CM payments and needs analysis

[Wishfulfilmwatching1]

Hi!
I’d be very grateful if anyone has any thoughts / experience on this…

Am writing a needs analysis for the mediator.., when I’m writing my income I’ve got my salary and child benefit.

If child arrangements stay the same he’ll also have to pay me £500 child maintenance. However- what if he turns around in 2 months and says he wants the girls 50:50? (Currently they’re with me the majority of the time and he’s happy with that).

I’m worried that if I take out a mortgage / make spending plan with that extra £500 included and he changes his mind re: contact then I’ll suddenly be £500 per month poorer and maybe unable to make mortgage payments etc.

Should I just exclude that £500 from my projected income incase he changes his mind? (He’d be perfectly legally entitled to change his mind and he’s said a lot that he’d like them 50:50 if he could make it work with his work commitments.

I’m confused about what to do and can’t seem to find an answer online.

I would always plan without the 500..i do the same with any unstable income and work on the minimum guaranteed amounts. If you get it longer then its a bonus :)

It’s income and it should be included. Lots of things could change. Provide the information as is. Then discuss what it means and see whether it matters.

He could lose his job or get hit with a bus. This is why you need to negotiate and plan your future in a way that makes you resilient to this type of thing.

Thanks both.

LemonTT- planning for resilience is what makes me think I ought not to include the £500 in my forecast. I can plan (to some extent) against my own financial disasters e.g. I’ve got a critical illness / income protection policy if I couldn’t work.
But I have no way of protecting myself against the loss of CM. As you say, he could be hit by a bus, he could lose his job or he couple simply change his mind and say he wants the girls 50/50.

it feels so precarious to base financial decisions like a mortgage on essentially a promise (from a man who has routinely broken them!)

You could always include it to see how much you can borrow if it increases amount. But budget the mortgage and bills on worst case scenario if it stopped to ensure you could still keep things running. Thats generally what i do :) good luck!

I would definitely budget on worst case scenario. Speaking from experience from going from receiving CM to nothing. Definitely make sure you can afford everything without CM.

When I applied for a mortgage post divorce they would only count maintenance if court ordered.

My mortgage only counted a portion of my cm and sm. I think it was one third but it might have been two thirds. Whichever, it wasn't included as definite 100% income. Probs because of this.

This is for the mediator to support how you will decide to divide assets. It needs to be accounted for somewhere. He will be losing that income. Then if you want it capitalised to meet needs he will be losing again.

The basis of the negotiation is that you get 500 and he loses it.

My lender counted CM. I'd include in mortgage application (where possible), but budget without it. And remember, if he goes 50/50 yes, you'll lose the £500, but you'll also spend considerably less only having the girls half the year and sharing all other related costs.