residential college and maintenance payment also child tax element

[chelle72]

Hi, can anyone help me, my daughter is about to go away to a residential college (age 16 doing A level equivalents, home most weekends :) and all holidays) ex wants to stop paying maintenance as "she is going to be away most of the time" and i dont know what to do, The college has offered her a residential grant because of my very low income so he says that i am no longer paying for her although i will have to provide all of her kit and have her home weekends and top up her food allowance card and spending money etc our divorce settlement just said "payments until child turns 16 or leaves full time further education". Also will her being away affect my child tax element of tax credits i wont be able to manage without that part of my benefit?
thanks for any advice, cant find anything else on the net except for in relation to childre who are disabled going into residential type care
Chelle

if your divorce says just that, she has not left full time education. He is trying it on! As for child tax element, she is surely still normally resident with you?

Child tax credits depends which course she is on I think. Is it a Level 4 course?

Is Katymac around? Her dd is going away in Srotember too & I know she currently gets CTC

It might be child benefit I'm thinking if. Quite a few children who I know their parents lose child benefit as they are doing Level 6 diplomas unless they do A levels alongside.

You still have to buy her clothes, put a roof over her head and feed her during the holidays and weekends. You can't just move into a one bedroomed flat during the week to keep the bills down, then move to a larger place for the weekends.

Parents with children who board still get tax credits. He is trying it on, don't fall for it.

I agree he is trying it on

Her expenses will be much more than if she were at home. Pocket money alone as you have to cover all extras when they are away

Hi, thanks everyone for your advice. It is a level 3 diploma course for 2 years, basically just equivalent to A levels no more, Just don't know how he expects me to manage, she is applying for a bursary as it is to do the course as i cant afford the £3500 boarding fees! Think i might have to try to get an appt at the CAB, we dont use the CSA as we managed to agree a figure at the mediation, however his wages have increased somewhat since then and no increase in maintenance, arrgh what a minefield, lol. thanks though for your help and support everyone x

Good luck. The CSA is the best way to go My ex move abroad and changed jobs but always claimed poverty so 'couldn't' increase the payments (CSA loses it's jurisdiction if the absent parent leaves the UK unless they work in a job which has it's head office here). He stopped paying in a huff so I took him to court and they almost doubled his payments as he was earning shit loads and has 2 houses I wish I had have done this earlier as they could only backdate it to the date I filled. He'd been gone for 10 years

For a level 3 diploma you will still get tax credits/child benefit & you are still entitled to maintenance.

He's being an idiot. Does he want to deny his daughter an education.

oh Ladysybil how awful for you! why do they think its okay to have everything and give nothing to their children, they wanted them but they walk away so easily :( thanks picturesinthefirelight, that helps :)
good luck everyone and thanks so much for the info xx

Ah, we're almost sorted now. I'm still waiting for the arrears (5 months worth), the UK courts are a lot better at sorting things then the ones where he lives so I may be waiting for a long time. He's doing it to punish me, it's a control thing.

I hope you manage to get it sorted. Don't let him do this, it's unfair on you and your dd