Ex-husband's child maintenance payments coming from his mother's bank account

[Rosie1312]

Hi,

Bit of a strange one...I got my first child maintenance payment from my ex-husband on the 1st, but noticed that the name on the account that sent the payment was his mother's name (first initial and surname). I wasn't able to see the account number and sort code but I remember receiving money from the same account name while we were married so I'm 99% sure it's her, and 100% sure it isn't him making the payment.

I'm not sure what to do about it, if anything. On the one hand I'm just glad to be receiving some contribution after months of nothing, but I'm also not really comfortable with the payments coming from his mother. I've tried phoning the CMS to inform them but ended up on hold for >20mins each time and had to hang up. Is there any way of writing to them instead to inform them of this kind of thing? Has this happened to anyone else? I'm not sure what the CMS could do about it or if they would even see anything wrong with it.

Thanks!

Also why rock the boat? You are entitled to take the view this is money received in settlement of the debt owed under the CMS order. I don't believe you have an obligation to interrogate it further, and if you do, the money may stop, which would be a problem for your DD. So take her to the park and buy an ice cream of Ex-MIL and relax. The sun is out.

I speculate he is now self-employed, earns a decent amount in cash, and wants to hide it from the CMS and the HMRC

It might also be so it doesn't show up on his side of things for assessment of his ability to meet mortgage or rent payments. Mine started coming from his current wife's account when he and I were in legal dispute about additional payments unrelated to cms. I assume his solicitor advised him to do that but I'm not sure why.

@sadabouti

It's the OP's mother that helps with childcare, not her MIL.

She states that the MIL hasn't seen or even asked after her granddaughter for over a year.

@BebbanburgIsMine when I said whom she cares for, I meant, whom she loves. I didn't mean (or say) to whom she provides child care.