Can’t afford payments
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Hotspurs88
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hi
Need some help my ex has contacted cms about paying for my 2boys which is £185 per month I can’t afford this and have told them this I’ve offered her £120 per month which is what I can afford, She’s put me in a financial mess in where I may have to quit my current job as I can’t afford these payments also I beehive the money will be spent on her
What happens if I don’t pay because I can’t afford too she’s not willing to accept my offer either and have a better realationshop with my kids
Need some help my ex has contacted cms about paying for my 2boys which is £185 per month I can’t afford this and have told them this I’ve offered her £120 per month which is what I can afford, She’s put me in a financial mess in where I may have to quit my current job as I can’t afford these payments also I beehive the money will be spent on her
What happens if I don’t pay because I can’t afford too she’s not willing to accept my offer either and have a better realationshop with my kids
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Comments
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They will simply take money from you.
Without being funny, the CMS calculator is the minimum you should be paying.
£185 puts you at below NMW for a full time worker, so I suggest you either work more, or find a better paying job.
It also sounds like you're not paying anything at the minute??0 -
Cheeky !!!!0
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Hotspurs88 wrote: »Cheeky !!!!
Sorry you feel that way.
I did some basic calculations and a Full time employee on the NLW would pay £215 (approx.) for 2 children, with no overnight access. It certainly wasn't mean negatively.
I should point out I was asking you for more information to provide accurate advice.
Your question was: What can happen if I don't pay.
The answer is that the CMS take it (and an extra percentage) direct from your wages. So you will end up paying more than you need to, and it wont even go to your kids.
Without being funny, what do you think £120 will buy in a month?0 -
It's irrelevant what she spends the money on, it all usually goes into the kitty. As far as you're concerned you're not subsidising her life style, you're contributing to the food that she feeds your children, to the roof over her head, to the shoes on their feet etc. £120 a month for 2 children is rubbish to be honest, she'll be spending far more than this. If you're on less than the minimum wage (CMS have a calculator and even at minimum wage with 2 children you should be paying more than this) then it's worthwhile speaking to HMRC as your employer isn't paying you enough. Even if you have bills it doesn't mean you don't have a responsibility to pay a fair amount of child maintenance. As stated above, if you don't pay the minimum then the CMS can take this directly from your wages. Only you can make a better relationship with your children, they aren't pay as you see.0
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Hotspurs88 wrote: »Hi
Need some help my ex has contacted cms about paying for my 2boys which is £185 per month I can’t afford this and have told them this I’ve offered her £120 per month which is what I can afford, She’s put me in a financial mess in where I may have to quit my current job as I can’t afford these payments also I beehive the money will be spent on her
What happens if I don’t pay because I can’t afford too she’s not willing to accept my offer either and have a better realationshop with my kids
If you give up your job, then how are you going to pay your bills? And perhaps more importantly, how are you going to support your children? You could be sanctioned, meaning that you may not be able to claim benefits for a certain period of time. When on benefits, you still have to pay something towards your children. It used to be £5 a week, but I'm not sure whether it is still the same amount.
£120 a month is less than £30 a week. It really does not buy much, especially since this is the amount that you are proposing to pay for two children. Believe me, I know - my ex was taken to court by the CSA (as it was then) because he refused to pay. He said that I would spend it all on clothes, which is a laugh because I hate clothes shopping! The courts took the money that he owed directly from his wages. He had to pay the amount that they said, plus part of the arrears each month. I think it was about 40% of his take home pay that was taken off him until he had paid the money that he owed for our children.
You both created your children, and it's up to both of you to support them.0 -
is there really no space in your budget for the £15 per week difference, cutting out shop coffees, packed lunches etc? If you are struggling with your budget you could try the debt free wannabe board for help in areas you could reduce.0
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Sorry if I sound critical but how about putting your children’s needs before yours?
Of course you can survive on little. Millions of pensioners do and their income will never increase beyond peanuts. There are plenty of helpful threads on MSE on budgeting etc.0 -
Hi there. You need to check what the Child Maintenance calculator says you should be paying.
if it says an amount below what your ex is asking for then tell her you can pay the amount it says. If it says an amount above what your ex is asking for then you should most definitely just pay what is being asked of you as your ex can go on the same website, plug in the same figures and you will just get the bill in the post for the website amount which will be disastrous if you fall behind on.
https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance
Official Child Support is classed as a Priority Debt and there can be some bad consequences to not paying it, like seized assets, fines and prison time (although an Attachment of Earnings Order is most likely). You are much better off having a personal arrangement if possible as being able to resolve the issue as two adults is always better than having to deal with the Child Maintenance machine.
If the amount it says you should pay is outside your means then you are likely debted too high in some way or have other expenses you need to reign in. In the eyes of the law you need to do that prior to being delinquent on a priority debt. It is !!!!!! but it is the way it works.
Take a look here and good luck:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Public/Education%20resources/Financial%20capability/Resource%20topics/Debt/DA3%20-%20priority%20and%20non%20priority%20debts%20-%20quick%20ref.pdf0 -
Perhaps post up a full statement of affairs on the debt free wanna be sub-forum, to get pointers on where to trim your outgoings.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0
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