I have never sought advice on this issue but I hope someone in this forum can offer a word or two. My ex receives payments via a deductions from earnings order and via my employers and for my 10 yr old, a minor who resides with her. She currently does not work. On June 1 past, I was advised to remove the child from her care by the authorities as she was being taken into care herself. I then kept my Son from 1 June till 23 August whilst these payments continued to leave my account to the mother which I did not have an issue with. The period above was also covered by a court order before two judges and latterly by another order advising his return to the resident parent once she was certified fit. I didn't have a problem with this until recently when the mother demanded money from me for personal reasons which I declined and when I referenced the 3 full months' payments she received when the chid was not in her care, she responded with 'tough luck getting that back'
My questions are: Does the CSA have a process with which these type of issues are addressed? Should I wave this away and forget about it? Am I able to make a claim for these payments via the Small Claims court? I find myself spiralling to a level where she wants me to be but I fear that should similar occur in the future, the same would apply and perhaps for a period longer than the 3 months last year. Any advice?
I don't think you'll get the payments back via the CSA unless you notified them at the time that the mother was no longer in charge, but even then, chances are she was still getting child benefit, so I think the CSA's hands are probably tied, even it they wanted to do anything (which I doubt for a short term issue). You could try the small claims court against your ex, I'm not sure of the chances of success though.
My best advice is that if it happens again (especially with past history) that you consider applying for residence on a permanent basis - it might be worth getting a free consultation with a solicitor before it happens so you are aware of the process and possible outcomes in advance.