Maintenance payments for 4 children, what is reasonable?

[thepiedpiper]

I know every case if different but Iam trying to sort out finances with xh and have no idea where to start. I don't even know how much he earns now, and he has no active part in looking after them.
Looking for someone in a similar position with 4 children to get some kind of average so I can negotiate with x as we both want to try and work it out ourselves.

you need to go on the CSA website to calculate the payments that they would set and work from there

do you have no knowledge of his income?

there will be no average as child support payments are based on the non resident parent's income

csa website have a calculator

I think the CSA amount is 25% of net income for 3 or more children. (with reductions if he ever does have them to stay overnight at least once a week)

You don't have to use their calculator or stick to the amount they say, but if you don't then either of you could change your mind at a later date and decide to increase/decrease the amount to the CSA limit, so in some ways it's more secure if you stick to the limit. My ex pays me by direct debit each month, but he pays the amount we worked out from the CSA calculator. I found it very useful as a bargaining tool as he had been paying much less.

The other way of doing it is to work out how much your kids cost, what you both earn (and have left after housing, child benefit, tax credits, etc) and then work out how much he should pay you so that you both have the same amount of personal spending money.

But either way you need to find out how much he earns to have any chance of negotiating fairly.

make sure that you have a clause for payments to rise with inflation because what seems reasonable now might not in ten years

Do your own review every year in line with pay rises etc