Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Lone parents

Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

Original poster

How much is reasonable to pay for 3 kids?

14 replies

Montessorisam · 24/03/2011 18:49

Hi there,

I have just split up from partner. How much money would be reasonable to ask for to support three kids? He says he is no longer supporting me (fair enough - I have only raised his children for 9 years!! I will try to support myself AND look after the kids - HA!) but he will give me cash for the kids once I work out how much.....

Thanks for the advice.

OP posts:
Gottakeepchanging · 24/03/2011 18:50

How much does he earn?

Gottakeepchanging · 24/03/2011 18:50

Does he have other children?

Original poster
Montessorisam · 24/03/2011 18:55

He has his own business. He has paid us as a family of 5 £1200 a month. Now he has left I don't know what to ask for. I earn £650 a month and will hope to get some tax credits.....

He doesn't have another family.

OP posts:
MumInBeds · 24/03/2011 19:01

Sorry to hear that you've spilt, it must be a very tough time for you.

You are best putting in the numbers here and going from there, really.

Bonkerz · 24/03/2011 19:11

CSA calculator says about £68 per week thats in total not per child.

Gottakeepchanging · 24/03/2011 19:19

But how much does he keep for himself? Is £1200 all he earns? Does he get a share dividend each year as well?

jumpforjoy · 24/03/2011 19:43

Hi, I think if you check he has to pay a percentage of his net income per child.

It starts off 15% of net income for first child and 20% for two children. I'm not sure how much it goes up after that, and there must be a sealing.

Hopefully someone will come on with more details figures, and please try and complete the CSA pages as suggested by Muminbeds

Sorry you are having to go through this. Sad

Original poster
Montessorisam · 24/03/2011 19:48

No, he doesn't just earn £1200 - that is how much he pays us. He earns a lot more but re-invests it back into the business. At a guess, based on what he has said in the past I reckon he earns about £2000 a week. But then most of it goes back into the business on bills and machinery. Would I be using this too to calculate the amount? I am crap with figures!

Thanks for help and support.

I feel like crap today. The reason I am asking this is because of a very hateful phone call earlier where DH was completely vitriolic and very clear that he wasn't giving ME the money. Pooh!

OP posts:
SaggyHairyArse · 24/03/2011 20:34

'You' aren't asking for money, you want chid maintainance for his children.

If you go to a solicitor they will give you better advice but potentially you are entitled to CM which is based on his personal salary and the profit of his business.

Child Maintainance Options tell you how much he should pay and can advise on how to go about him paying it (they can claim from salary etc).

If you see the Lone Parent Advisor at the Job Centre, they will help you with the finances.

da55 · 26/03/2011 19:22

contact cmo for more help

fivalentine · 27/03/2011 00:08

under CSA it would be 25% of his net income . is he self employed or a director of altd company. if a director it is based on the salary he pays himself(but other income ie dividends can be included if you apply for a variation) If self employed it is based on his net profit (usually on his tax return ) hope this helps

hairylights · 27/03/2011 10:42

Why do you think he should support you? Fair enough he should support his children but what possible reason could there be for him supporting you?

You need to get clarification on the difference between his income and his earnings/drawings. If it's going back on business costs then it isn't earnings.

Gonzo33 · 29/03/2011 14:48

OP - As you were a partner and not wife of I would suggest you need to take legal advice because the law is different in this area. If you had been married you could have asked for some "marriage maintenance" as you were not I could not help you as I am speaking from a "divorcee" experience (ie not a legal eagle).

The other thing I will say is that the CSA will calculate a monthly amount for you (or weekly and pay it monthly) by calculating your exp's NET income (free of tax and NI contributions). Bearing in mind that he is self employed that could mean he declares that most of the money goes back into developing the business, so what he should pay you and what he will may very well be two different things. Is he a reasonable person? Is it worth, or even can you sit down together and discuss this? If yes then do so, if not then you need to consider if finalising some kind of financial settlement between you via a solicitor is worthwhile.

Hope you get it sorted.

Me xx

gillybean2 · 29/03/2011 18:20

CSA calculator here.

Be warned though that many NRP who are self employed find ways of hiding their money if you go through the CSA.

If he is reasonable andprepared to pay a reasonable amount to support his DC then a private arrangement may be better for you. If he sticks to it and pays what you agree.
You can base this on the CSA calculation, the needs of your dc or whatever you agree.

CSA calculator is here as a starting point. And yes if you work 16+ hours a week you should get WTC and CTC.
www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/calculator.asp

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread