insuring against X defaulting on maintenance contributions

[tsunami]

Does anyone know this - if your/your kids' income depends in part on maintenance is it possible to put together a bespoke insurance deal in case the DX pops clogs/becomes unemployed/goes mad and gives it all to new GF, a dogs home etc?

The insurance industry will sell you anything you want as long as you're prepared to pay. :) You can insure yourself or someone else upon who you rely for income against death, critical illness or unemployment. The 'catch' is the cost, of course.

ye-es...thanks, Cogito...but what if they don't die, aren't sick, aren't fired or lose their job, but just leave so they don't have a salary?

Sorry, no redundancy cover is going to apply to someone who 'just leaves'... Otherwise there would be people 'just leaving' all over the place and merrily claiming compensation. :)

What you really want is a contract that he signs saying 'I promise to be a grown-up, cough up the cash regularly and pay a whopping great penalty if I act irresponsbily'. Wouldn't we all? I think all you can do, realistically, is strive for financial independence. The less influence others have on your income, the better.... especially if they are unreliable.

If he loses his job then you get the standard.....£5 a week from his jobseekers!

How can you insure against changing circumstances? You can't.

Yes. Google maintenance Assist.

You could get a policy to cover maintenance payments if he dies (although he might have to purchase it himself). It is quite cheap. It is called a family income policy. It pays a set amount each month for a set amount of years.

I have one myself (as a single parent) it is to cover a housekeeper and house expenses if I die (so the kids will not go into care). Mine is £17 a month but this is for £5000 a month over 8 years (which is when the youngest is 18).

It is cheaper that other insurance as the amount decreases as the years pass.

You can get a quote from

www.godirect.co.uk/life-insurance-quote/family-income-benefit.php

Yes, it's not that unusual in my line of work (family/wills lawyer) to include a clause in the consent order that the H will put a policy in place, and either he or the W will pay the premiums, but it usually only covers death or redundancy/long term sick, not voluntarily leaving work.

Another option (if you haven't already done the consent order) if there's a reasonable amount of money involved is to ask for a secured provision order. this is rarely asked for, but the principle is that the H sticks a lump sum into an account which can only be accessed if he fails to pay the child mtce without good reason. I've been practising for over 20 years and have never used it but the mechanism is still there.

Thanks for all of this. mumblechum (again) Yes, I have that first clause, so was wondering about the second one. The provision order is interesting - I didn't know about that. That said, I don't think I'd ever have got him or his lawyer to buy into that.
And, alas, Cogito, total financial independence would be a blast but due to decisions made down the line is only half-possible at the moment. Unless I can convince someone that, say, my amazing automatic dog-washer, my self-powered treadmill or my pedal-powered cash register design are going to make the retail trade millions...