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Hi all,
My wife and i have recently seperated and we have 3 children still of school age. Our hope is to progress our seperation amicably, tending towards submitting our own agreements.to the relevant authorities. We are looking towards an OVERALL 51/49 split in custody but given the details below this could vary significantly on a quarter to quarter basis
We live apart (nearby for the kids) but are still running joint finances - We are trying to change this in stages
As part of this setup we relocated countries (we were temporarily abroad) and I will be unable to sustain my prior employment basis as we agreed to relocate to an area outside of commuting range . I can work short term lucrative IT contracts in London but will be unable to sustain them on a long term basis given our intention to co-parent. (The custody agreement will require the same flexibility - we wish to avoid any family law court assigned rigidity as it wil be very detrimental to both of us as we lose flexibility)
We have PERSONALLY agreed that a calculation based on the CSA calcs is valid but based on my DYNAMIC earnings (ie very good for 6 months and far less for the remainder) but it is not clear whether the authorities (CSA, Family Court etc) will accept that as suitable and indeed is worth anything at all should our efforts to progress amicably and co-operatively fail.
My fear is that the IT contracts are by definition short, unpredictable and not sustainable in terms of quality of life, and that a CSA/court calculated basis calcs could just grab the peak earning level and base it on that rather than the ACTUAL earnings over a sustained period. Given that the peak to dip variance will be FAR FAR in excess of 25% (i am thinking nearer to 75%+) how can i protect myself from a completely unserviceable claim made at a tactically significant moment. How quickly can the CSA adapt to a change in physical circumstances in order to re-asses my capabilities, and would they be able to cater for any "overrun" while they make their mind up, given a potential SIGNIFICANT to ZERO earnings shift on a frequent yet unpredictable basis
Hi There,
It is so good to hear that you are managing to agree on so much, it is much better to deal with things away from the court and CSA if you are able too.
When it comes to court and the divorce, the judge will look to ensure that there is a fair split in way of any assets as long as the agreement between the 2 of you is deemed to be fair, they won't challenge it at all.
With regards to the child maintenance, again, if you are agreeing between the 2 of you how and what will be paid, the authorities won't get involved. If things fall down between you and you do end up by using CSA/CMS to calculate you payments, then they will take an average earnings based over 3 months, it sounds as though from what you've said i.e. you work on contracts that you work as self employed if I'm right then they will ask for accounts for 3 months to show what you have earned during that period, you can inform them at any stage if there are changes in what you are earning and in fact they tell you that you are obligated to do so.
Good luck in sorting everything out, and if you are in any doubt you can call CMS and discuss it with them and they will give you some advice on how to set up the private payments.
GTTS
I presume you have a Limited Company, or are working through an Umbrella company, either way, I would think that your accountant could sensibly come up with a statement of earnings that the CSA could accept. However, the best way is to try to sort it out amicably and come to a private agreement.
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