child maintenance payments

[daisymay1]

I am just entering the world of single parenting. I am a little worried about how much I will get form ex. He has a good job approx 45k per year. We have a home with mortgage. The house has no equity and is worth approx 150k, we owe 100% on the mortgage.
I have been reading things that ex only has to pay 15% (we only have 1 child) of his net salary. Is this right? If so that doesn't cover the mortgage (£600 pm)and my child is still too young for me to work full time. He takes home £2200 pm, so he only has to pay a grand total of £330 per month for his child to survive??
Is this right??

[fairydust]

yeh i'm afriad that is the way it is as the csa see it that it took two to make the child so there for two to pay for it live.

you will be able to clain child tax credit as well and housing and council tax benefit and income support.

I know how it works with regards to the mortage being paided though.

[fairydust]

sorry if that seemed a little harsh i didn't mean it come across that way that best thing for you to do would be to book an appointment with the citizens advice as they'll be able to tell you what you can claim.

The other option is to come to argeement with your ex over payments rather than going through the csa as the csa can be a pita and take months to sort out.

[daisymay1]

can you claim housing benefit if you own a house (albeit with no equity and on a mortgage?)

[onadietcokebreak]

If you are not working, you need to claim Income Support. After 13 wks they will help with the interest part of the mortgage. You will also need to claim Council tax benefit and Child tax credits

[Hando]

But if he were to pay what he paid when you both lived together then I'm guessing it may leave him without enough money to pay his own rent/mortgage on the place he now lives alone.

Not wishing to be harsh but "my child is far too young for me to work full time" isn't always a realistic way of looking at things. Loads of single parents have to work at least part time in order to afford rent/bills etc.

Perhaps your ex will be more than willing to pay more than he "has" to, if he also agrees that having you as a SAHM is the best option for your child? Or could he cut down his hours so you can work and share the care of your son (then not have to use childcare as much, if that is what you are against) Or do you think he wants to pay as little as possible?

[HappyMummyOfOne]

You cant claim housing benefits if you own the house, but you'll get child benefit and maybe CTC/WTC dependent upon your income. You may also get assistance with childcare costs as well if your salary is below the threashold.

I agree with Hando though, whilst not working or working part time is nice once you have a child to support sometimes nice has to go out the window in order to pay the bills and raise a child.

As for "so he only has to pay a grand total of £330 per month for his child to survive" - £330 is more than enough to feed and clothe a child a month even in school years with trips etc - some mums dont get anything so you'll get little sympathy with comments like that. He may choose to pay more but it depends on his living costs etc.

[mummytowillow]

My husband earns the same money as yours, we agreed £280 per month as I went on the CSA site and thats what it came out as, he also has two other children from another marriage

I get child tax credits and working credits, not sure about housing benefit as I'm waiting to here, I can see what your saying though my rent is £600 a month and nursery fees are £310, plus I have to pay £150 in petrol a month so its a struggle, but I get by.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I don't agree with the 'my child's to young' my daughter is only two and I went back to work when she was 11 months straight after my maternity leave, could you not get a part time job? I'm not fussed on my job, its a long journey but I do it to give my daughter a nice life and to pay the bills!

Hope you get things sorted xx

[issysmilkbottle]

330 should be plenty.. I get 168 a month, the rest of my costs, and yes I mean my, I have to cover, this included for me rent of 625 a month and when I was working full time childcare of 640 a month. Your ex is paying maintenance for your child, not for you. If you want him to support you to be a sahm you'll need to ask him/apply through the courts.

It may seem harsh but even if you were together being a sahm would be a luxury that many cannot afford as a couple. You will either have to sell the house and rent to get housing benefit or get a job to pay to stay in a privately owned property. If you are finding the budgeting a problem ir just want some tips have a look at moneysavingexpert.com there are some very useful forums in there about being a single mum and saving money in general...

I ended up going back to uni, the grants/student loan and 3 part time jobs enabled me to be there for my ds when I needed who was 4 when I started, including the school holidays and my new path has opened many doors - I'm now in a funded phd and able to fit my work around my 10 year old ds and new baby dd... Also if you are a full time student you are exempt from council tax!!

You'll be fine!

