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Hi,
My ex and I split up in 1996 when our daughter was 2 years old. I started paying maintenance immediately on a monthly basis. My ex went to the CSA at the time and they sent me some paperwork which I duly completed and returned along with some payslips. I never heard anything from them again. I continued to pay maintenance monthly as well as contributing to school uniforms, trips and all other manner of requests from my ex, as and when they arose, I also saw our daughter on a weekly basis and still do now. Throughout the whole of this time, both my ex and I have worked full time and although initially she was earning more than me, for around the last 10 years, I have earned more than her.
Our daughter is 19 in November and pending her A level results will be going to university in September. She will remain living at home with her mum but will be entitled to student finance to cover the cost of her course as well as a maintenance grant and loan. I know that my liability for maintenance payments will cease from September but I have said that I will pay our daughter £100 per month as an allowance/pocket money.
My ex has now been in touch saying that I have no right to reduce the amount I am paying as in her opinion, I haven't been paying enough for the last 17 years but she chose not to pursue it! I pointed out the CSA involvement and as I heard nothing, I assumed that they were happy with the arrangement in place, to which she stated that apparently they told her that they had lost the paperwork back in 1996 and she decided not to chase that up (this was the first I knew of this). At no point throughout the last 17 years has she ever told me that she didn't feel I was paying enough.
She now says that she will go back to the CSA and put in a retrospective application and if they decide that I haven't been paying enough for the last 17 years, they could hit me with a bill for that amount.
I have looked on various websites and am fairly certain that she can't do this but could she, in theory, obtain a court order to do this outside of the CSA? I don't think that she can do these things, as it just seems to be a knee-[censored] reaction to the fact I am planning to reduce the amount I pay but I thought I would put it out to this forum to see if anyone can clarify this for me....
Thank you in advance.
I would have a word with the Citizens Advice Bureau - the problem is that the original assessment was done on CSA1 which had different rules, and I have no idea whether they could find the papers again. If not, then it would be a new claim, and no backdating, plus CSA2, and at the age your daughter it, they almost certainly wouldn't take it anyway.
I would say that since you have been paying regularly, a court is unlikely to suddenly find that you owe lots of money, but it's certainly worth getting advice.
Hi Bickers70
Thanks for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time, non-advanced education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid. With your daughter being 18 and attending university in September, from this point there will no longer be a maintenance requirement.
When a new application is made to the Child Support Agency (CSA) the paying parent's responsibility starts from around the point of when the CSA contact them or when the paying parent contacts the CSA, depending on which parent is making the application. They do not backdate new applications. However, if your old case is still open with the CSA they may be able to backdate your payments. You will need to contact the CSA directly to confirm if your case is closed. Their contact details can be found on any letter they have sent you, or this website www.gov.uk/child-support-agency provides their contact details.
If you would like an indication of how much maintenance may be payable if you were to use the services of the CSA now, there is an online calculator on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator.
I understand you are happy to continue your maintenance payments, however, you are going to be paying them directly to your daughter at a reduced amount. With you already having a family-based arrangement in place you may wish to speak to your ex and try to renegotiate a payment amount to suit you both. Some parents use the figure provided by the calculator as a starting point to their negotiations. There are no strict rules or formulas that you have to stick to when working out a figure and you can include other items such as providing books for your daughter's studies. Collaborating to keep a child maintenance arrangement is better for your daughter.
Family-based arrangements are not legally binding, however, they are quick and easy to change as your daughter gets older and her needs change.
We have some useful tools and guide available to download from our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp. We have a Taking about money guide, which can help you and your ex work out together how much maintenance your daughter needs.
You will need to seek legal advice in regards to whether your ex can obtain a court order for any backdated maintenance. The following link can provide you with contact details for organisations in your area that may be able to help you further http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/.
To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit http://cmoptions.org or call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday.
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