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Hi, I'm just about to finishing my service of 22 yrs in the Armed Forces. I have secured a job but at a £10k pay drop, so naturally my monthly maintenance payments will change and drop by £100pm. As a part of our divorce I received a no further claim - clean break order from the courts in life/death regarding my armed forces pension. can my ex wife claim my pension as an income to supplement the maintenance payments? Even with this clean break Order?
As two years ago she withheld £4000 from court agreed settlement (what she says she would've been entitled too in the divorce - but she agreed not to pursue in return for me signing house over in return for a cash settlement. (All which was agreed and signed in Court divorce order) I didn't make a fuss as it had taken 8yrs to get any money she owed me, but never forget either.
Since our sepeartion and last 11years I've made voluntary payments on time every month, without failure. There has been no requirement for the old CSA system to get in involved.
Many thanks
R
The clean break order should be it as regards to any settlement to her, but with regards to child maintenance, then the CMS can override any court settlement, so the question is whether you are paying as much as the CMS would calculate - if you are, then I wouldn't worry as her going to the CMS won't make a difference. I assume your pension will be taken into account (if it's being paid out now) as it's taxable income, but it might be worth speaking to the CMS directly just to check just in case a service pension is dealt with differently.
Hello SimonP75
Child Maintenance Options are not experts in any legal agreements that you may have made with your ex-wife during your divorce, so if you do have any concerns regarding them you may wish to seek legal advice. However, it does sound as though you have had a family-based arrangement in place for your maintenance payments over the years and you can continue paying your maintenance in this way if you are both happy with your agreement.
Child Maintenance Options do have some supporting tools on their website that could help you renegotiate your agreement now you have had a change in your financial circumstances.
Many parents choose to sort out their maintenance between themselves as it can be the quickest and easiest way of setting up a maintenance agreement and although family-based arrangements are not legally binding, they are very flexible and can be easily changed.
There are different ways you can negotiate your agreement with your ex-wife and Child Maintenance Options do have some supporting tools on their website at https://www.cmoptions.org that might help you both come to an agreement.
Parents do say that when they make a family-based arrangement it does tend to last longer as it’s just an agreement made between the two of them and continuing to collaborate together may also be better for your child or children.
If you do find that you are unable to renegotiate your family-based arrangement then you do have the option of using the Child Maintenance Service. They are the Government’s statutory maintenance service and 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 that they contact the other parent after your application is made.
For further information about putting in place a statutory arrangement and the fees involved with this, you will need to contact Child Maintenance Options directly and all their contact details can be found on their website.
Another choice you have for arranging child maintenance is through the courts in the form of a Consent Order in England and Wales and Minute of Agreement in Scotland. This is an agreement where you and your ex-wife with the support of a solicitor would need to agree what to include then the agreement is presented in court and is ratified.
You may also be interested to know 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 http://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/
For more information and for a more personalised service, you may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website yourself.
Regards
William
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