Child Benefit Rival Claim Ex Partner Earning Loads!!!!!

[ProlongedAffair]

Me and my ex share 50/50 of our two children, it’s not court ordered but has been in place for the past few years. A few months ago I put in a claim for CMS and was awarded it, they see me as the primary carer because I get both children’s child benefits. I also discovered my ex is earning a 6 figure salary.

Last week I got a letter from child benefit saying that he is challenging my claim. I said to the lady that he earns too much to claim and I suspect he’s only claiming so he can try to get out of CMS. She told me that because he has the children for half the time and child benefit isn’t means tested, the likelihood is they will award child benefit one each! Surely that can’t be correct, can anyone advise who has been through their rival claims process?? He will then be able to claim CMS from me!!

OP, putting aside the fact that you've been told in clear and plain language that you're legally in the right, do you think you are morally in the right?

Do you actually genuinely believe that a good father who has his children 50% of the time, pays for private healthcare for them, and voluntarily gave you money he wasn't obligated to pay you until you deliberately tried to screw him for more, has a moral or ethical duty to pay to subsidise his ex's lifestyle, just because he earns more?

It makes no real difference, but I'm curious about whether you know you're in the wrong ethically and don't care, or whether you've really convinced yourself you haven't been a total AH in this situation.

Legally in the wrong you mean?

Yes 😫

😁😁😁

You've done it now.

OP will be adamant this thread has told her she's legally in the right now. Which is also her understanding.

Sincerely,

Mrs Butler

I KNOW! 😫

OP when you read what everyone is saying what are you thinking?

Looks like you will get EITHER child benefit OR maintenance ... you need to choose. Or say he can have CB for one child and you will have it for 1 child.

@ByQuaintAzureWasp

Looks like you will get EITHER child benefit OR maintenance ... you need to choose

I think it's looking like OP will get one child benefit and that's it.

She going to be losing around £375 a month compared to the previous arrangement.

If she's on UC, particularly renting on UC, she's going to be losing a tonne more than £375

Because you can only claim UC for the child(ren) you get CB for...

Before:

Maintenance: £300 per month received
CB for 2 kids: £188 per month
UC child element for 2 kids: £586

After:
Maintenance: he earns more so maybe still the £300 per month received for one child less £150 she's got to pay him for the other. So, £150 per month received.
CB for 1 kid: £112 per month
UC child element for 1 kid: £293

So just on that, she's £520 a month worse off.

Then if she pays any childcare, she loses £700 odd that she's entitled to claim back because she can only claim for one child.

But critically, if she rents, and her rent is say £1500 a month, and she gets £1200 of that paid for her by UC because she's entitled to a 3 bed rent allowance, with two kids....with one kid she's only entitled to a 2 bed and her rent allowance will fall to more like £900. That's £300 more rent to find every single month. On top of the £520 she's guaranteed to lose.

Oompa loompa doop a Dee da, if you're not greedy you will go far...

This is correct. Ex won't get the money. However, even with 50/50 as he earns so much he may still have to pay you cms. Use the cms calculator and it will show you what is expected.

He won’t. OP has already said that he isn’t making above the threshold where that would apply.

My ex doesn't earn over 100,000. However when he lied to cms and said we had 50/50, they still said he had to pay me, and the online calculator confirms this. I informed them it was a lie and not that many overnights so the amount went up. He wasn't happy as he naturally assumed, as did I, that 50/50 would mean neither of us would pay each other anything. Definitely worth looking at.

@BookArt55 This calculator?

Go on and fill it in, type in anything over £70,000 as yearly income. Choose the last option where kids spend 50/50. I can only share what i was told by CMS, and the calculator came out with similar numbers. My ex was fuming as his whole intention was to get 50/50 to not pay anything.

The first page states in black and white that no maintenance is payable with equal care. The calculator is not accurate for equal care. CMS told you wrong. They should read their own website.

Here.

It seems the CMS predicate who the primary carer is based on who receives the child benefit which is why he has rival claimed it, he is trying to claim it is equal care.

Thats because he does provide equal care. He has the kids 50:50, he intends to maintain 50:50 and recently he had marginally more custody than you. Historically he was a weekend dad but that's not been the case and in fact you say recently he's had more custody than you.

That means he could claim child benefit, up until now he's been happy for you to claim because he'd either have to pay tax on it or opt out of payments and recieve the claim award but not the cash. Now you've pursued him for more than the £300 he already gives you, as well as having at least 50:50 custody, private medical and dental for them and giving additional monies for school trips.

The examples you've given where you do more are things like you sign the school letters, yes a slight paperwork burden but he then confirms the info and transfers you his half which is also a slight paperwork burden.

He feels this is unfair and misleading because while historically you were primary carer, by your own info you arent anymore and the easiest way for him to prove you arent the primary carer is to submit a rival child benefit claim. Which will likely end in you getting an award for one child each but that would be enough for him to use as evidence in a CMS case.

I feel this has however been said alot, so I think ultimately you'll just have to tell us what happens with both when you know

Yes I will update the thread either way with the outcome of the child benefit claim, I’ve only just submitted the second round of paperwork so I’ve no idea how long it takes

Sounds like a proper case of fuck around & find out.

You were either misinformed by CMS (which is far from outside the realms of possibility tbf), he submitted information that did not meet the requirements for 50/50 shared care to apply, or he could not provide supporting evidence for his claim.

He would only be liable to pay maintenance on 50/50 shared care if he is earning in excess of £3000 a week, or £156,000 a year gross. He isn’t.

In OP’s case, her ex isn’t lying, and in fact in recent months has had care of the children more than she has.

I would encourage OP to have a solicitor tell her exactly the same thing she’s already been told for free on here though. As someone who worked in law, I’m always happy for a solicitor to get paid.

Why are you putting a claim in for CMS if you do 50/50?

Please read all 29 pages of thread before commenting.

The OP has confirmed they share week on week on custody. Exactly 50/50 except in the assessment period he had more overnights aa he covered one of her days. He also used to pay her £300 per month and he pays for private medical and dental care for the kids.

OP previously claimed both kids on the child benefit.

She became annoyed when she learned he earns over 100k. But no where near 150k. She earns in the region of 60k.

She feels she is the primary carer because she has to fill out more school forms than him... albeit that he does any on his day and he immediately sends half the money.

She filed with CMS and believes the fact she was allowed to file proves she is right. Notwithstanding that CMS has NO investigatory branch and just accepts the word of the person making the claim. So ex HAD to file a rival CB claim to avoid being totally shafted by an ex jealous of his income.

Please don't give her encouragement unless you've read the whole background! I'm sorry you had such a nightmare with your lying ex. This OPs ex is not lying.

What do you mean he is trying to claim equal share? He DOES have equal share.

are you deluded or being facetious? Genuine question.