Child maintenance calculations

Penguin_

burlingtonfl6 said:

Huxley71 said:

@burlingtonfl6 I guess that's subjective and largely dependant upon whether you're viewing the situation from a payer or payee's perspective. I'd also argue that it's pretty hard to make a fair judgement without any context, but I'm simply here for some guidance as to how the calculations are made rather than for a debate on the ethics of who should be paying what 

I'm only going off your description.
I never understand why people think it costs so much to bring up a child after a divorce. 

In my experience, & this isn't me saying the OP is doing this, it is sometimes down to the person who has majority of care of the child(ren) being a bit jealous of their ex partner's single lifestyle. 

Huxley71

@burlingtonfl6, @Penguin_

I'm neither the much maligned "money grabbing ex" or remotely jealous of my ex husband's profligate lifestyle - massive credit card debt and a baby? Hmmm, no thanks  I do however want the best for my children and am angry and frustrated at the systematic failures of a service which appears unable to facilitate this.

From Gov.uk: "At the 31st March 2020, the CMS bank account balance was £13 million. Of this £13 million cash balance, £6.9 million has been identified as attributable to the CMS 2012 scheme, £0.3 million to the 1993 and 2003 schemes, and £5.8 million cannot be determined" 

It would seem clear from this that the CMS are failing both receiving and paying parents and are blatantly unfit for purpose. 

cheeky-peach

My husband pays for his daughter from a previous relationship and it was done via CMS for calculations. The amount that was calculated online was indeed different from the amount they actually included in their letter to us. For some reason, they had his pay as much higher than it actually was as he had a one off payment for something and his ex claimed he had no contact so he had to prove that we do see her. 
Are you able to ask them how they have calculated the amount?

Huxley71

@cheeky-peach I have indeed asked but so far to no avail. Both their online calculator and the formula as kindly explained by Alias_Omega come up with the same amount within a few pence, so I can only assume that some kind of administrative error has occurred. The only other explanation is that they're making a deduction for some reason but if so the amount should, according to the legislature, be clearly stated in writing, along with an explanation as to why, which it most definitely isn't!

Beckyboo1986_2

How do you know specifically it's £200 different? He's salary may have changed. He may also be contributing more into his pension therefore this is taken off the income amount available for maintenance.
You say you want to do what's best for your children, what are you doing to better your financial income? You shouldn't be reliant on him to better your financial situation.

Huxley71

@Beckyboo1986_2 I know that the amount in question is £200 because the CMS have given me the exact figure (my understanding is that any pension contribution he might make has already been deducted from this) of his current salary.

Whilst everyone is, of course, entitled to an opinion, the apparent assumption of some posters that my sole aim is to bleed my poor ex dry while I (presumably) swan around sipping cocktails and buying shoes is both frustrating and fallacious. 

I unequivocally want to do what's best for my children - I've stayed in an expensive part of the country because that's where their home and friends and extended family are. I could move in with my partner (and frankly would love nothing more) who lives in a significantly less over-priced county, and essentially halve my outgoings in one fell swoop (just as my ex has!) which would essentially render any maintenance contribution significantly less consequential, but my priority is my childrens' happiness and the need to provide them with stability and consistency and so currently I need my ex husband to fulfill his responsibility to pay the bare legal minimum of child maintenance to facilitate this.

Since you ask, I work a 6 day, 40 hour week to endeavour to provide this. I also single-handedly parent my children. My ex husband hasn't seen our 18 year old daughter since we separated, ceased providing any kind of financial support for her as soon as he was able and (coincidentally or not) only re-established contact with our son when his maintenance payments were increased due to the absence of shared care.

I'm frankly struggling to see how I'm the bad guy here!

burlingtonfl6

Huxley71 said:

@Beckyboo1986_2 I know that the amount in question is £200 because the CMS have given me the exact figure (my understanding is that any pension contribution he might make has already been deducted from this) of his current salary.

