father with Two teenagers

[Terryf]

My ex is moving to miles away and is leaving me with two young teens, a son and a daughter. am i able to claim some kind of maintenance from her for them? if so how? thanks, Terry

You can go through the Child Support Agency. Also speak to Citizens' Advice, and find a family-friendly lawyer at least for an initial consult.

make sure you claim the child benefit too.

And, depending on your circumstances, Child (and Working) Tax Credit.

If it's not already going to you, start the ball rolling on Child Benefit (info here) ASAP. Once you get that sorted then you can look at child tax credits or working tax credits as appropriate. You can get help with childcare costs (eg, after-school clubs, holiday clubs etc) via working tax credit. But you need to get the Child Benefit sorted first.

Make sure that schools, doctors, dentists, opticians etc all know that your children are living with you and that you should be the first point of contact.

Is your ex working? If so then the CSA will say that she should pay you 20% of her net salary as child maintenance for your two children. If you can get her to agree to that without involving the CSA then so much the better but if she won't, or you don't think she'll keep to the agreement, then contact the CSA and open a case. If she's not working but claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, or is on a very low wage, then you'll get £5 a week. If she is self-employed then things get trickier.

I'm also a single dad. The help and advice you can get here on mumsnet is fantastic.

lighthearted comment , i may sugget you get in wine