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Divorced 5 years ago. Had a great job. Paid £600 RPI for both children and agreed a further £25k per child for their college/university fund to paid by 2014. I gave her the house, contents, car and savings. Because I was swayed by my heart do the best for the kids and was earning enough the amounts were not an issue.
2009 Unemployed for one year after redundancy
2010 to date Job as chef in restaurant salary around £18k gross
She continued to expect the £600 even whilst I was unemployed. I was unable to keep up payments.
I am now in arears for the past 3 years according to the above agreement and she has filed a maintenance order for £11, 484.05 at the court. Seems excessive to me.
I personally do not believe I should be paying £600+ per month whilst unemployed for a year! And I do not believe I should be paying £600 whilst on the salary of £18k. Child Maintenance calculated c£50 week / £200 month.
How do I deal with the court for the maintenance order she filed and what would be the best way to set up a new payment arrangement for £200/month as well as dealing with the £50k due in two years time, which I just cannot afford?
Any advice is appreciated. I have kept quiet about this for the past three years but it is too much to deal with right now.
Hi
You can apply to the CSA to set the current maintenance - you can see what your payments would be by using the CSA calculator, the sooner you contact them, the sooner it takes effect, and it overrides the maintenance set by the court as the court order is over 12 months old. Unfortunately, this doesn't cover any arrears, so I suspect you may be at the mercy of the court to be reasonably about having to pay more than you earn - it would be worth having a word with the Citizens Advice Bureau for advice on this.
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