[Solved] Other half will not pay...

Hi and welcome.

If the mother is in jail, then I believe there is no liability for maintenance. When she is out, then presumably, she will be getting benefits of some sort - if that's the case, then you would be entitled to the flat rate (£5 per week if there's a case already open with CSA, if it's a new case with CMS, then I think it's £7 per week), but it would be a matter of letting the CSA know when she's out, and this can be deducted directly from benefits. Otherwise, I'm afraid, that there probably isn't much you can do to get her to pay - realistically, she probably doesn't have the money anyway.

Hi There,

I fear actd is probably right in the fact that if she is in and out of jail then she probably doesn't have any money other than benefits, which actd has explained.

GTTS

Hi tr0n1x

Thank you for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide some information that may help answer your query.

Child maintenance and contact are not linked in law, so even if your son’s mother does not have any contact with your son, child maintenance may still be payable. Any issues around contact will need to be resolved separately, either privately or via a legal route.

If you wanted to use the statutory rules, a paying parent is placed in a rate of child maintenance depending on their income or if for example the paying parent is in prison. If the paying parent has a change in circumstances, child maintenance may be recalculated and they may be place in a different rate of child maintenance. You can find more information on how the Child Maintenance Service and the Child Support Agency (CSA) works out child maintenance on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out.

From what you have written it appears that you may have a case in place with the statutory child maintenance service (the Child Maintenance Service or the CSA). If this is correct, you may wish to contact the respective organisation that is managing your child maintenance to discuss your concern. This is because we are a different organisation and do not have access to your case information. You can find the relevant contact details on any letters that you may have received, or by visiting Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance/contact.

If you and your son’s mother agreed child maintenance privately via a family-based arrangement, there are no strict rules to stick to. Therefore, both you and the other parent have the freedom to decide the terms of your own arrangement, such as how much child maintenance will be paid and the form that it can be paid in.

A family-based arrangement does not always need to be about money, although many parents do include regular financial contributions. Your arrangement can include other kinds of support, such as your daughter’s mother directly paying for things that your son may need. Although family-based arrangements are not legally-binding, many parents prefer them because of their flexibility and ease of which they can be reviewed, such as if you or your son’s mother’s circumstances change. You can find more information on family-based arrangements on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/index.asp

If you have set up child maintenance via the courts in the form of a Consent Order or Minute of Agreement (if you live in Scotland), you may wish to seek legal advice regarding how your son’s mother’s circumstances may affect your arrangement. If you do not have access to a solicitor, you could contact Civil Legal Advice. This organisation can provide free and confidential legal advice and information to anyone eligible for legal aid in England and Wales. You can find their contact details on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice.

If have any concerns about your finances, you may wish to contact the Money Advice Service as they can give you impartial information and guidance about your money to help you work out what is right for you ( http://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk).

You may also wish to view our Supporting separated families: Practical support for separating parents guide. It contains information about what benefits you may be able to claim, your housing rights and options and your legal rights and responsibilities as well as lots of other information to help you through this difficult time. You can view this guide on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/pdfs/refresh/practical-support-for-separating-parents.pdf.

For more information on the ways to set up child maintenance, please visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. 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.

Regards

William