Child maintenance based on assets/ savings and financial settlement

[Hope677]

My husband who i am separated after domestic abuse has a good job but has cut down work drastically now to give minimal child maintenance. He is paying 19.34 per week. But he has 600k in savings and I have chance to appeal to first tier tribunal. Do I have a chance of success? If I appeal based on his savings/ assets, will it affect my financial settlement which is in court now.

Financial settlement usually starts 50-50

The courts will make him disclose his bank statements etc... if they see 500k.. the judge will split that in half and award you it. But this share can be reduced depending on marriage length etc

Child support is generally based on income not capital (savings and assets). There are very limited exceptions. But you aren’t describing anything in your post to justify an exception.

The financial settlement will split assets according to needs. The savings will be part of that split and you both might come away with a large capital sum. This is usually needed for housing and pensions.

The Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2677/regulation/69A

I found this legislation which says assets worth more than 31250 will be considered for chiid maintenance calculation. I am still wondering if it worth appealing or not. I am not sure if this legislation is used routinely or as you say only in exceptions.

You would be better to seek higher capital settlement from your divorce than try to argue and win this ( not a lawyer just based in loads of threads and people experiences of cms etc)

don’t know what % split of assets you are hoping for and realistically will be awarded ( sizeable chunk of the 600k anyway). Ask for higher % to offset cms avoidance

I agree with @millymollymoomoo and seek a higher capital settlement.

You can rack up a phenomenal amount fighting of the CMS but this is only awarded and reviewed on a yearly basis, there is also little in place to protect you if he refuses to pay. So having potentially gone through a long drawn out fight to increase there's nothing to stay he will stick to it.

If this is evident fort he courts to see they should be fair in dividing this with you.

Assets and capital generate income. This is usually declared and taken into account.

If not then the CMS can work out an income based on the value of the assets, held as specified. Using the money to buy something not specified and or excluded is one way to avoid this. My reading is that a residential home would put this money out of scope.

I think I will just stop fighting CMS and just stick with asking for higher financial settlement, hope my solicitor will agree to fight this. In the long run its best i have least to do with my husband and do not want ongoing CMS issues. Moreover CMS does not show details of calculations they have used only broad headers. So I am not sure if they have taken into account income from assets. I am not surprised if my husband has given massive expenses list to deduct from income and paid heftily into his private pension. Thank you all for responding. Its most useful hearing your views.

Both of yours or possibly in this case just his private pension will also be considered an asset for division. From what I know the courts will divide this fairly