Can anybody help re residency order?

[missfeebs]

My dp has a order for his 4 dcs.
His ex wife has said it is not legal anymore because the dcs are living with his parents,dp moved away because of work and the dcs wanted to stay with gps.
Everyone was happy with arrangement re maintenence etc.
Dps ex has now taken the 2 youngest to live with her and her new husband,she promised the dcs they could have anything if they went to live with her,maintenence was all agreed again,my dp would pay for all 4 so she didnt have to pay for the 2 that stayed with gps.
Dp had a call from csa,she has put in for maintenence and they are going to take £200 per week from dps wages,he only earns £240.
Sorry for rambling but dp would like to know if she was right re residency order and can csa do that if there was a mutual agreement in place already?
Btw she never paid a penny in maintenence when they were with dp and she owes csa over £2000 in missed payments.

The CSA can ignore any agreement between the parents. They can also ignore any court order that is more than 12 months old.

Having said that, the CSA figures look wrong. Unless there are arrears they should only be taking 20% of his salary after tax, NI and pension contributions. Even if there are arrears they shouldn't be taking that high a proportion of his pay.

You say your DP had a call from the CSA. When she got the CSA involved, they should have written to your DP notifying him of this and asking for information about his earnings. Did this happen?

Regarding the residence order, I think your DP's agreement to pay maintenance when the youngest children went to live with her would undermine a claim that the residence order is still in force.

Just a thought. It might be worth checking that the £200 isn't monthly rather than weekly.

Child maintenance and residence orders are treated separately under different legislation.

Was child maintenance agreed as part of a consent order? Since March 2003 the payer named in a consent order remains liable to pay child maintenance, unless after one year of the date of the order either parent applies to the CSA. Then the CSA notifies the court and after two months the order ceases to have effect.

However, under CSA rules the person with care entitled to claim child support is defined as the person with whom the child has his/her home and who usually provides day to day care for the child.

Voluntary agreements are not binding.