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Original poster

Child maintenance question

36 replies

nothercules · 04/01/2007 22:44

My db has recently split up with his girlfriend and they have one ds. SHe has already moved out with the ds and the split is amicable. He is going to buy her out of the house and stay there himself. He is currently a student with an income of 1000 pounds a month and should have a job end of academic year. She works full time and child goes to nursery full time.

All nursery fees are currently paid by benefits plus I assume she gets tax credits on top. They have agreed that he will contribute to clothes, shoes etc and she says she is fine with that as her mum is wealthy. She is buying her own place.

My question is can they simply make an arrange between them without him officially paying maintenance. I am assuming she will claim single parent thing for nursery and tax credits.
WOnt they go to my brother in order to claim some of this back?

OP posts:
Freckle · 04/01/2007 22:48

If his partner is claiming benefits, she will have to declare details of the child's father so that the CSA (in its current form) will be able to claim maintenance to be offset against the benefits.

Twinklemegan · 04/01/2007 22:50

Unless things have changed this is my understanding of the situation. If your db's ex is on benefits then she will have to give your db's details to the CSA. Any voluntary agreement that they have (you mention contributions to clothes, shoes, etc.) will be disregarded. Her benefits will be reduced to take account of the money received from your db through the CSA (she is allowed to keep a small amount, I forget how much). Sorry it's not a more rosy picture - the CSA are tyrants!

slinx · 04/01/2007 23:10

I thought the CSA would only get involved if the girlfriend is on income support. If she is working full time and claiming tax credits I don't think they bother so much unless the girlfriend actually contacts them directly.

Could be wrong though!

nikkie · 04/01/2007 23:11

She gets £10 I think.BUt if he is a student, is his money from grants or work? It may not be eligible money?

chocolatebirdy · 04/01/2007 23:11

I believe that slinx is correct on this one, it does just apply to income support so an agreement between the two of them would be fine.

Twinklemegan · 04/01/2007 23:12

Sorry, I'm not sure if I misread your post. Just realised you said your db's ex works full time. So when you say the fees are paid by benefits, do you mean work benefits as opposed to social security (lucky her if that's the case). If she's not on benefits then she wouldn't have to declare your db's details and the voluntary agreement would be fine. Just a word of warning to your db though - if she does change her mind, she could approach the CSA at any time to get maintenance from him. Any voluntary payments he had made from the time she applied would be ignored and he would have to pay again, backdated to the (?) date of her application. If I were you I'd advise him to make sure he keeps her sweet - any dealings with the CSA are to be avoided at all costs!

Twinklemegan · 04/01/2007 23:16

X posted with a few people. Yes Slinx is right - they're not bothered about tax credits, just income support and the like. (I have done extensive research into the CSA and the barmy rules and assessment methods as my DH has had horrendous problems with them. It was some time ago though, so I'm a bit rusty).

JustUsTwo · 04/01/2007 23:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
nothercules · 04/01/2007 23:19

Thankyou so much for responses.
She doesnt get income support as she works full time and the tax credits pay nursery directly afaik.

Thanks for bit about being able to backdate payments too.

OP posts:
Original poster
nothercules · 04/01/2007 23:20

Actually my sympathy goes to her. She's a great person and has put up with a lot from my brother. It's amazing she didnt leave him sooner actually.

OP posts:
nikkie · 04/01/2007 23:22

Would CSA see it as regukar payments if it was s/o or d/d?

Twinklemegan · 04/01/2007 23:27

What are s/o and d/d Nikkie? Sorry if I'm being thick!

JustUsTwo · 04/01/2007 23:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

nikkie · 04/01/2007 23:31

What she said

Twinklemegan · 04/01/2007 23:34

Duh! Thanks JustUsTwo!

