Prepare me for what ex could do with this figure?

[Biancalklp]

Ex got assessed as paying 1020 a month maintenance for our one DC. We don’t speak and he absolutely will not be happy with this (though I did ask him to pay what he was comfortable with initially and he ignored me…).

I recently got made redundant with a terrible payout. I was previously a high earner and I am hopeful I will find another job soon but it is competitive and it may take a good few months.

I know nobody can rely on child maintenance, however, due to my ex partner’s career I cannot see him letting it go anytime soon. But could he get this cut significantly at any time? If so how and by how much?

he doesn’t care about me or our daughter so there is no point me talking with him. I’m desperately trying to sort new work but in the meantime I am relying on this to get us by.

Yes he can get this cut and run rings around you re CM. He could divert money to pensions or go self-employed. The CM is an utter bastard of an organization to deal with should your ex decide to be difficult.

@Shitfather if he goes self employed cant they just ask him to declare income?

yes they can but many SE then put low amounts through their books so looks like they dont earn much thus decreasing what they must pay

Nope - he can take whatever income he wants eg as low as 8k and the rest as dividends. CM is calculated on income and the CMS will look at tax returns. You will need to apply for a variation for dividends (this will not be included in the initial CM calculation). Is he SE?

He could also just not pay it. The CMS take ages to get involved in this instance, and mostly they never manage (try!) to recover it.

I got hardly anything because my ex lied and lied. Then they wrote it all off. This was in UK. It's useless.

Could he also move in with a woman with kids to reduce how much he owes you?

If he has a new partner or parents who are happy to support him financially, he could reduce his hours or give up work. If, for example, he has remarried and has children with his new wife, it may well make financial sense for him to become a SAHD rather than pay CMS to you plus childcare costs.

Alternatively, he could increase the amount he puts into his pension, or could otherwise reduce his income.

He could become self-employed and take a minimal salary (or no salary at all). He could either pay himself dividends (in this case, you can appeal to CMS to get them considered), or he could leave money in the company until your kids are past CMS age and withdraw it then (if he has enough money to live on in the meantime).

It's very easy to reduce your CMS liability if you're able to become self-employed and/or have relatives who will support you.