I have a little girl (nearly 3) and a boy (nearly 6) we split last year and their mum moved back to Scotland from where we used to live together in Brighton. We both sort of get on ok now as we're not driving each other mad living together but i feel i'm paying a lot and have trouble each month making ends meet, i've since got another girlfriend.
Am i paying to much?
The first payments as recommended by CSA where around £350 a month, but i also pay for flights to scotland which are around £100 (which she pays half of) plus i pay around £25 a month on train fare to the airport from my new flat in Brighton which totalled around £425 a month! she picks me up from the airport in scotland.
So we both agreed i pay a little less, i said £300, plus half flights (50) and the train (25) totalling £375 a month.
As the CSA recommend i pay roughly £350 a month would i be in a good position to drop my main payment down another £25 or £50? which would mean i pay a total of £325 to £350?
What do you think and where would i stand? when im up there which is once a month for a couple of days i also pay for food/drink and going out to places like soft play etc.
thanks alot
GD
....Because you and your ex have a private arrangement, even though its based on CSA guidelines, you are in a good position to re negotiate. I believe the CSA do make a reduction towards travelling expenses, but as she shares the cost of the airfare and picks you from the airport on arrival, that may well mitigate any reduction they might make.
My advice is to talk to her about the problems you have making ends meet and if she fair minded she may well agree to a further same reduction.
Good luck
Hello Golfdude09
With you and your ex-partner having a family-based arrangement in place you may wish to try to discuss and negotiate the amount of maintenance you are currently paying. Family-based arrangements are not legally enforceable and there are no strict rules or formulas to follow when calculating child maintenance. Therefore parents can decide the terms of their agreement to suit their current circumstances.
The Child Maintenance Options website has a useful tools and guides section that you and your ex-partner may find helpful when trying to negotiate their family-based arrangement. This can be found at http://www.cmoptions.org.
I have included a link on how the Child Maintenance Service calculates child maintenance that you may find useful, https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out/how-the-child-maintenance-service-works-out-child-maintenance.
For more information on the different ways to set up child maintenance, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
The DWP have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
Regards
William
Well if you look at this objectively:
1.
Your ex is already footing half the bill for travel costs.
I suspect that although the CMS will reduce your maintenance amount by some to account for travel, it will not be more than half the cost.
2.
When you take your kids out and such, it is your time with them that you are paying for.
You do not contribute to her costs for taking them out and such when you are not around, as the money you pay her is for kids basic needs like accommodation, food etc.
3.
You have a reasonably civil relationship with the ex at the mo.... rocking the boat may get this to flip suddenly.
When things like this flip, they do so big time.
I agree totally. If you try to drop the payments, your ex could perfectly legitimately say that you pay exactly what they recomment and she doesn't pay towards your travel. On a rough calculation, I reckon your travel costs would reduce your CSA liability by £10, but you'd then end up paying the full cost of your travel, plus costs of taxi at the Scotland end when your ex refuses to pick you up - so you'd end up paying around £475 per month, and wreck the relationship you have with your ex. It's really not worth it IMO.
I'd be interested to know how you worked out the reduction for travel, as I'm sure the CSA told my son there was no help for him even though he lives 300 miles away and it costs roughly £100 in fuel plus hotel bills if he stays there, or £150 to collect and take back. And obviously he's paying the full amount of CSA for the month he has her too.
The basic calculation for the CSA reduction in travel costs is that you are expected to pay the first £15 per week (comes to £65 per month). Anything over this amount is then knocked off your qualifying income, but what that effectively means is that anything over £65 per month reduces your liability by 15%/20%/25% (depending on number of children) of the excess travel costs. So if, for example, you are paying, say £200 per month in travel costs and have 2 children, the amount you pay over £65 per month is £135, and then 20% of this is £27, so that is the reduction per month in maintenance.