Help for friend in refuge with CSA

[boggis]

Here is a previous thread, and many thanks for all of your help

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_matters/a2268407-Help-for-a-friend-in-a-Womens-refuge

Basically she went to court and he didn't get 4 days access, only supervised contact. Her solicitor was a little alarmed by something she mentioned about how the grandmother treated the baby.....

Anyway. He has divorced her. SHe has applied for maintenance but he says he only earns 7500 a year, so she'll only get 14 pounds a month.

I have his linkedin and know what he earns (financial industry salaries are compiled each year by the likes of Hudsons etc. It is very transparent. Anyway his pay is 85k-120k for his job. He works for a major European investment bank.

He also owns in full a flat in our building - ours sold for 550k just recently so I guess his would be 500 rising.

He owns property in Egypt.

What does she do about this?

The CMS goes off figures from HMRC. Are you saying he isn't declaring his income? Is he self employed?

Is this a new application or is there an existing case with the CSA? The Child Maintenance Service handles all new applications and the basic calculation is based on information from HMRC. If there is evidence the paying parent has other taxable income not taken into account the recipient can apply for a variation.

well, he is employed in Switzerland for a Swiss bank on a rolling contract basis. How would that work?

This is a new application

I have worked abroad for the company I worked for and had to do tax returns with Deloitte. I can only assume he has to do similar.

There is no substitute for legal advice from a family solicitor. Some solicitors offer a free first appointment so the client has the opportunity to find out a bit about the process and to help them decide if they want to use the solicitor. IF your friend has no money there are various ways funds may be raised to pay for legal services and she could at least find out about that.

IF the husband is living in Switzerland for a company with no base in the UK the CSA/CMS cannot process and application for child maintenance. Your friend would need to apply to court for a child maintenance decision and then if the husband didn't comply apply to enforce it through the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance process. Depending on the circumstances your friend may be able to claim Maintenance Pending Suit for maintenance for herself as well as the children to be paid until the divorce is concluded.

She needs specialist advice about a financial settlement in the longer term too and all the birds may be killed with one stone.

Thanks, the company is a top 5 investment bank and definitely has a base in London. But have told her to contact her solicitor. Thanks for your advice