but don't as I have a mortgage.

Sambella

Lets take two parents each working 37 hours a week and on the same earnings, £18k a year. They have the same pension contributions and after tax/NI both have £1,401 per month to live on.

They have 17 year old daughter and are separated. Both have a two bedroom house that they rent for £500 per month, neither parent has a partner or other children.

The paying parent has the teenager two nights a week and pays £36 per week in child maintenance (£1,872 per year, £156 per month) his bills are £500 rent, £200 for food/toiletries/household cleaning products and their bills total £300 per month. From £1401 he is left with £401 and they still have travel costs to pay or a car to run to get to work.

The receiving parent has rent £500, bills £400, food etc £300 (taking into account extra for the child). so out of £1401 they would have £201 left. BUT they get (using the tax credit calculator) £277 per month (£3328 per year) CTC and £38 (461 per year)WTC, £156 (£1872 per year) from the ex and £89 (£1076.40 per year) Child benefit so they actually has £807 + £201( £1,008) at the end of each month.

£807 per month for a child, this is money that the RP would not get they did not have a child. The ex gets 0 in financial support. I defy anyone to say they spend that much on a child per month. that's £9684 per year, £96k+ after 10 years. If the NRP didn't pay maintenance the RP still gets £807 - £156 which is £651 this is still a lot for a child. This figure can grow by a few hundred if the NRP earns more and thus pays more.

Lets not forget the RP may actually have no housing costs due to living in paid for family home or Housing Benefit which the paying parent is unlikely to have. So they could have another £500 in income or thereabouts.

The daughter leaves school, doesn't want to go to college or university and is looking for a job. Gets a minimum wage job and pays resident parent £200 per month. Resident parent loses £807 but gains £200 which added to the £201 left from their wages takes them back to having £401 per month remaining after bills/rent etc and from that they must also pay travel costs to and from work.

Now lets say RP earns above the level at which they can claim benefits £26,000 or so and the NRP earns £35.000 & Pays £69 per week maintenance (£3,588 per year, £299 per month). bearing in mind the RP contributes to the child from their wages also, say their extra for shopping/bills for the child is £200 per month (this would be £2400 for their £26,000 earnings) that is £499 per month for the child plus family allowance = £588 pm. Again the RP may have little or no housing costs.

Considering all housing costs and bills/food are covered do children really cost this much to rear?

jamiehelsinki

Sambella wrote: »

Lets take two parents each working 37 hours a week and on the same earnings, £18k a year. They have the same pension contributions and after tax/NI both have £1,401 per month to live on.

They have 17 year old daughter and are separated. Both have a two bedroom house that they rent for £500 per month, neither parent has a partner or other children.

The paying parent has the teenager two nights a week and pays £36 per week in child maintenance (£1,872 per year, £156 per month) his bills are £500 rent, £200 for food/toiletries/household cleaning products and their bills total £300 per month. From £1401 he is left with £401 and they still have travel costs to pay or a car to run to get to work.

The receiving parent has rent £500, bills £400, food etc £300 (taking into account extra for the child). so out of £1401 they would have £201 left. BUT they get (using the tax credit calculator) £277 per month (£3328 per year) CTC and £38 (461 per year)WTC, £156 (£1872 per year) from the ex and £89 (£1076.40 per year) Child benefit so they actually has £807 + £201( £1,008) at the end of each month.

£807 per month for a child, this is money that the RP would not get they did not have a child. The ex gets 0 in financial support. I defy anyone to say they spend that much on a child per month. that's £9684 per year, £96k+ after 10 years. If the NRP didn't pay maintenance the RP still gets £807 - £156 which is £651 this is still a lot for a child. This figure can grow by a few hundred if the NRP earns more and thus pays more.

Lets not forget the RP may actually have no housing costs due to living in paid for family home or Housing Benefit which the paying parent is unlikely to have. So they could have another £500 in income or thereabouts.

