Maintenance Agreements...Are They Enforceable?

pennym_3

My daughter divorced last year. She and her husband signed a maintenance agreement that he would pay £400 per month for the maintenance of their two sons, now 16 and 18.

The eldest is hoping to go to uni. in October, the second lad will stay at school for A levels.

The father is now unemployed and cannot find a job in the professional sector as he is now 54. He has paid the maintenance up to now, but he announced yesterday that he will pay nothing more from August 31st as he cannot afford it.

He has an unencumbered house which he is selling and intends to live in France. He maintains a good lifestyle and does not seem short of money.

My daughter works and her income is low enough to get tax credit. She has no mortgage but outgoings and maintenance for the boys are expensive and she already has an overdraft.

She is loath to go to a solicitor about the breach of the agreement as that would cost money she does not have.

Can anyone advise if there is anything she can do about the situation. Can she go to court and represent herself? Should she approach the CSA?

The ex seems to think it is just her bad luck!

He has a new partner who works, but she has also sold her house prior to going to France and is no longer going to work, or so he says.

We just do not know what is best for her to do.

We would appreciate any advice you can give.

Fran

Was the maintenance agreement part of the divorce? I thought maintenance stopped at age 18 (needs checking)? Your grandson, with daughters help if necessary (?) should make sure that he has looked into all the options for assistance with the college course. He should contact the college and local authority about this (students board on this site is worth having a look at too). Perhaps your daughter could save money herself by looking at this site! She could go to her local Citizens Advice for advise on this free. (I'm trying to suggest other ways of increasing her income because chasing him through courts is going to be extrememly difficult and time consuming if he is going to live abroad, in fact she needs to find out whether he can be chased if he lives abroad.) CAB can tell her whether there are solicitors offering a free first half hour (for example) in her area.

lisyloo

I agree with the last poster in that I think he won;t have to pay anything for the child who is now 18.

If the 16 year old is in school then I think he still has responsibilities.

Try the CAB and I would have thought that the CSA would help.
The maintenance agreement may have to change because of one child now being an adult and also perhaps because of his circumstances but ultimately yes, I think the CSA can enforce payments.
It may however prove to be difficult if he moves to another country.

He has a new partner who works, but she has also sold her house prior to going to France and is no longer going to work, or so he says.

I'm not being horrible, but I can't see why you expect his partner to have any reponsibility for someone else's child. The responsibilities fall to you and him.

pennym_3

I only mentioned his partner as I thought he and she may remain unemployed so as to avoid paying anything at all.

Also I read on another thread that when the CSA got involved, they took in TOTAL income of the couple.

I agree, this woman has no obligation to my grandsons, but my ex son in law has at least an moral obligation as he signed an agreement to pay for the boys upkeep whilst they were in full time education.

I am sorry if you gained the impression that I expected this woan to be liable.

lisyloo

It is possible that they are both remaining unemployed and going to another country as well to avoid payment.

I would think it is worth approaching the CAB when she should be able to see a solicitor for free and get advice from the CSA.

I have always heard in the past that the CSA are very vigilent in chasing up fathers who do not pay.
I suspect it will be harder for them if he is France but not impossible.

trafalgar_2

I agree with the last poster in that I think he won;t have to pay anything for the child who is now 18.

.

If he signed a official agreement ,depending on when, she may still be able to get it enforced by the courts

When myself and my first husband divorce we had a court agreement written up to which he had to pay certain payments whilst the kids remained in full-time education....for example if one wanted to go to uni I could apply for a continuance after 18

It really depends how watertight the agreement was.....however there is very little chance of enforcing it if he moves abroad.what would happen is he would be arrested for non-payment if/when he arrived back in the uk :-/

filigree_2

For new applicants the CSA will apply the new rules. The ex-husband's new wife's income will not be taken into account, only his income.

Unemployed absent parents are charged a flat rate of £5 per week, but if the allegedly unemployed parent enjoys an affluent lifestyle (because he is living off substantial savings perhaps) then he can be charged more.

I'm afraid it looks like pennym's daughter will have to get legal advice. If the court order can't be enforced, she can try the CSA but they are notorious for a) taking ages and b) getting their sums wrong anyway. She should probably try to get advice on applying for more benefits, or WTC, to boost her income in the meantime.

pennym_3

Thnak you all for the good advice.

I will pass it all on to my daughter.

She works long hours and so I may go to see the CAB on her behalf and maybe arrange a timed interview with a solicitor.

I just feel the intention to sell his house and move to France is an effort to get out of paying any maintenance...it wouldn't be the first case!

System

I think you need to check what your maintanence agreement says. IF he has agreed to pay until they have finished full-time education, then he will be breaking the law by not doing it. However, I know from another friend's experience that it can be very, very difficult to get them to pay, especially if they're moving abroad.

One thing that is relevant is that if the son going to uni applies for a student loan then the father is required to complete a form about his income and savings. If these are high or if he refuses to give this information, then the student loan company will assume that he is contributing to your grandson's upkeep and this will affect what financial support he can get.

lisyloo

IF he has agreed to pay until they have finished full-time education, then he will be breaking the law by not doing it.

It is one thing to win a legal case against someone but quite another to enforce it.

I had a problem with a builder once and had a case against him. Unfortunately he lived on a caravan site and said he would leave the area if I pursued him
I could have won a small claims court case and paid the balliffs £50 per time to go round to his caravan, probably without success (and with the chance of bricks though my window).

As well as working out your legal rights, you also have to asses your chances of enforcing any court order.
If either he is going to great lengths (like leaving the country) to avoid paying OR his circumstances really have changed for the worst so he can't afford it, then you seriously have to consider that.
You can't get blood out of a stone, even if you are in the right and have the paper work to say so.

I am sure any solicitor will tell you this.

Would there be any chance of discussing this with him and offering a lower agreement or have things got past this stage?
This gives hime the avantage of paying less (which I believe is somewhat justified as one child is an adult).
Also gives her the advantage of getting something and avoiding legal fees.
This might not be ideal, but would be something which is better than nothing.

pennym_3

He came to see her at the weekend and virtually siad that was it.

We feel he has money hidden away, which he gave to his family whilst the divorce was going through. he manages to travel up and down to see his new partner and keeps up his membership at an expensive club.

The boys feel that he has truly deserted them and that he does not talk to them.

He has told me not to email or phone him again.

Quite frankly, I honestly believe my daughter has little or no prospect of getting any money out of him, although i still think that once his house sells, he should pay the years maintenance.

After that it will be Gran and Grandad who will have to step into the breach.