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I have recently split up from my partner we have one child and she has another child from a previous relationship. she does not want the other dad to pay maintenance as he does not see the child. he has never paid a penny as i was footing the bills when we were together. she is demanding that i pay her more money every month (that i cannot afford) because he does not pay maintenance even though she knows where he lives and could easily pursue him for payments. i am happy to pay maintenance for my child and always pay the correct amount on time. however, i am not happy about being harassed for extra money for a child that is not mine when the dad could very easily be made to pay. is this right? would making a complaint to the csa start the process of him having to pay.
If your case is through the CMS then you will only have to pay what they calculate.
You can start a CMS case that covers you, your child and your ex partner. As long as you did not adopt the other child your calculation would only be for 1 child.
However you can not start a case, nor can the CMS, involving your ex partner, the other child and the other father. The only people who can start a case are those legally classed as Mother or Father, or legal guardians.
So you can get a calculation that states what YOU have to pay - and because of that your ex partner can not easily pursue you for more. BUT that does not mean she will stop harassing you about it - that is out of the CMS's jurisdiction and control.
Hi There,
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As stated above your ex can't make you pay for the other child you could choose too but but be forced too, if you start a case with CMS then it would cut all the issues about how much you pay.
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It as said wouldn't stop the harrasment but at least it's all official, the cost to set up a case with CMS isn't much and you can still pay your ex directly.
.
GTTS
Hello CBR
Firstly I would like to clarify that, following Government guidelines, if you were to have your maintenance arranged through the statutory maintenance service (such as the Child Maintenance Service for example) you would only be legally obliged to pay maintenance for your biological child. In addition to this, the responsibility to pay for your ex-partner’s other child, would lie with their own biological father.
With regards to arranging maintenance for your child, there are various ways that this can be done. In many cases, parents choose to set up a child maintenance arrangement between themselves. This is known as a family-based arrangement. This type of agreement is not legally binding, and so there are no set rules that you would need to adhere to. These types of arrangements are flexible, and both parents can agree to the terms of the arrangement, on a basis that suits you both.
The Child Maintenance Options website has many supporting tools and guides, which you may find helpful in setting up a family-based arrangement with your ex-partner. You can reach these by clicking the following link: www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp.
If you find you are not able to set up a family-based arrangement, you may wish to consider making an application to the Child Maintenance Service. They can either calculate your child maintenance, then leave you to arrange payments between yourselves, or they can collect payments and pass them on for you.
If you decide to ask the Child Maintenance Service to arrange your child maintenance for you in the future, your responsibility to pay will start from around the point you contact them or they contact you.
There is also the option of a Consent Order (Minute of Agreement in Scotland), which is an agreement made through the courts.
For a more personalised response, you may wish to contact Child Maintenance Options directly at www.cmoptions.org.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, 'Sorting out Separation'. It aims to make it much easier for separating and separated parents (and childless couples) to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.
Regards
William
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