Evidence for Child Maintenance tribunal

FlippetyFlop

I am in dispute over the number of days my son stays with his dad. He doesn't stay over at all but his dad claims he stays 2 nights a week. A court order was made when our son was 14, an age where really he can decide where he wants to stay. He does see his dad but feels uncomfortable staying over. I have provided CMS with a statement from my son and screen shots of Google maps showing his location at night. CMS have disregarded all of this. I have been appealing their decision for about 18 months and they have only now told me that it is their policy to follow the court order. If they had told me this earlier then I could have done something about it but my son is almost 16. Plus I can't find anything in their literature that says that that is their policy it only says they 'can' take a court order as evidence. I am taking them to tribunal. I need advice on what evidence I can provide that they will take notice of ( I am on benefits so I'm not in a position to pay for legal advice). 
 I am also disputing their decision about the repayment of arrears. Previously my ex has taken £60,000 in dividends on top of his salary and they allowed him to pay the £5,000 arrears off at just £12/week. He is now taking £40,000 in dividends and has £100,000 in his company account (according to his accounts on Companies House website), but they are allowing him to pay the arrears, which is still £5,000, over 46 months (the maximum length of time is 48 months). They knew all of his financial information before agreeing to this repayment. When I complained they said they couldn't go back on their decision. Any advice on what I can do about this would be greatly appreciated.

MrsR1234

Tribunal is independent to CMS. No one can tell you exactly what to provide for your appeal. You will need to provide whatever ever evidence you believe supports your statement that the child does not stay overnight with the parent as part of your appeal application. 

Regarding repayment of arrears, you can't appeal this as payment plans do not have appeal rights.  You said that you've already made a complaint about this, so it has already been reconsidered. Your only option would be to escalate via the complaint process if you remain unhappy, but there is no guarantee that it will change.