Am I the only one who thinks it isn't right...

HoneyNutLoop · 4 July 2018 at 1:19PM

A parent does not need child benefit to open a case. They can open one without it. And for CMS to be contacting the other parent, a case will already be open - this issue only ever arises once the case is open. It might be pre-calculation but it’ll be open.

What you posted before though is wholly wrong - child benefit is not the sole determining factor for the end decision if primary career status is challenged and it’s not a foregone conclusion that one parent will end up paying even if there is 50/50 care. To say so is misleading and may lead someone to not even bother raising it with CMS when they otherwise might have.

You didn’t say it is complex or difficult to resolve, you said even if there is 50/50 one parent will pay. That’s simply not accurate and bad advice.

jimd-f · 5 July 2018 at 9:09AM

there are 2 aspects to this which are completely different.
shared care is when the child(ren) stays overnight with the paying parent and
50/50 day to day care is when both parties can be shown to contribute equally to the upkeep/welfare of their children and does not necessarily mean they spend equal number of nights with either parent.

with shared care the paying parent would still be required to make payments even if the number of nights was 50/50. CMS would use child benefit to decide who was the paying/receiving payment; so if both parties tried to open a case where they had 50/50 shared care CMS would make the person receiving child benefit the receiving parent.

with 50/50 day to day care if a case was opened CMS would look at the statements made by both parties and try to assess whether there should be a case. as, by trying to open a case, one party would usually be convinced that there was not 50/50 day to day care. in these circumstances it would be normal for CMS, if they could not persuade both parties to make their own arrangement for CMS to go with the party receiving child benefit being the receiving parent. it would then be up to the paying parent to provide the proof that they have 50/50 day to day care, which could take time, and in the meantime CMS could be pursuing them for payments.

HoneyNutLoop · 5 July 2018 at 6:21PM

Yes, I’m aware. Except the bit about the nights not being equal. The nights must be broadly equal (given there are an odd number of nights in the year) in order for day to day care to become a consideration. But that is not what you initially said. This is:

“the issue of who is the parent with care is governed by who receives the child benefit.
so if both parents receive child benefit for the child living with them then even if they have 50/50 shared care there could still be CMS cases open by either party, or both, and both Paying Parents would have to contribute based on their respective incomes”

Which was in response to Sambella’s post about 50/50 day to day care.

What you’ve said now is not the same as what you said before, and what Sambella said, which you were disagreeing with,was fully accurate. If they have a true 50/50 day to day split, neither can be the non resident parent.

Day to day care and how it should be considered for maintenance purposes has been the subject of a number of upper tribunal decisions, and as such there is much reading on the subject that can be done to help a parent in the throes of a dispute.

Your comment was misleading and to be honest, just plain wrong. I’ve challenged you because i think it’s important not just for the op but future readers not to be dispirited into giving up when the law is on their side regarding 50/50 day to day care and the decision that should be reached if they can evidence it.

jimd-f · 6 July 2018 at 11:42AM

my reading of Sambella's post, rightly or wrongly, is that they were not referring to "day to day care" but replying to the shared care aspect mentioned in the original post. as you are aware the two things are completely different.
I was initially just pointing out that 50/50 shared care will still result in a paying parent having to pay, or both if there are 2 cases open.
I think the further posts clarifying the differences between 50/50 day to day care and 50/50 shared case will help others understand these differences

HoneyNutLoop · 6 July 2018 at 12:07PM

Despite the fact she specifically says 50/50 day to day care in her post?

Oakdene · 9 July 2018 at 1:46PM

Very bizarrely I just had a call from my ex wife who wanted to let me know she was leaving work to re-train. I was nice about it & said 'congratulations, I know you've wanted to do this for a while'.

She then said that the her maintenance payments would stop & that as we both have one child each she doesn't see it as fair that should pay her & nothing coming back. She's called the CM team &started the ball rolling.

Didn't see that coming

Am I the only one who thinks it isn't right...

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