Am I overpaying?

Stuartdixon13

Hi there, really don’t know where to go for advice so trying here first...

In a nutshell, I am paying £425 p/m support for my 3 kids as per .gov.uk calculator which I have no issue with. My ex also gets the full allocation of child tax credits or whatever they are (£700 p/m) and on top of this she revives just over £400 p/m for our son who is on the ASD spectrum.

My question is am I eligible for any of these benefits based on my having the kids 2 nights per week or are the other benefits based on that situation?

Thanks in advance, I don’t want to rock the boat but a few people have told me I am being taken for a ride :mad::mad:

BAFE

No you're not eligble for any of the benefits - these are paid to the resident parent.

jimd-f

as the children live with their mother she alone gets the benefits the government decides she needs. they have no bearing on your child support assessment.
you should make sure that the calculation for your maintenance payments takes account of the reduction you are due for having the children 2 nights per week

Dadoftwins2

Hi basically I see my kids straight from work till I drive them home for bedtime. I also have my kids 1-2 nights a week, my ex has broken our agreement and is now saying she's contacted cms and they are telling her I'm gonna have to pay 200-250 depending on my wage. I've got no problem paying that but I want to know if they decrease the payment once they've been told just how much I see them

CakeCrusader

It's overnight stays that are taken into account, not school pick ups and drop offs before bed time. There's a child maintenance calculator here; https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance Caring for your children one or two night's a week shouldn't make any difference to the amount of maintenance that you pay as your ex is still doing the lion's share of the care, and I bet she's up during the night with them after you drop them off.



You're not being taken for a ride at all by the looks of it. If you use the calculator to check to see what you should be paying, have a chat with her and come to an arrangement, it will make both of your lives easier. I know that £435 must seem like a lot for you to give her, but I promise you that she'll be using the vast chunk of the money that she has coming in to support your children, they aren't cheap.

CakeCrusader

Dadoftwins2 wrote: »

Hi basically I see my kids straight from work till I drive them home for bedtime. I also have my kids 1-2 nights a week, my ex has broken our agreement and is now saying she's contacted cms and they are telling her I'm gonna have to pay 200-250 depending on my wage. I've got no problem paying that but I want to know if they decrease the payment once they've been told just how much I see them

This applies to you to, Dadoftwins;


It's overnight stays that are taken into account, not school pick ups and drop offs before bed time. There's a child maintenance calculator here; https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance Caring for your children one or two night's a week shouldn't make any difference to the amount of maintenance that you pay as your ex is still doing the lion's share of the care, and I bet she's up during the night with them after you drop them off.



You're not being taken for a ride at all by the looks of it. If you use the calculator to check to see what you should be paying, have a chat with her and come to an arrangement, it will make both of your lives easier. I know that your contribution must seem like a lot for you to give her, but I promise you that she'll be using the vast chunk of the money that she has coming in to support your children, they aren't cheap.