Dad wants maintenance

[MCR77]

Hi everyone, I need some advice.

I am a single mum with three children. My 12 yr old is going to live with his dad from now on. His dad will get the child benefit and obviously my tax credits will reduce as well. It's a financial loss for me but I will just about manage.
His dad now told me he wants maintenance for our son and will take me to court to get it.
There is no way I can give him anything, I am paying a low rent as it is and have hardly any money left as it it.

Can he really ask for that? Or is he just trying to scare me?

I don't want to come across as cold but I'm in a bit of a state atm as I am scared I loose my home and it completely uproot and unsettle my other two children.

Any advice would be appreciated 😔

Yep you claim against him and he claims against you and it should cancel out

@Starlight39 You can't claim back payments. However as everyone has pointed out there is a balancing exercise where father will pay OP maintenance for the one child who remains with her. Is OP is skint I'd assume he'll have to pay her more than she pays him.

OP - it takes less effort to claim via CMS than it does to start a thread on MN about something that has such an obvious solution as yours.

Cms will have no problems with a counter claim if he puts a claim in as they will have all l his information.

1. Contact the pastoral team at your Ds school. His well-being is their top priority so I think that they would talk to him and made sure he knew that you weren't mad at him.

1. Set up a CMS claim. (Assuming that he only has 2 kids) If he earns more than you then you'd get more CM than you'd have to pay him plus you'd get a deduction of what you owe him because of your dc1.

I know this is not about emotions, but it is so hard initially.

OP I was in your position 2 years ago. It destroys you. However, the only way is up from there. You will get there. Be kind to yourself.

When you're ready put in a cms claim for your child together whose with you.

Deep breath. You got this.

He is absolutely entitled to maintenance from you.

And you need to claim from him also.
On Monday.

He is entitled to maintenance, so are you. But surely the most sensible thing would be for neither of you to claim maintenance as you both have one of the children. Or just the difference, so for example is he is due to pay you £200 while you are due to pay him £180, he could just give you the £20 and then you’re both in the same financial position anyway.

Did you put in a claim OP? You absolutely should be paying him but he should be paying so depending on his income you may actually be better off. How much does he see your other joint child?