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Hi all, thanks in advance for any assistance that you guys can give.
My partner of 8 years was recently contacted out of the blue by CMS stating that a girl he slept with 14 years ago has put a claim in. At the time he was in the military, she told him she was pregnant etc and then later, whilst he was away told him that the child wasn’t his. No more said and no contact since. The child is now nearly 14.
We have a house etc and a 3 year old ourselves. He has had a DNA test which has confirmed he is the biological father and is now going through the process of them calculating the payments.
it is currently looking like he will have to pay over £600 a month for a child he didn’t even know he had…
It appears that they do not take into account that we have a mortgage and other debt. Is this correct?
As you can imagine this is having a huge impact on his mental health and potentially may put us in a position where we have to sell our house to afford the payments.
please can someone help!?
hi,
sorry to hear. unfortunately the more he earns, the more he will need to pay. he should double check their assessment amounts to make sure it is correct. if his income has dropped by 25% or more compared to the income figure their using, he needs to contact them, and they will reduce payments.
with his other debts I recommend he try a charity like step change.:
also, do you and your partner have children? if so he should tell CMS that he supports other children, and they will reduce payments.
@dadmod2 hi thanks for your replies. Yes they are aware and believe this will reduce the payments by 11%. I’m just struggling to believe, given the circumstances around this case that they will not take into consideration our outgoings?
@kb1 they only consider mortgage if your partner is paying a mortgage for a property that his ex partner lives in, and he has no equitable interest from it. or if he is paying car finance towards a car owned and driven by ex partner, for example.
Unfortunately, child maintenance isn't means-tested and is purely income-based. That said, there are ways of reducing the amount paid apart from what has already been suggested.
1: Call in and ask to speak to a case worker about extending the schedule on the arrears part of your payment to make them more affordable. All cases begin and end with arrears - it's down to the time between the case opening date and the date of the 1st payment. 8am sharp is the best way to avoid the 1 hour+ waiting times.
2: Would you both qualify for Universal Credit? It sounds like the payments would break you so if eligible it would help to swell the coffers. The CMS will deduct £7 per week directly from the DWP but you'd get the balance. Your Partner would still need to pay the standard schedule as is.
3: Check to see what the Income figure the CMS has used for their calculation. This can be anything upto 6 years. If your Partner is earning more than 25% LESS than the income figure they've used, he can report an Income Change via the Portal. He'll need to recent, identical monthly payslips or 5 weekly ones as proof.
Lastly - a word of advice. Your Partner will have had the case opened as "Direct Pay", that means he'll be paying the other parent direct to her bank account, she should have provided details on the portal for him. Now, if he pays early, late, part pays or doesn't pay and the other parent reports it he'll be switched to "Collect and Pay" which means he'll be paying the CMS directly to manage the case. That will mean an additional charge of 20% on TOP of the calculation, so pushing payments up to £720 per month. If he fails to pay that, there's a shitload of enforcement options they can use, ultimately ending in a custodial sentence.
The CMS is not to be trifled with so if you are struggling financially, negotiate with the bank, etc because the CMS won't budge one inch.
Hope these help,
jon
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