Joint Custody and Maintainece

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bargainhuntersupre
bargainhuntersupre Posts: 28 Forumite
in Child support
I have a friend with 2 kids - both have different Dads
The eldest has no contact with his father but the younger one stays with his Dad 3 nights one week and 4 the next
She gets child tax credits and income support.
Recently the CSA have told the Income Support people to deduct about £20 off her £55 IS as she has not given them the name of the youngest childs father.
She didnt have to give the eldest father's details as he regularly beat her up and they dont care about that yet her toddler's Dad who has him half of the time is in danger of being ripped off by the CSA. This doesnt seem fair to me- the !!!!!! of a bloke is allowed to get away scot-free yet a good bloke gets penalised.
Is there any way round this?
Always on the hunt for a bargain!!!!

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  • Fran
    Fran Posts: 11,281 Forumite
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    The answer really is no. When you apply for Income Support as a single parent the CSA automatically get notified and involved. If the children are not with her for some of the time she has less expense and also he should be contributing towards them. If he is, it will get taken off her Income Support, I think it's £10 she can now keep of maintenance; if he isn't they want to know why not as they are paying out benefits for her as a single parent.

    I agree that it's unfair that the abuser gets away with it, unfortunately if she is likely to suffer abuse as a result of CSA enquiries then what is her protection on one hand is ridiculous on the other hand as you say because he is getting away with it.
    Torgwen.......... :) ...........
  • bargainhuntersupre
    bargainhuntersupre Posts: 28 Forumite
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    They were paying her the benefits before she had the youngest boy
    Do the CSA not take into account joint caring of a child? This must make life difficult for lots of people. She would still be a single parent whether she only had one child or two
    Always on the hunt for a bargain!!!!
  • Fran
    Fran Posts: 11,281 Forumite
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    Yes they do take into account the joint sharing - that's why they want the other person to contribute, in which case it comes off Income Support if that's what the single parent is on. The only reason they didn't follow up the first child's father for maintenance was because she told them about abuse and said she didn't want him chasing for the money. While it's good that she had that option, it's crap that the abusive parents don't get forced to pay through the CSA in the same way as non- abusive parents. But they have to take into account the safety of the parent and child(ren).
    Torgwen.......... :) ...........
  • bargainhuntersupre
    bargainhuntersupre Posts: 28 Forumite
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    OK I think I get the drift.
    Still seems rather unfair that the little ones Dad buys half his stuff( clothes toiletries nappies etc), feeds him half the week, takes and pays for swimming and toddler groups yet is still expected to cough up on top of that. He doesnt get ANY money towrds the upkeep of the child
    The £22 that has been taken of my mates IS is apparently a penalty
    Just a silly question though slightly OT- what happens if someone doesnt KNOW who their childs father is? Or if its a choice of 2 men do they have to give both names
    Always on the hunt for a bargain!!!!
  • trafalgar_2
    trafalgar_2 Posts: 22,309 Forumite
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    bargainhuntersupre wrote:
    OK I think I get the drift.
    Still seems rather unfair that the little ones Dad buys half his stuff( clothes toiletries nappies etc), feeds him half the week, takes and pays for swimming and toddler groups yet is still expected to cough up on top of that. He doesnt get ANY money towrds the upkeep of the child
    The £22 that has been taken of my mates IS is apparently a penalty
    Just a silly question though slightly OT- what happens if someone doesnt KNOW who their childs father is? Or if its a choice of 2 men do they have to give both names
    If it's a choice of two then they have to give both names and they will contact one and then the other and even test both....I know this as it happened to an acquaintance,she had a boyfriend and a one night stand at the relevant time,so didn't know for sure.

    If they genuinely do not know as in it was a one night stand and they can't even remember the name then they have to say so and a judgement will be made as to whether they are to be believed,however if they don't believe them ,they can still be penalised
  • Fran
    Fran Posts: 11,281 Forumite
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    If he's got care of the child for 3 or 4 nights he could put in for Tax Credits.....but this might mean the mother got less....

    If you don't know who the father is I suppose they either do or don't take your word for it depending on how honest they think you are.....:(

    As for 2 (or more?!) potential fathers... I expect they'd soon contact CSA to deny it, perhaps they'd have to do DNA tests? Dunno?!:rolleyes:
    Torgwen.......... :) ...........
  • Fran
    Fran Posts: 11,281 Forumite
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    trafalgar wrote:
    If it's a choice of two then they have to give both names and they will contact one and then the other and even test both....I know this as it happened to an acquaintance,she had a boyfriend and a one night stand at the relevant time,so didn't know for sure.

    If they genuinely do not know as in it was a one night stand and they can't even remember the name then they have to say so and a judgement will be made as to whether they are to be believed,however if they don't believe them ,they can still be penalised

    Oh. Looks like Traf knows... and posted quicker than me!! ;)
    Torgwen.......... :) ...........
  • Prudent
    Prudent Posts: 11,450 Forumite
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    Where there is shared care the amount paid to the CSA will be reduced. Payment is made to the person who has the child the most nights in recognition that they tend to pick up the bulk of expenses like being mainly responsible for buying clothes or paying for activities. If the father has the child more than 50% of the time (and this is worked out by the number of nights) he will not have to pay. If he has the child less than half the time, but still takes him overnight, the payment will be reduced. This is calculated a reduction by 1/7 of the amount for every night that the child stays with the father. So if the father has him for 3 nights his payment will be reduced by 3/7 to take account of the costs he incurrs in that time.He can also claim child tax credit.
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  • jockettuk
    jockettuk Posts: 5,809 Forumite
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    the same old story.. csa got no chance of getting money off first dad so go for the dad who is hands on..
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