Would court make her get a better paid job?

[ebadame]

I have two DSC. They are D so don't come at me with "poor kids etc".

Anyway, DH has moved jobs recently and is paid less. This wasnt his choice. He was made redundant. This job employed him. He is looking for a better paid job. I work full time. We have 1 shared DC

Ex-wife is making fuss over the reduced maintenance and is threatening court. I don't know why as he pays the legally owed amount. Yes in an ideal world he'd voluntarily pay more. However the ex has chosen to work extremely part time hours at minimum wage. She's well trained. The kids are at secondary school. She has more earning potential. Would a court tell her to look for more work if she took it to court. I suspect she's after my income but I understand that is untouchable is that right?

Court wouldn't do anything. If he's paying what the CMS tells him to then there's nothing to be done. Similarly no, they can't force her to get a better paid job. She can't touch your money, no.

A court couldn’t force her to earn more, but nor could it force your DH to pay more than the CMS calculation for what he earns. His amount would be the same if she earned £1M a year or a tenner. They can’t touch your money.

They won't make her get a different job. In any case she may get benefits that equate to her getting more hours.

Yes your DH should pay maintenance and that will legally be what CMS says he should pay. As dear as your DSC are to you there are no villains in this sad but all too typical scenario. If anything he is only paying a bare minimum and usually not what it would cost to ease kids.

Presumably neither is mum if she works extremely part time.

If she works extremely part time then either she is independently wealthy or has various benefits and tax credits etc that subsidise her income and then with child maintenance she runs her household.

This. She doesn't have a mortgage and previously was using DH's maintenance to run the household on top of her benefits etc and wage. He has taken a considerable cut in wage as his previous role was highly specialised.

She's probably not independently wealthy if she's threatening court over money she isn't entitled to. So she's probably entitled to benefits and therefore not financially providing for her children either. I don't see why it's any less bad because she's the rp. Also ops husband has been made redundant, it wasn't a choice.

She sounds cheeky. Why is working beneath her?

Mum's earnings are none of your concern and don't make any difference to the amount of child support her ex has to pay

I’m in almost exactly the same situation- partners ex works minimum hours though could increase earning potential… she claims universal credit and has over the CMS calculation of maintenance, as well as DP having the children for 45% of the time. He pays the mortgage and most of the bills too for the marital home. (Still going through divorce and financials)

When I first met DP he was earning a lot more, and unfortunately lost his job in January this year, so we had about 6 weeks with no earning, except my income. Yet he still paid the same maintenance and didn’t want to tell her about it.

skip to now, and he’s had to reduce maintenance slightly, because he’s not earning near to what he used to, and she’s all over my income too and how we have been spending and shopping and all that malarkey! I wish!

Blimey! That sounds worse!

Can she even take him to court for maintenance if he's paying the CMS amount?

I was explaining the set up as it came up.

No I don’t think so, and I think she’s just using it as a threat. He’s is soon to do a child arrangements application.

I found out from him last night she’s texting again about my earnings as we are a couple and ‘in the eyes of the law’

She’s being unreasonable re: the maintenance, she just has to rely on less just as your family is having to rely on less with his change of circumstances or any other family where one parent isn’t earning as much, end of. They wouldn’t tell her she needs to get a better paid job, she just needs to adapt or increase her earnings, just like in a coupled family.

No, but CMS calculations are woefully low so it's all a bit pathetic in this country. Can he have his children more often?

If they can tell her to get a better job presumably they could tell your husband the same.

Your earnings and how your household spends its money is absolutely nothing to do with her, CMS calculate a fair rate based on NRP earnings alone. I’ve been a RP for many years receiving maintenance, we’ve struggled at times but some RP are ridiculous in their expectations. No you can’t expect your children to be guaranteed any lifestyle even in a coupled up family. Plus we’ve had to struggle to pay the CMS rate for DSC children and our children go without and have a much lower standard of living but overall it’s a fair system.
I wouldn’t put up with her attitude at all

I do agree that the non parents earnings shouldn't be considered, but let's be real, when a NRP takes a lower paid role chances are it's because their subsidised by the other adult in the household which enables them to earn less quite happily. So their income is relevant in that regard even though it shouldnt be included. The offshoot is there's less money for their children- god forbid a man pays above the pitiful CMS amount because he recognises this.

They are not woefully low, the NRP shouldn’t be forced to live in penury, I’ve been a RP and partner of a NRP (with our own children to support too) so see it from both sides. The CMS rate is a huge portion of our family income and has left us struggling but I acknowledge it is a fair rate, taking the p to expect more though. DSC are able to have a much better standard of living than our own DC and even my DC

So I’m peeved from my discussion last night with DP as I find out again, he’s sent a long comprehensive message to her, detailing that my new car is a lease - couldn’t afford to fix older car, and our finances are separate…

I wish he’d just shut it down and stop with that, it feels like he tries to placate her.

sorry - not trying to take over OP’s thread!!

If its a huge portion of his salary then he must have a fair few children, perhaps people will start to take responsibility for reproducing at some point. It is a low amount, not reflective in the slightest of a portion of the cost of raising a child.

Men who have a higher earning partner to sub their standard of living meaning they can take a lower paid job and pay less are gross.

Well as the OP has explained she is mortgage free so with part time work, benefits top up and maintenance she is probably getting by. HE is paying what he legally has to and won't be forced to pay but also she won't be forced to work more so J fail to see what your issue is with the scenario. In a redundancy situation where someone has to take a cut when taking on a new job it is upsetting for both that person and anyone they are supporting to have to get by on less. I assume OP's husband will continue to look for a better paying job if its an issue for them but OP's contention that the ex should be forced into more work or a better job is plain daft.

Of course they can’t- that’s not how the legal system works! If your DH is paying the correct amount of child support (as per the CMS calculator) she is getting what she is entitled to. Most decent parents will have a look at the actual costs of raising kids and decide how they can be fairly split but there is no legal obligation to do so. When circumstances change CMS can be recalculated, getting a lower/higher paid job, change of number of nights kids spend with each parent etc. are those kinds of things. I have seen both very high earning NRPs deliberately trying to pay as little as they can and RPs expecting their very expensive lifestyle to be funded forever while not lifting a finger. Most people are in the middle trying to do the best for their kids and getting by. Court rarely makes things better.

I don’t agree, the lower earnings are still going to have a significant impact on their household too, people don’t take lower earning roles just to spite the RP. In any family there may be times when one parent switches jobs or even has to stop working altogether for whatever reason and the family has to adapt. Its not my right to dictate what job husband does so he can earn x amount to maintain our lifestyle, just that he works and not sit about all day for no reason. The same applies to myself. If he earns well then great, we can enjoy that but if he was in a minimum wage job then we’d have to adapt. NRP shouldn’t lose that autonomy just because they are a NRP. If a NRP can perhaps help more with childcare now they have a more flexible/ less demanding job than that would be quite a reasonable expectation of the RP, just as in a joined household I would expect more help if DH working less