If you mean would they see the voluntary payments as regular payments Nikkie, I don't think they care. Once they are involved it is their assessment that counts and anything else is seen as extra. And almost everybody who is assessed for maintenance by the CSA starts off with arrears because they backdate the amount due. I'm actually going to check up on this voluntary payments thing now (well tomorrow) as I'd hate to be giving the wrong information. As I said, it was a while ago that I read up on all this - thankfully we've been able to keep them at bay in recent years.

Surfermum · 05/01/2007 21:41

They took dh's voluntary payments into account. He had to prove they'd been made as his x was telling the CSA he hadn't paid anything, but luckily he'd paid by standing order.

nikkie · 05/01/2007 21:51

Xh pays me by SO but quite often cancels it, just wondered if I ever pushed it I could use it to say wasn't regular.

Twinklemegan · 05/01/2007 22:12

Ah, I stand corrected then. I've just looked it up and the CSA says they MAY take such payments into account (i.e. they don't have to) and they will definitely require proof (paying by s/o or d/d would presumably provide such proof). So Nothercules, if the worst came to the worst and the ex did decide to get the CSA involved, your db MUST make sure he has proof of every payment made to her from the time the CSA makes contact with him.

Nikkie - I would have thought that if your ex has proof of the payments he has made he would be perfectly within his rights to expect those to be offset against any maintenance assessment. I think proof is the thing rather than regularity.

nikkie · 06/01/2007 20:50

Thanks, he has been promising for about a year to up his payments and yet has cancelled some over Xmas 'cos he hasn't had time to get his savings to top up his bank, Christmas is so expensive you see!Err yes I know I am Father Christmas

maycontainstress · 10/01/2007 13:35

I am baffled with the CSA. I was hoping they might actually be able to help me get some money out of the tight fisted Exh. Unfortunately, their website calculator is either a comedy.com sort of spoof or he really does have to pay bugger all per week.

How the hell do they get away with it. He knows how much it costs to bring up children because he used to live with us as a family. Out of sight, out of mind. Oh but he has a right to see them though doesn't he? Without providing for them?

nightowl · 12/01/2007 18:35

to maycontainstress and anyone else that cares to listen...i can only give one piece of advice about website calculators (and this includes tax credits) DONT GO THERE!! they spew out rubbish. every single time in my experience. they absolutely are put there for the comedy value im sure!!

helrhy · 31/01/2007 21:01

Hi all, I am new to this site but a single parent. When my ex moved out leaving me with 2 children a little girl of 6 and a little boy of 3. We agreed that he would give me 20% of his wages but because I didnt work I was put on benefits and the CSA got involved. They came out and told me that he had to give me £50 maintenance a week but that meant I only kept £10 as the benefits deducted the rest a week leaving me with £15 to pay for all direct debits plus half the mortgage and feed the kids. In other words he was supporting me not the children! I have complained to my local mp and he is looking into it for me.

The CSA also caused a real problem between me and my ex (we were amicable until they got involved).

Twinklemegan · 31/01/2007 21:09

Helrhy - unfortunately your experience is all too common. My DH (before he was my DH) ended up effectively paying the income support for his ex and her husband - the kids didn't come into it.

maycontainstress · 01/02/2007 12:57

My xh has just reduced the amount he says he is going to pay by a third. So now, if I get anything at all, it will be close to bugger all. I really want a way of getting some support to get the money out of him but I'm not eligible for Legal Aid and I am extremely sceptical about the CSA. He'd manage to get out of even the pittance they suggest.

Its a no win situation.

nightowl · 02/02/2007 01:53

maycontainstress, all i can say is that with the CSA you have to keep on trying. It took me nearly three years of banging my head against a brick wall with them, constant phone calls, letters, letters to my mp, to the chief exec of the CSA, a private detective hired at my own expense just to prove the bugger lived where i had already TOLD them he lived and plenty of tears along the way . BUT, i did get the first year's money very recently...now just to do the whole thing again for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 i expect....and on it goes. and i believe im one of the lucky ones...i overheard a mother telling someone she had been waiting for 14 years. i wish you luck.