domestic abuse, restraining order and implications

Asking on behalf of a friend….

My friend has 2 children with her most recent ex-partner. After suffering several years of abuse with her now ex-partner she finally took the brave step to go to the police…. Long story short the ex-partner has been found guilty of various offences including assaulting her and has been put on probation for a year or so and got some form of order to stay away from her and the former shared home for a couple of years. He can only see the kids if he arranges this through some form of contact centre.

Where it gets complicated is that the ex-partner was the sole breadwinner for the family, so now my friend has very little money coming in. The ex used to pay the mortgage and bills directly but since the court case has cancelled all direct debits so letters have started arriving regards arrears etc. Both the house and mortgage are in joint names, the bills were all in his.

My friend has gone to the CSA and hopefully things will be sorted such that the money starts to flow again and bills etc. can be paid, although this may take some time. A few questions and requests for advice if anyone can help:

1. Do the CSA back date payments to when voluntary contribution ceased… ie. Will my friend eventually receive money to pay off the accruing arrears?

2. When cancelling the direct debits for the utility bills the ex advised the companies that he moved out many months before he actually did and gave a back dated meter reading, leading to my friend receiving a bill of several thousand £’s… does this sort of behaviour count as harassment and potentially breaches the restraining order?

3. While getting money via the CSA will help in the short term in respect of paying the mortgage what happens come mortgage renewal time? E.g. when the finances are re-assessed the ex will likely be entirely non-compliant and has indicated previously he won’t sign anything, agree to sell the house, or anything at all… what can my friend do to secure the roof over her and her childrens heads…. This is particularly difficult as she cannot speak to her ex. I’ve googled ‘occupation orders’ but is it too late for this given the court case has already happened (Im surprised the judge didn’t address any of this… the reason given for not sending the ex to prison was so that he could continue to provide for the family but then no orders were put in place regards payment of maintenance and the mortgage etc…)


Thanks
Left is never right but I always am.

Comments

  • TBagpuss
    TBagpuss Posts: 11,198
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    1. Do the CSA back date payments to when voluntary contribution ceased!!!8230; ie. Will my friend eventually receive money to pay off the accruing arrears?

    It is only backdated to when they get the application and contact the other parent, so it would depend how quickly she made the application after he stopped paying.
    She may not get all the arrears at once, either - I think normally they asses what it is realistic for him to pay per week/month including arrers,so he would probably pay them off in instalments (e.g. bu paying £250 a month instead of £200 until they are cleared)

    2. When cancelling the direct debits for the utility bills the ex advised the companies that he moved out many months before he actually did and gave a back dated meter reading, leading to my friend receiving a bill of several thousand £!!!8217;s!!!8230; does this sort of behaviour count as harassment and potentially breaches the restraining order?

    Possibly, but she is probably more likely to get to a solution by notifying the utility companies of the correct date he left
    3. While getting money via the CSA will help in the short term in respect of paying the mortgage what happens come mortgage renewal time? E.g. when the finances are re-assessed the ex will likely be entirely non-compliant and has indicated previously he won!!!8217;t sign anything, agree to sell the house, or anything at all!!!8230; what can my friend do to secure the roof over her and her childrens heads!!!8230;. This is particularly difficult as she cannot speak to her ex. I!!!8217;ve googled !!!8216;occupation orders!!!8217; but is it too late for this given the court case has already happened (I'm surprised the judge didn!!!8217;t address any of this!!!8230; the reason given for not sending the ex to prison was so that he could continue to provide for the family but then no orders were put in place regards payment of maintenance and the mortgage etc!!!8230;)

    Were they married? If so, she can apply for a financial order as part of the divorce. If not, she can apply for an order for the house to be sold, in order to get the mortgage paid off and to release her own equity so she can move on.

    It's possible that she could make an application under Schedule 1 of the Children Act with a view to being able to stay in the house while the children are dependent, but it's a fairly specialised area of law.

    If nothing is done, then when they get to the end of the current fixed term the mortgage will simply revert to the lender's SVR - it doesn't have to be renewed, it's just that it often makes financial sense to remortgage to get a better deal. Of she can afford the mortgage payments she doesn't need him to sign anything, until such time as either she, or he, wants to sell the house.

    It is not the Judge's role to advise, so they would only make orders about the mortgage etc if she applied for those orders. There are sections on the application forms to say if you are asking the court to order the other person to continue to pay a mortgage or other outgoings.

    It may make sense for her to think about what her financial position will be if the house is sold and the equity split, so she can move on with no ongoing ties to him. Bear in mind that any injunction or restraining order will have an end date - they are intended to keep the victim safe, not to be a final settlement. It may be in her interests to work towards getting the house sold and moving on by herself.

    Of he won't cooperate (and he may respond to a solicitors letter) she can apply to court and if necessary, an order can be made for a Judge to sign papers in his place.
    All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)
  • Mistermeaner
    Mistermeaner Posts: 2,958
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    thanks for response; they were not married - and only lived in the house a few months. I think if they sold she would be due very little of the equity
    Left is never right but I always am.
  • Kynthia
    Kynthia Posts: 5,665
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    Has she had advice from WomensAid as they might be able to help?
    Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!
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