[Solved] Help please

Yes she can apply through the CSA, the payments would only start from when she applies though, so there would be no backdating

Yes she can apply through the CSA, the payments would only start from when she applies though, so there would be no backdating

I'm starting to learn that desipe how good a dad you try to be.. You don't stand a chance against the mothers.. Systems a disgrace 🙁

Worth checking the CSA calculator to find out how much they'd want you to pay, and if it's more than you are paying at the moment, then put the difference into a savings account so you can cover any arrears if she has applied. Make sure that your standing order clearly stated "child maintenance" in the reference, if it doesn't, change it so that it does. If the calculator shows that you are paying too much (it does happen), then there's nothing to stop you from applying to the CMS to open a case.

Hi KrissyP

Thank you for your post, I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. With you having a family-based arrangement in place with your ex-wife, you may wish to try to discuss and negotiate your payments. With a family-based arrangement there are no strict rules or formulas to follow when calculating and arranging child maintenance. Family-based arrangements are not legally binding, however, they can be flexible to suit the circumstances of both parents and their child.

To help you and your ex-wife continue your family-based arrangement we have some useful tools and guides available to download from our website. You may find our Child Maintenance Decisions guide for receiving parents Information for parents with the day-to-day care of their child and Discussions Guide. These can help you understand your child maintenance choices and help you plan your conversation with your ex-wife. We also have a family-based arrangement form. You can complete this with your ex-wife and sign your names to show your commitment to your arrangement. Although this is not a legally enforceable document, it puts the agreement on a more formal basis.

You may also find our Child Maintenance Decision guide Talking about money helpful, which provides information on planning a conversation with your ex-wife regarding maintenance payments. If you feel any of these will help you, they are easy to print from our website at www.cmoptions.org.

If you would like an indication of how much maintenance you may receive if an application were made via the Child Maintenance Service, you can use our online calculator. This is on our website at www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator. You may want to use this figure as a starting point for negotiations to make a family-based arrangement.

If you feel a mediator will help you renegotiate your agreement the following link will provide contact details for organisations in your area that offer a mediation service http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/. Contact and maintenance are not linked in law and distributions over one should not affect the other.

If you feel you cannot renegotiate your agreement with your ex-wife, you still have the option of setting up maintenance via the Statutory Scheme, the Child Maintenance Service. From the 25th November 2013 the Child Support Agency (CSA) no longer accept new applications, anyone wanting to set up maintenance using the Statutory Scheme would apply to the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service have two schemes Direct Pay and Collect and Pay. Direct Pay is when the Child Maintenance Service calculates maintenance and then leave you and your ex-wife to decide together how your payments will be made. The Child Maintenance Service will not contact you again unless either of you report a change in circumstances or if they are told that you have missed or fallen behind with your payments.

Collect and Pay is when the Child Maintenance Service calculate, collect and enforce payments on your behalf, as some parents prefer the security and help of a third party managing their child maintenance. If an application is made with the Child Maintenance Service, your responsibility to pay will start from around the time that the Child Maintenance Service contacts you. If you would like more information about the Child Maintenance Service and how they calculate child maintenance, you can find this on their website at www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.

The Government plans to introduce charges for using the Child Maintenance Service in spring 2014. There will be three types of charges:

- Application fees
- Fees for collecting and paying out child maintenance
- Enforcement charges for paying parents who do not pay

The exact amount for these charges are still to be approved by parliament, however, the Child maintenance Service will write to you at least a month before they are introduced.

The best way to avoid charges is to set up a family-based arrangement and not use the Child Maintenance Service at all.

However, if you and the other parent cannot agree an arrangement between yourselves, there will be no collection fees for parents who pay and receive child maintenance using Direct Pay, only application fees. For parents using the Collect and Pay scheme the government plans to charge collection fees to both the paying and receiving parent, this is for collecting and passing on child maintenance payments.

Under the government’s plans the paying parent would have to pay 20% in addition to the weekly maintenance payment and the receiving parent would have 4% taken away from the weekly maintenance payment. For further information you may wish to speak to the Child Maintenance Service directly.

If you would like to make an application to the Child Maintenance Service you would need a URI number, which you can receive by speaking to Child Maintenance Options. It is unique to you and shows that you have spoken to Child Maintenance Options before applying for a statutory child maintenance arrangement. You will be asked to give this number when you apply to the Child Maintenance Service and you will not be able to apply without it. If you lose it you will need to speak to us again before you can apply. So please keep it safe and do not disclose it to anyone else.

If you feel that none of the above options will work for you, you could consider a Consent Order/Minute of Agreement, which is an official ruling made by a court. To arrange a Consent Order, both parents need to agree how much child maintenance will be paid and how often, before going to court. Parents can agree this either privately between themselves, through a solicitor or a mediator. Once an agreement has been made, parents can then ask the court to approve and authorise the Consent Order. This usually happens when parents are going to court for other reasons, such as arranging a divorce or dividing their property or other assets.

We 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.

To find out more about all the options available for maintenance and how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit www.cmoptions.org or call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday.

Thanks
William