[Stephief]

Hi,

I htink the amount sounds fair. BUt you may find he is willing to pay more if you ask him to, you never know.

I dont get a penny from my oldest 2 kids dad (my ex husband) and never have. He works, he gets well paid, he just doesnt see child support as being more inportant than his twice annual foreign holidays and new car every year. I would jump at £330 a month!

Not sure if you would be able to claim income support as I know a good friend of mine in a similar position has been refused (she has three kids) as the amount their dad pays is more than she would get in IS (as she also gets tax credits for the kids, they offset their maintenence
against her claim for IS for her as income!) I think the govt are in the process of changing the rules though.

I know some mums have been successful in getting court orders to make the father pay the mortgage until the child is 18, but I would imagine this is only where the father can easily afford to pay this.

I would ask your ex partner what he is willing to pay to help support his child, he may surprise you.

[humptynumpty]

daisymay if you are getting divorced then will you be able to keep the house? If you aren't working, how will you afford the mortgage on your own?
I agree with others who say that you should count yourself lucky. You are lucky that your ex is in a well paid job. My DH pays for one of his kids from previous marriage via CSA and he actually only has to pay £8 per week according to them, but he tries to pay more.
Has he actually refused to pay more than the minimum? If I was you, I would try to appeal to his better nature and see what he thinks is a reasonable amount, you might be surprised that he offers to pay more off his own bat.

[CardyMow]

I have to say, Morgage payments are no longer covered when you are on benefits, you are expected to sell the house and rent. In a divorce, the courts MAY agree that you can stay in the house, but you would have to cover the morgage payments. I was a single mum for years, my DP left when DS2 was 5 weeks old, I went back to work PT when he was 9 weeks old to cover my bills. Would have been nice at that point to be a SAHM, but it wasn't an option. I know it's pants the (paltry) sum they say he needs to pay, but be warned, the CSA aren't all that good at chasing NRP's who don't want to pay...my DD's 'father' (sperm donor more like, twunt) has paid me the grand total of £300 in almost 12 years, and NOTHING for the last 11 months (went 9 yrs with nowt, two yrs getting payments occasionally, then nothing since Feb '09). The CSA ONLY go after the NRP's that can be BOTHERED to pay...Good Luck!

[CardyMow]

...sorry for unhelpful rant, CSA are the bane of my life...and be warned, if you need to claim Income Support, any maintenance you are paid above £20 a week will be taken OFF your Income Support. SO You would be entitled to around £64 a week IS, but on £330/month maintenance, you would get only your Child Tax Credits and your maintenance and about £2 a week Income Support, so you would basically only have the maintenance+CTC to live off....

[CardyMow]

And how old is your DC? And how young is too young for you to work FT? My cousin has just had a baby, 3 months old, and has to go back to work when he is 4 months so she can pay her morgage as her DP is self employed and not getting much work ATM. I went back when DS2 was 9 weeks, PT and 11 months FT. Needs must and all that.

[Hando]

Am I the only one that agrees with the ruling that child maintenance should be taken in account when calculating income support? For example, if OP chooses not to work then she needs to be able to live off what she gets from her ex or get a job herself. If she gets no maintenence, then of course she should be entitled to income support. Income support should not be used to give parents who have seperated the luxury of having more money and being a SAHP if they otherwise couldn't afford it. Many couples who are lving together and both working cannot afford to have one SAHP.

2 parents paying towards looking after their child should mean the government should not need to be paying out income support.

[Awassailinglookingforanswers]

"I have to say, Morgage payments are no longer covered when you are on benefits, "

sorry that is incorrect. IS/JSA/ESA you can get the interest paid on the mortgage.

[sparklefrog]

Hando I do agree. What is the cut off point if/when the govt no longer take maintenance payments into account as an income for the purposes of income support?

Will there be a cut off point?

For example: When/If the govt introduce this plan not to include maintenance payments when assessing income for IS, can a woman receive thousands in maintenance and still receive IS?

I know you are not permitted savings above a certain amount for IS, but what constitutes savings? Does it have to be sitting in yr bank account for a certain amount of time?

Are they definitely introducing this new disregard for maintenance to be used as an income?

Could we discover Heather Mills is entitled to IS under the new rules?

Sorry for the rambling. Hope someone can answer my questions.

