If this is you (or near enough), how much child support do you receive?

[ClumsyAnnabel]

Dad on 100k full time
Mum on 35k full time
Mum primary carer, Dad does one weekday night and EOW
2 children
Mum pays absolutely all expenses relating to children

In their circs CSA suggests around 850 a month, as a baseline. For context since separation 4 years ago payment has been lower than 850. Anyone negotiated more? Anyone settling for less? Asking as XH refuses to pay more but solicitor really thinks I'm entitled to more. It's causing an impass and I don't know what's usual.

Help! Thank you.

I’m not in this scenario but CSA should be the minimum. Only issue might be how he is paid. If he is PAYE then it’s simpler but if he is a business owner or self employed then he can cook the books to minimise the amount he should appear to pay.

I would have been 9000 better off if he'd paid the minimum since we separated so I feel like that should be a factor at least in topping it up a little. My solicitor said she thinks 1200 a month would be fair - I can't see him remotely agreeing to that unfortunately.

Is your solicitor talking child maintenance or trying to claim spousal on top ?
If it’s child maintenance and in England even if put into an order it can revert to cms rates after a year
It would be nice if he would agree to pay extras but he’d only be obliged to pay the cms rates

My solicitor does want to claim spousal for a proportion of the payment to me but my XH can't see past this being an attempt at him "subsidising my lifestyle" which it really wasn't - it was just to secure that proportion as it can't be renegotiated. He's unlikely to agree anything with the word "spousal maintenance" in it even if it's a bog standard fair request. Must call to mind those millionaire X Wives in the daily mail for him I think.

Well if he won’t agree it you’d need to take it go court and see if a judge would award a global maintenance order ( which is child and spousal combined)
Personally for a couple of hundred a month extra I wouldn’t bother but the key is getting the cms at at least minimum levels
What’s happening / happened with other assets ? If you’re getting a higher share I can see to some degree the contentious re spousal maintenance

Ex on £150k
Me on £24k part time but just been made redundant

£2250 global maintenance until 18

2 children. 7 and 9

Plus he pays 50% uniform and 50% holiday camps

Oh and loads of clothes and all their shoes and he likes really nice stuff whereas I buy from marks (nice but he prefers Russell and Bromley etc)

That’s £1450 Cm and the rest SM

Is there a time limit to your SM Atadaddicted? Wow - that's a decent settlement! How did you agree on the figure if you don't mind me asking?

Both until 18.
Or until someone moves in as a relationship.
We did mediation
No third party and we remain close

I think this is what my solicitor is trying to get across to me - the disparity in income isn't fair. Maybe mediation is needed. Another adult perhaps might help him see I'm not some grabby lunatic. Aside from this we have been pretty amicable but it was quite an ugly split and we have lost a lot of trust.

He moved someone in as a relationship the first weekend in his new house! I see that as meaning his outgoings are reduced so it's even more unfair.

What other assets are being split and in what %

I gave him 50% of house equity when I remortgaged - had to go back up to full time to afford the remortgage. I think we're going 50% of his larger pension. No other assets to speak of.

XH £150k + bonus

I’m a relative high earner (nowhere near as high as him!) so it’s just CM no spousal or anything on top. £1,750 per month + 10% of annual bonus. I think CMS minimum says £1700. 2 kids both under 7.

@ChloeR81

Same here ex earnings

What about house and pension?

We had a pension forecast report done and basically equity and his pension were equal. So I don’t touch his Very large pension (Mine wasn’t included, about £70k pot, his many multiples of that!) and I walked away with the house.

I only got a % of his pension for first three years.

The simple answer is to pay the £10 and have CMS calculate the number and that’s your starting point for the children. If he’s worried about subsidising you have the CMs figure as the basic and then 50% of school uniform/shoes, half of all school trips and maybe a couple of other elements.
Unfortunately some men see it as “paying you” when in fact it’s contributing to their children’s living/lifestyle

Why would the OP need to pay £10?

www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Pensions split 50:50 (he had to transfer to me to make our pots equal).

We sold the house, so of all assets (house + money) should have been 60% to me 40% to him but he hid a lot of money and it would have been incredibly difficult to unravel (he’s a bit of an twat) so I suspect he ended up with a lot more than 50% in reality but will never know for sure.

So have you had a final consent order already? If so , it’s only child maintenance and that jurisdiction comes under CMS so they would calculate purely on salary and number of nights

If you’ve not had the final consent order then you. CAn try to negotiate for either more assets or spousal

Ex-husband: £95000
Me: maternity allowance
Husband: £0, was earning £30,000 before he lost his job

Ex-H pays £1,000/month decided on by a foreign court. Ex-H lives abroad so CMS doesn’t have jurisdiction but he has applied to UK court to lower the amount. He’s suggested £250/month to the court.
The CMS calculation is about £650/month after taking into consideration his pension contributions.

Interesting that your solicitor is confident that your ex should pay more OP. That gives me some hope. What’s their reasoning for justifying more than the CMS amount?

We've had the decree nisi, separated for four years, he gave me 650 month up til now but CSA basic would be 850, which is what he's proposing from now on. He's had a lump sum from the house, I'm the lower earner, I don't know - I hate asking or demanding anything. But I don't think CSA bare minimum is fair given the descrepacies in our earnings and the additional burden on me. I don't have a particular opinion up my sleeve, I'm a lover not a fighter but suspect I'm going to end up settling for less than is fair. I need ammunition to protect me from that. I appreciate everyone sharing their situations.

You’ve got the decree nisi but do you have a final
Consent order ? It sounds like you don’t, in which case you can still argue for higher split of assets or spousal

That's the bit we are arguing about *millymollymoo" My question is I suppose given what's above is 850 unfair? Not CSA fair just being reasonable. I appreciate the replies, all helpful thank you!