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!!

This happened to a close friend - each got CB for one child.

Well you started it.

You have 50/50 shared care of two children. Claiming cb for one child each makes sense. I have two friends who do this with their exes. No cms involved, they simply pay all costs for the children on ' their ' time.

Yes he does, all the people I know who have 50/50 residency claim CB for at least 1 child each (if they have an even number they'll apply for the same number each)

I'm correcting the several posters who have stated that op can't claim because they have 50/50 care. Too many to quote directly.

I've asked when this changed. I was in this situation more than 10 years ago, and it was not the situation then.

right so it’s likely I am going to lose one of the child benefits then??

I imagine he didn't expect you to put in a CMS claim out of the blue after several years of successful co-parenting but here you are.

There's a very good chance that he'll be allowed to claim Child Benefit for one of your children. And that does indeed mean that he'd be eligible to claim CMS from you for that child.

Congratulations, you've played yourself.

He has a 100% chance of getting it, if you really do have 50:50 care. He will get it.

The threshold for that is £156K is it not?

Another one baffled to understand why you should get any child maintenance. I thought that was only paid if one parent had the kids more than half the time.

I would be very surprised if you managed to keep any child maintenance, let alone both child benefits.

Good for him! If he has the children 50/50, why should he not make his CB claim so it’s split (irrelevant whether he actually gets the money or earns too much), and why on earth should he be paying you CMS? As long as he pays for the children on his time, why should he be paying you anything? You are not in a relationship - him being a higher earner is irrelevant and he doesn’t have to subsidise you.
I expect if you dropped the CMS claim he would drop his CB claim, as there’s not a financial advantage to him to claim it - he’s doing it to stop the money-grabbing you’re doing through CMS!
Also, FYI, if I were him, I wouldn’t be using the CB to get you to pay him maintenance, I’d be using it to demonstrate that he has equal shared cares and therefore your maintenance claim is invalid.

It’s not.

https://www.litrg.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit

It’s been said multiple times on this thread there are situations where you can still be paid maintenance even if care is 50/50

They aren’t.

www.litrg.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit

It doesn’t matter as you have 50-50 time with the children.

Child benefit is not technically classed as a means-tested benefit. You can get it no matter what your income is, you are subject to a child benefit high income charge to pay some/all of it back.

In my own experience without a doubt he will be awarded one child, as many others on this thread have stated.

Yes, me.

Yes you are very likely to lose it.

Why is it ridiculous?

@ProlongedAffair are you the poster who made a post a month ago about a very similar situation where you'd made the CMS application because you thought that as you did a bit more admin than your ex you deserved the maintenance? But that after many, many people said that it doesn't work the way you thought it does you said you'd be cancelling the application?

This is the very definition of fuck around and find out. You reap what you sow.

Perhaps you could try and keep the cb for the youngest child?
You will keep getting it for longer than if you had cb for the eldest child. The eldest child's cb will expire first.

Your just greedy!