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AIBU?

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To ask my ex for more money, or use the CMS

79 replies

Florizelloid · 02/05/2025 10:54

My Ex an I divorced a few years ago. He agreed to an amount that we calculated using the CMS calculator, and in the divorce agreement he said he was to send me his P60 and three months payslips every year.
He earns quite a lot more than I do, and it is quite a nice sum of money to have every month.
However, that amount is still the same as what we agreed to a few years ago, and he hasn't yet sent me a single payslip or P60. I had avoided asking for them as I didn't want to cause a conflict, however I finally got the courage to ask him for it yesterday.
He is refusing, I am not sure why, he said it is because it will give me his NI number and UTR number. He did send me a wage statement from his employer, which would indicate (using the CMS calculator) that with our current arrangement he is underpaying me by a fair bit. When I pointed this out, he first asked for a 50:50 child care split. I pointed out that this wouldn't work with his job (he commutes several days a week and often has evening meetings) he said he could make it work. Then he said that I didn't need any more, as looking after the children wasn't getting any more expensive.
He also said that if he got promoted and his pay doubles, then it wouldn't be fair for him to pay any more to me.

I can live fine on what he is giving me together with my full time wage, it just irks me that he isn't meeting the terms of our agreement, and every time I raise the question of maintenance he starts to demand more time with the kids. I find his attitude really upsetting, but I also wonder if I am being greedy, especially when the kids come back after a weekend with him asking what their Daddy has to pay child maintenance for.

I am also getting sick with stress, at work as well as trying to deal with him, and help my daughter who is going through puberty, coping with suspected Autism/ADHD, and has started some still thankfully very minor self-harming, and suicide threats. With all this I am wondering how much longer I can keep up my full time hours. I had some time off with this earlier in the year, but it is getting worse again.

I have said that I will contact the CMS if he doesn't start to send his P60s and wage slips as he agreed, but he regards this very much as the nuclear option. I don't want to cause more conflict, and I don't want to get in to a massive argument about the arrangements for the kids, and I really don't want to have to talk to my lawyer again, so am I being unreasonable to say this?

OP posts:
FeministUnderTheCatriarchy · 02/05/2025 11:11

It's not about being able to manage without it, it's about getting what you are entitled to.

Don't just think about today, think about the future when the maintenance stops, but your children still cost money.

He may stop paying when they are still living at home, especially your daughter who may need long term support.

Put any extra away for a rainy day when he isn't legally required to help. Get every penny you can now

Kalikaa · 02/05/2025 11:11

How much is he paying you? Is it more than CMS would require?

RandomMess · 02/05/2025 11:08

He isn’t ever going to pay more voluntarily so you don’t have a choice tbh.

Where does he live that inflation hasn’t rocketed on food & fuel and where teens aren’t more expensive than young children…

MargoLivebetter · 02/05/2025 10:59

You must have divorced my ex!!!! I went around circles like this with my-ex feeling like I was being greedy and unreasonable for asking for additional child maintenance when he hadn't increased the sum we'd initially agreed for 5 years. In the end I got so fed up I went to CMS and low and behold he had to pay me £600 extra each month!!!! He went berserk, absolutely nuts, threatening me with all sorts and even got the 2nd Mrs Livebetter to email me outlining what a cow I was wanting our children to be properly financially supported.

Do it. He sounds like an arse anyway. What have you got to lose?

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