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Hi,
I have been separated from my now ex wife for 3 years, I walked away from the relationship with nothing from the house, belongings etc. I had initially been paying way over the required CSA calculation to help her out, however, she earns more than me, she now receives the CSA calculation based on 2 nights a week I have my two children and she receives the child support benefit. Additionally, her new partner has moved in after selling his house. She is about to take her 7th holiday and bought her 2nd new car since we split up.
As a result, her combined income coming into the house is far greater than mine, I am in financial difficulty and having problems paying credit card bills etc which I lived on while traveling to see the kids from where I used to live for work. I now live 10 minutes from the kids home.
I have asked to have the kids 3 nights a week which would reduce the amount I'm obliged to pay, this would help me massively and give me the opportunity to spend some money on activities with the children which I cannot currently do, she has refused.
I can't afford to hire a solicitor to take it to court, is there anything I can do? Can I withhold the CSA payment, do I have to apply for a residency order?
Hi there
Reduction of maintenance isn’t a good reason to want increased time with your kids to be fair, that should be incidental.
Without a court order, it’s up to the parent with care how much time the kids spend with the other parent.
Stopping CSA payments would only cause you to be in arrears.
The only way to try and get more contact with your kids is by attempting mediation and if that fails, to apply for a court order. Unless the mother is seriously harming the children, it’s extremely unlikely that you would be granted residency, but you could try for an increase of your existing contact, although there are no guarantees that would happen.
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