The daughter leaves school, doesn't want to go to college or university and is looking for a job. Gets a minimum wage job and pays resident parent £200 per month. Resident parent loses £807 but gains £200 which added to the £201 left from their wages takes them back to having £401 per month remaining after bills/rent etc and from that they must also pay travel costs to and from work.

Now lets say RP earns above the level at which they can claim benefits £26,000 or so and the NRP earns £35.000 & Pays £69 per week maintenance (£3,588 per year, £299 per month). bearing in mind the RP contributes to the child from their wages also, say their extra for shopping/bills for the child is £200 per month (this would be £2400 for their £26,000 earnings) that is £499 per month for the child plus family allowance = £588 pm. Again the RP may have little or no housing costs.

Considering all housing costs and bills/food are covered do children really cost this much to rear?

To add to what you say , I had my daughter 2 nights per week in which time I payed for her food, treats etc so that cancels out 2 nights my ex had her each week.

That leaves 3 nights per week my ex had my daughter more than myself.

My ex received about 20 per week child benefit plus my payment of 45. So all being equal the csa calculator must assume my ex was paying out 110 to care for my daughter for those 3 days per week if you assume a fair calculation of she was paying out as much as myself (45)to cover those extra 3 days.

I know there are the extras like Christmas, birthdays, clothes, holidays etc but I had these costs to cover as well.

JJG

Guest101 wrote: »

My point is, if the NRP is killed, falls ill, made redundant, whatever.

Or if your husband is killed, falls ill, is made redundant. You shouldn't rely on their income either.....

springdreams

Sambella wrote: »

Lets take two parents each working 37 hours a week and on the same earnings, £18k a year. They have the same pension contributions and after tax/NI both have £1,401 per month to live on.

They have 17 year old daughter and are separated. Both have a two bedroom house that they rent for £500 per month, neither parent has a partner or other children.

The paying parent has the teenager two nights a week and pays £36 per week in child maintenance (£1,872 per year, £156 per month) his bills are £500 rent, £200 for food/toiletries/household cleaning products and their bills total £300 per month. From £1401 he is left with £401 and they still have travel costs to pay or a car to run to get to work.

The receiving parent has rent £500, bills £400, food etc £300 (taking into account extra for the child). so out of £1401 they would have £201 left. BUT they get (using the tax credit calculator) £277 per month (£3328 per year) CTC and £38 (461 per year)WTC, £156 (£1872 per year) from the ex and £89 (£1076.40 per year) Child benefit so they actually has £807 + £201( £1,008) at the end of each month.

£807 per month for a child, this is money that the RP would not get they did not have a child. The ex gets 0 in financial support. I defy anyone to say they spend that much on a child per month. that's £9684 per year, £96k+ after 10 years. If the NRP didn't pay maintenance the RP still gets £807 - £156 which is £651 this is still a lot for a child. This figure can grow by a few hundred if the NRP earns more and thus pays more.

Lets not forget the RP may actually have no housing costs due to living in paid for family home or Housing Benefit which the paying parent is unlikely to have. So they could have another £500 in income or thereabouts.

The daughter leaves school, doesn't want to go to college or university and is looking for a job. Gets a minimum wage job and pays resident parent £200 per month. Resident parent loses £807 but gains £200 which added to the £201 left from their wages takes them back to having £401 per month remaining after bills/rent etc and from that they must also pay travel costs to and from work.

Now lets say RP earns above the level at which they can claim benefits £26,000 or so and the NRP earns £35.000 & Pays £69 per week maintenance (£3,588 per year, £299 per month). bearing in mind the RP contributes to the child from their wages also, say their extra for shopping/bills for the child is £200 per month (this would be £2400 for their £26,000 earnings) that is £499 per month for the child plus family allowance = £588 pm. Again the RP may have little or no housing costs.

Considering all housing costs and bills/food are covered do children really cost this much to rear?

So the paying parent shouldn't have to cough up to support their child, but the taxpayer should ??? If the paying parent coughed up, then there should be no need to claim any benefits ...