Child maintenance

[petalflower22]

My ex and I split 5 yrs ago and we agreed £250 per month maintenance
He was on £35k then
He has since switched job with a higher income as he said this in passing - this was a few years ago
How do I go about checking to see if the payments are correct?
I just find it hard as he pays nothing more for clothes, school trips, any extra costs, shoes uniform and childcare for holidays as he pays maintenance
Some people i know get much less but I so struggle even though I work
So if he's on now £40k or more I would be entinfowd to more
But not sure how I go about bringing the subject up with him
(We are very amicable)
He has lo every other weekend for 1 night Saturday am to the Sunday eve
Thanks in advance for any advice

I think it should be 15% of take home pay, so even the £250 was very low. I think there is a calculator you can put figures into, but why aren’t you going through CMS - then you know you getting correct amount?

Because it was just mutually agreed when we split
I will speak to him but it's hard when I don't know what he's on and he obviously won't be very happy

I have two children and get roughly £500 a month via the cms on roughly that salary. When he was working. 🙄

Give him the option. He can reconsider what he is paying. Or you will go through the cms. They will calculate what he should pay. He then has a choice of paying you directly or cms can arrange to deduct the amount directly from his wages and he then has to pay another 20% to the cms for the trouble.

I know you don't want to cause any friction. I was the same. And when I first went to the cms it caused a lot of conflict. But it is now completely out of my hands.

Sorry just to add I think it is 12% for one child and 16% for two.

And another thing it is of his net salary. So the % is taken before tax and national insurance. But after pension contributions.

So even on £35k his payments are on the low side ?
So I'm going to message him now
Any ideas on how i word it?

I would just say you are reviewing your finances and don't want to keep hassling him every year to discuss child support. So will go through cms. And then you both don't have the hassle of dealing with it and this will ensure that what is being paid is fair to both of you.

Good luck. It will cause a shit storm. Don't back down. Unless he agrees to show you pay slips and does the calculations himself and pays the agreed amount.

Well I called him in the end and he said he's going to do the calculation himself and get back to me ? So figured that was fair enough x

I just used the government calculator out of curiosity and assuming 35k pre-tax income, less than 52 nights per year with Dad and no other children to consider it said he should be paying £348 per month. That’s not taking pension payments into consideration, or any extra nights your LO might spend with your ex during school holidays etc, but it would have to be more than 52 nights per year to vary the figure.
He’s been getting off very lightly while you’ve been struggling. Is he aware that the figure itself isn’t enough to adequately provide for your child? Raise or no raise, that’s the crux of the matter.

@Youseethethingis hmm interesting. I know he is on more but how much more I don't know.
Lo doesn't go anymore days in the holidays - well this 6 weeks holidays he had 4 days but then the weekends were shortened so he just had her the week days instead of the weekend and he doesn't have her any of the half terms
He doesn't have any other children so hopefully he will come back to me with a figure he thinks is fair.
In the conversation he was ok and did listen. So we shall see x

I would ask to see his P60 to make sure you get the right amount. If he refuses this normal request he is more than likely underpaying.

Well I figured as he said he would look at the calculation himself then I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he will come back with a figure that is close to what I've come up with. If he doesn't then yeah I'll have to say let's let cms sort it...he hasn't argued it or been unreasonable yet so I'm thinking he will come back with £350 at least surely

This could be me 2 kids though and I think hes on 41,000 he pays me £270 a month. I've got so far as to write the text but too nervous to send it

Wow so you definitely are entitled to more from the cms calculation
It's 16% for two children right? And depends on the nights they spend over and if he has any other children...
Do it, of course it's nerve wracking I felt that too....but in my case it's got to be done for myself and my lo who are very much struggling atm
I ended up texting and asking for a phone call as that worked for me
But I was thinking about text
Shall def keep you posted on what my ex says x

I found it best to say I've been reviewing all my financial commitments lately and wanted to make sure everything is in order
Give him the option to go online himself and he will see the numbers himself...I didn't give any figures just said for him to do the gov calculation
As long as he is honest with it
(Which you will know and I will know if he comes back with a silly figure of says he can't pay more ) then I said cms will ask to see payslips and p60 etc and I said there's no need to go down that route
My ex was ok - he just said he would look himself which is fair enough x

My husband earns the same as your ex and he pays 292 for his child. His salary has gone up to 37,000 and maintenance has gone up to £430 a month, if that helps with your calculations 😊