Whilst everyone is, of course, entitled to an opinion, the apparent assumption of some posters that my sole aim is to bleed my poor ex dry while I (presumably) swan around sipping cocktails and buying shoes is both frustrating and fallacious. 

I unequivocally want to do what's best for my children - I've stayed in an expensive part of the country because that's where their home and friends and extended family are. I could move in with my partner (and frankly would love nothing more) who lives in a significantly less over-priced county, and essentially halve my outgoings in one fell swoop (just as my ex has!) which would essentially render any maintenance contribution significantly less consequential, but my priority is my childrens' happiness and the need to provide them with stability and consistency and so currently I need my ex husband to fulfill his responsibility to pay the bare legal minimum of child maintenance to facilitate this.

Since you ask, I work a 6 day, 40 hour week to endeavour to provide this. I also single-handedly parent my children. My ex husband hasn't seen our 18 year old daughter since we separated, ceased providing any kind of financial support for her as soon as he was able and (coincidentally or not) only re-established contact with our son when his maintenance payments were increased due to the absence of shared care.

I'm frankly struggling to see how I'm the bad guy here!

She's 18, a grown woman and even if someone else was posting I'd say the same. 
You're more worried about your grown adults daughter and your lifestyle that you think you're both entitled too. 
It's time to move to that cheaper area and stop expecting your ex to fund your future 

Huxley71

@burlingtonfl6
Might I 
a) Enquire as to whether you were entirely self sufficient at 18?

And b) Suggest you post your own thread inviting people to discuss the equity of the child maintenance system given that your comments on mine bear little relevance to either the advice I've requested or the information I've given. 

74jax

Huxley71 said:

I unequivocally want to do what's best for my children - I've stayed in an expensive part of the country because that's where their home and friends and extended family are. I could move in with my partner (and frankly would love nothing more) who lives in a significantly less over-priced county, and essentially halve my outgoings in one fell swoop (just as my ex has!) which would essentially render any maintenance contribution significantly less consequential, but my priority is my childrens' happiness and the need to provide them with stability and consistency and so currently I need my ex husband to fulfill his responsibility to pay the bare legal minimum of child maintenance to facilitate this.
My ex husband hasn't seen our 18 year old daughter since we separated, ceased providing any kind of financial support for her as soon as he was able and (coincidentally or not) only re-established contact with our son when his maintenance payments were increased due to the absence of shared care.

I'm frankly struggling to see how I'm the bad guy here!

You aren't the bad guy. 
But your ex isn't either. He has a figure to pay, and is paying it. 
Looking at it from your ex's point of view, you have chosen to live beyond your means (in your words by 'putting your children first' ) but you do have the option to significantly reduce your outgoings but choose not too. That is not your ex's fault.  He chose to reduce his living costs and has benefits from that. That shouldn't be held against him. 
There is a view if you moved, your children would readjust, the amount you are recieving would be adequate (and is the correct amount he's paying), you wouldn't have to work 40hrs a week, could see your children more etc. I think that's totally worth considering.
Your 18 Yr old will be working soon and can contribute to the household bills too. 
I understand your frustration is with CMS and know they can be frustrating. All you want is a simple explanation how they reached their figure, I understand that. 
You say he has a high credit card, maybe a debt management company is involved and reducing his figures to CMS. 
To be honest I'd step back from the ex, knowing his ins and outs, lifestyle, debts etc seems a bit to informed to me. Focus on what YOU can do to improve the situation for your youngest going forward.  The CMS can cause whole rifts, and the last you want is the children to see the frustration and you to be upset/annoyed with your new partner over it too. 

elsien

And then people wonder why new posters don’t come back. 

Jeez. OP asks a simple question about how to ascertain the reason for the discrepancy in payment amounts and gets told to learn how to support herself (despite being furloughed, which is out of her control) and to move to a cheaper area. 
I realise that at least one person is answering from the perspective of someone who feels the whole system blatantly discriminated against men but there’s is no need to be quite so judgemental.