Anyone think the UK is a joke when it comes to not paying child maintenance?

[SleepDreamThinkHuge]

You hear a lot of stories especially in the UK where courts are not that strict on individuals who are no longer together to pay maintenance for their child. Unlike the UK, USA is much more stricter and it is much harder to avoid paying child maintenance.

Anyone think the rules need to be a lot stricter in the UK? How can it be better enforced in the UK and what is the minimum amount a month you think someone should pay for maintenance assuming someone is on around £1.5k-£2k after tax a month.

Well then why does it matter what the rps gas and electric costs? It can't work both ways?

He's mortgage free so therefore should pay you more or?

I don't only see it one way. If you had bothered to read my posts properly maybe you'd understand. I've said there ought to be a fairer way of working it out for everyone involved.

And again, perhaps if you read properly you'd realise thats not at all what I suggested. Hth.

My son has a daughter who is Austrian and lives with her mother in Austria. He lives in Ireland. You better believe me when I say the Austrian authorities will hunt him down wherever he is in the world so that he pays! They would also take him to court yes, even in a foreign country for not paying and he could go to jail.
It's the same in Germany, where we used to live. The authorities pays the mother child support, but the father has to pay them back and they make sure he does. It's probably the same in Switzerland, too. (It would be the same if the roles were reversed and the father had custody. Then the mum would have to pay.)

Edited to add: and yes, of course it is right for child support to be enforced by the country the child lives in and is a citizen of. It's only fair.

He didn't receive benefits as he wasn't entitled as was living with someone who earned too much so he was asked to pay 189 when he 1st split with his ex then he didn't work so it was arrears running up at 189 per month.

He sent me his deductions. Attached on this thread.

Apologies I thought he said 375. As you can see it's just under 350.

My ex is self employed. We get about £40 a month for one child.

He earns in excess of £100k a year. He owes £12k in child maintenance.

But they do nothing. I've been to court, ring them every month to see what they are doing about the debt.

They pass the case to a
Different department or person every month.

Nothing ever happens.

It makes me sick nothing ever gets done about it. The government don't enforce any rules like in the US.

You can bet if it was tax they owed something would be done but as it's mostly women and children who are effected then they give no fucks.

I think until you actually have to involve the CMS you have a different view of them. I always thought they were all for the resident parent but they are absolutely not.

I had to argue with the CMS in court as they were saying he only earns £26k but he's taken £60k in dividends. Even the judge was a bit "wtf" at the CMS.

Thousand pounds a month? Easily, if they are in pre-school childcare.

The benefits system, for single parents, is pretty much non existent in the US though. In effect, the U.K. has socialised the maintenance system by paying single parent benefits out of general taxation.

I agree that the whole system needed to be reformed and that maintenance should be taken into account in benefits calculations.

But that's one parents half isn't it, small children don't cost 2k (waits to be told in -insert x place- they do)

Why do you think your ex's the new partner or your ex's family should pay for your children?

@rushrushflat i agree (although DH was on old CM system. When he and his ex split he gave her their house and signed it over, he took on all their debts which were significant. He over extended his finances to give his kids everything he could and then she went to CM. They obviously couldn’t take in to account what he was paying in debt despite it being jointly accrued. CM bullied him constantly it was awful. They applied to have the money taken from
his wages when the payments started to bounce. He had a break down because of it. His employer was the military at the time and they refused to release the full amount wanted, simply because he wouldn’t have been able to afford to live. So CM agreed. What we didn’t know was they started recording the difference between what they got and what was wanted. 3 days after leaving the military, they hit us with a £12000 bill. His ex during this time told anyone and everyone he refused to give her any money. This was a process repeated more than once. When I paid to get all his documents I realised that they hadn’t communicated with him when they should have. We received £50 in compensation for years of stress. I agree that CMS needs an overhaul. No one should be avoiding paying for their children but my experience of the system is they ignore the ones who don’t and bully the ones who do.

If this was aimed at me then I don’t?? Not sure where I said that, I just said I know for a fact he isn’t living off a partner

He only receives 15 funded hours. His mom doesn't work.

Well a small child could cost £2000 a month quite easily if it was living to a certain standard perhaps the standard that the mother believed it would be living to when she agreed to be impregnated.

what it cost to raise a child is entirely relative, according to the benefits office it costs £50 a week to keep them alive but one would hope that most parents were aiming for a little bit more than the bare minimum.

They do in London at least, and that's not an insignificant demographic to discard.

I'm finding reading about this really upsetting. The fact men in the UK get away without paying is awful. My partner has kids that live in Poland. He has to pay maintenance to his ex of £350 every month (he takes home £2k). In comparison, my ex takes home £3k month and he pays me the same amount. I think my partner pays too much but he's at the point where he doesn't want to waste more money on legal fees.

I will say it again....I am owed over £21K - ex partner has avoided paying for years.

I've complained to the ICE and written to local politicians and still nothing.

The whole CMS system is a joke.

I may have just outed myself here. I'm not sure there are many people in his situation.

Lol. Because it is not "my children", it is his children too, no? And diverting income from the personal service limited company to the new partner's or relative's name - you won't believe it - is something that is obvious in fewer than three clicks.

2k isn't a little bit more than the bare minimum. Its more than some whole families take home in a month.

And tbh I think it's foolish to expect to be financially as well off single as you are in a couple for both rp and NRP. If you're counting on having the same lifestyle post divorce 9 times out of 10 you'll be sorely disappointed. You can't magic money from thin air! Two houses cost more than one etc etc.

So you are upset your current partner is paying too much and your ex-partner is paying too little?

@forinborin

You didn't answer the question. Why do you think your ex's new partner and his family should pay for your children?

I agree, they are your ex's children too. They aren't his new partner's, or his family's though, are they?

£100 a week isn't that much. You have all the activities, clothes, bigger home and extra bills. Are you serious capped at £100 per week? You should be ashamed. What about childcare costs for the 13 weeks of half term? My playscheme is £40 a day!

The paying party need to realise if you can afford it then you need to pay for your child to live a nice life. Why would you not want to do that naturally as a parent?

I don't know anybody who is getting large amounts of CMS but I do think unless you have nursery fees to pay anything higher than £500 per child a savings account should be opened for when the child gets to 18. I suspect this is a small percentage though mums receiving £1000 in maintainance per month.

My ex owes £20k and is meant to pay £6.75 A WEEK for 4 teenagers. Which he isn't paying.

It is shocking.

I personally think that access should be limited if they don't pay, but was told children aren't pay per view.

But what if I don't have the money? What if I didn't feed them or pay for clothing? They'd be removed from my care!

Child maintenance from the ex PLUS tax payer funded benefits though.