[Solved] Child Maintenance from ex wife

Hi

If she has a job, then she is liable for maintenance - to be honest, if she's messing about, I wouldn't bother to try to negotiate, just go straight to the CMS and oen a case (costs £20) and let them sort it out - it will date from the time they contact her so the sooner the better.

With respect to the maintenance you pay, technically she is correct that it will increase if he hasn't had 52 overnights per year, if it comes down to her word against his, the CMS seem to take the view that it's one night per week, so if they do that, then he's no worse off.

Agree with actd...generally they don't require any evidence, just the mothers word is enough unfortunately, but once you have a defined court order you can submit that to get it put back down.
If parents dispute the number of overnights, then as actd says, the default position that CMS fall back on is one night a week.

If she is earning an income she is liable to contribute towards the child that lives with you, if she won't agree informally then you should open a case with the CMS.

Best of luck

HI There,
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As has already been said your best action would be to contact CMS and get everything set up through them, I would do this for the 2 children that live with the ex aswell as it will save a lot of issues, hopefully it would be just the one off set up cost so if you get it done together then it would all be sorted and she wouldn't be able to question anything.
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If there is already a CMS case for the 2 children that live with her, then she can't ask for the additional, she would have to ask CMS to re asses the case.
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Get in touch with CMS and get everything set up, he can still pay her directly as they will sort out bank details if needed, they will just work out what has to be paid and by who.
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GTTS

Agree with all of the above in respect of opening a case with CMS.

Unfortunately, without a court order, they will take her word with regard to the other childrens overnight contact.

If you are going to look at formalising the childrens arrangement via an order, you will need to attempt mediation first, as this is a mandatory requirement before you can make a court application.

You could discuss finances and the childrens arrangements at mediation if she agrees to attend.

http://www.nfm.org.uk/

Hello Boldilox

All parents have a responsibility to provide regular and reliable financial support for their children.

In the majority of cases children benefit most when both parents provide for them and can make arrangements between themselves. This is known as a family-based arrangement and although it isn’t legally binding, a lot of families feel that this type of arrangement works better and lasts longer compared to the other options available.

There are some tools and guides on Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp that may be able to help your husband agree a family-based arrangement. One of these is the online calculator, which can give an estimate of the amount of child maintenance expected according to Government guidelines.

If your husband finds he is not able to negotiate a family-based arrangement with his ex-wife, as has been suggested he may wish to consider making an application to the Child Maintenance Service. They are the Government’s statutory maintenance service and can either calculate the child maintenance, then leave your husband and his ex-wife to arrange payments between themselves (Direct Pay), or they can collect payments and pass them on for them (Collect Pay).

As actd mentioned, a paying parent’s responsibility to pay will start from around the point the Child Maintenance Service contact the paying parent.

A paying parent is only legally responsible for the amount worked out by the Child Maintenance Service and they would only take into consideration actual overnight contact.

If there is an existing child maintenance arrangement in place with the Child Maintenance Service, either parent would be responsible to notify the relevant organisation of any change in circumstances.

The alternative way to arrange child maintenance is by using the legal system, which is known as a Consent Order (Minute of Agreement in Scotland).

For more information on the different ways to set up child maintenance and for a more personalised service, your husband may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website.

As Yoda mentioned it may be worth arranging mediation to discuss finances and contact with the children. Alternatively, the DWP have a sorting out separation website that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: https://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/.

Regards

William