[OptimistS]

I don't get any maintenance whatsoever, nor do I claim IS or WFTC, so I have no 'agenda' here.

I think the trouble with the argument against allowing parents to claim IS due to maintenance is that it puts the parent with care at the mercy of the parent paying the maintenance. The country has loads of parents who the CSA has decreed should be paying X amount per month, but they simply don't. The CSA have no real powers to enforce, despite hype about taking passports, etc. Even those powers they do possess can often take years to swing into action. What about that child in the meantime? There has to be a distinction between maintenance received and maintenance promised.

[Hando]

WEll exactly sparklefrog. I am not one to dig at single parents as I am technically a single parent myself since dd's father passed away, and I am currently on I/S until next week when I start my new job.

But.. There is no bottomless pit of money for dishing out in benefits. It needs to go to those who need it and not be given to those who do not. I totaly agree with the recent changes that mean I/S can only be claimed up until a child is 7. Most people can easily get some sort of employment once a child gets to 7. I also think child benefit should be means tested and not dished out to everyone who has a child regardles of whether they are low earners or millionaires! Stop paying it to those who do not need it and pay more to those for whom it makes a massive difference.

Sorry to have a little rant there, off topic I know.

Op check the mortgage housing benefit situation with your local office. I too have heard that they will pay your interest. Or could you ask for a payment break on your mortgage for 6 months or similar if this is in your contract? Gives you time to sort out what you will be doing/where you will be living and get your finances in order as a seperated couple.

[Hando]

Of course optimist. Based on what the parent gets of course, not what they "should" get. Totally agree. Else they'd all go without.

[CardyMow]

In my local Authority, they won't pay Housing Benefit if you own your house, had a (very) close friend who ended up having to sell the house (with negative equity) and declare herself bankrupt before she got ANY help. . I think then it may depend on your local area. I know IS/JSA/ESA will pay the INTEREST but that doesn't get the actual PAYMENTS paid, does it? And it is official about the disregard being ALL maintenance paid as of 6th April 2010. Which I don't agree with, and I'M on IS. I thought when they changed the rules in October 2008, it was to try to reclaim some of the benefits bill, and make non-resident parents being the one to support their dc's...(but having said that, I have a personal hair-raising story about why this £20 disregard doesn't work, to do with my DD's father and the DWP, so I can see both sides of it. It's all a governement ploy anyway....Long story....)

[FiveSoloRings]

You can get the interest paid on your mortgage once you havebeen on IS for 13 weeks.

[CardyMow]

Haha just read optimists posts, that is what has happened with me, DD's father meant to be paying me, dwp are trying to recover (take back) over £1000 from me that her father hasn't yet paid me......my MP is busy trying to knock some sense into sort it out with the DWP....

[maristella]

i don't get a penny in maintenance, i have tried but the csa really are that shit awful.
tbh you may need to re-address your approach to financial support now you are a single parent. i have had to compromise many a time, ive worked too much, too many hours etc, but sometimes it's a case of sink or swim.
it is likely to be very hard for you to get financial support from the govt for your mortgage, so you may need to weigh up your options and increase your workload to pay for living in a mortgaged house.

sparklefrog the benefits agency will class any money that the claimant get get their hands on as either income or savings

[Awassailinglookingforanswers]

Loudlass - whether it covers the payment depends on what your mortgage interest rate is, ours has recently dropped (And our monthly payments due halved) - but the DWP use a "set" interest rate so you can get extremely lucky (As we have at the moment) and find that the "interest" payments do actually cover the mortgage.

[Ivykaty44]

If you have no equity inthe house - well the court wouldn't be letting you keep the house - as there is no house just a 150k debt. Your problem would be getting a mortgage for 150k without an income as your ex to be will want his name off the mortgage.

It maybe worth thinking about working 16 hours per week and cliaming tax credits and 80% of your child care and then the maintenence ontop

If you pay 125 child care and worked 16 hours per week you would get £225 + wages + child benifit + maintenence

92.80 minimum wage for 16 hours per week
225.00 child tax and working tax credit
16.50 child benifit per week
76.00 maintenence per week
total per week £410 x 52 + £21320 per annum

of course that is basicly tax free and the equivelent of around 27k ish per year.....