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Hi
New to the site and after a bit of info regarding my situation, I have had in place a private agreement with my ex over my 2 daughters for years, they are now 16 and 17, one is at college and the other finishes school in may, I am self employed and earn roughly 23,000. Obviously during covid my income was literally minimal just doing shop work to cover the bills. Yet she still wanted the full amount which was a struggle.
we did set a figure of 250 a month pre covid which I raised to 275 a month once work started to come back in, during covid I paid what I could and even borrowed off my fiancee to pay her but I have always paid extra for school uniforms, kids days out etc over the years and now I have said I would cover their mobile bills for 3 months as she is struggling ... ( spends money like water lol ) which is another 120 a month on top of the money the kids always ask for to go out with their friends , new clothes etc .Every time I have disputed it she comes back with the threat of taking me to csa and having my partners income taken in to account and she thinks it should be 600 a month, I guess I have been a bit soft in the past and just given her them money for a quiet life and given them extra cash when they've asked which I now think was a bit silly, she's contstantly asking for maintenance early and I am struggling to keep up with their cash demands especially as times are hard for everyone now.
I have read that its 16 percent of gross earnings so what I am actually paying is more than that, just last week I paid 124 for phones then 120 to take the kids out for food, then 45 for school lunches and bus fares, 60 for oldest driving lessons and then the youngest wanted to out with friends that was another 40 quid , do you think this is fair or shall I just say take the legal route,
she married a guy about 4 years ago and they have 2 houses between them one left by her parents and one she owns with there husband not that it makes a difference but it seems money has always been important for her to keep up with the trends.
any advice is grateful thanks for listening
Hi,
What your ex mentioned is wrong, if she opens a CMS case, only your income is taken into account, not your partners.
Check out this CMS calculator, it works out what you legally need to pay to support your children: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance
If your ex opens a CMS case, then they will more or less make you pay an amount similar to what the calculator site states.
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