CMS taking ex to court - what to expect?

[theduchessstill]

Ex owes me about a year's worth of CM payments. He's on a low income and does various freelance stuff which is why they haven't been able to get any money off him.

They informed me a few months ago they were considering a court order and today I found out they are taking him to court next month. I know he can't pay, or certainly not the lump sum he owes, and he has no assets.

I always thought the CMS were useless and I never expected anything like this to happen. It would be like him to not turn up. Does anyone know what will happen if he does/doesn't turn up? I really don't want this to make things worse for the dc.

I don't know what to expect but good for you - that's practically a miracle. How did things escalate? Mine has about 50k of hidden income but they said there's nothing they can do but they wrote to him telling him that I had failed to provide the evidence to back up my claim that he has more income than he's declaring. He's now dropped the payment to 1.5% of his income. Have you had tp chase them or did they just decide to do this?

Tbh it has really taken me aback and I'm not at all sure how I feel about it. He has a low income (partly through choice, but still) and I only really contacted them because he refused to engage with me at all about money - just wouldn't reply to texts/emails about it, but would also send me arsey texts demanding I bring clean pants round when they were with him despite him living opposite a supermarket. I would have been happy with anything - just him agreeing to pay for swimming, or half of all school trips, or half of school uniform. Anything. But he ignored me so I contacted them.

They said he had to pay £16 per week but he never did. I asked them to do the thing where they get it straight from his wages but his employment is ad hoc so they got nothing. A couple of months later (which was last autumnish) they wrote to us both to say they were considering court, and now they have gone for it.

I haven't chased them at all. I don't have time and I'm fortunately not reliant on receiving any money from him. If they ring me I don't even return the call if I miss it because when I have it's been a total waste of time; they repeat what they've said in letters and never have answers and just promise to speak to the elusive 'case worker'.

I have no idea why they seem to have gone after my ex when so many other cases I've read about seem to me to be more worthwhile and are men who are often hiding big (or massive sometimes) incomes. Not defending my ex at all but whatever happens at court he has very little money so won't be able to pay a lump sum. I imagine they'll set some piddly weekly amount he has to pay which he won't and so it'll carry on...

I hope you get what you're entitled to. It's an absolute disgrace how some men just don't seem to feel any guilt about screwing their children over and very little seems to be done about it. Good luck.

Thinking about it I suppose he's an easy case for them to take through the stages - he will have just ignored it all and will go on their figures as having been taken to court and therefore count as a 'result' for them, though it's pointless. Meanwhile, men who have the funds and inclination to hide them get away with it...

Is it a Liability Order?

CMS now have 4 against my ex and the bailiffs have been useless so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

If he's had ìncome paid through PAYE and doesn't respond at all then I can see that it would be an easy prosecution. He absolutely deserves it. There should be 1000s facing the same, but it's never going to happen. Self-employed/sole trader is a gift to these narcissists. The CMS will not even ask about so-called unearned income.