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Hi all .I wonder if anyone can advise me .... My Wife and i have been separated for the past 3 years ( the paperwork has now been sent in ) We have a little boy between us whom we share custody with...this is all worked around my work pattern, 4 days on and 4 days off .eg on my 4 days off i have my boy.
The question is my Ex is a high earner over £60k and myself is under 22K....Am I able to ask her for any cash help?
I have now started to claim Tax Credit at £120 a month BUT was wondering should i ask her for anything .As im sure if the "shoe was on the other foot "
The CSA would be at my door .
Any thoughts would be appreciated .
Hi moetdog,
Welcome to the site mate. Good question - You need the sage advice of our friends at Child Maintenance Options. They are an independant impartial maintenance advice service and will be able to tell you realistically if your ex should be helping out finacially.
Check out their contact details here Child Maintenance Options
Just promise to pop back and tell us what they have said as your info may help other dads.
Thanks mate.
Gooner
The CSA work on the basis of who has the children the most days each year, as far as I'm aware - the link gooner has given you should point you in the right direction as far as the absolute facts are concerned. However, you need to be aware that if there isn't anything (ie a residence order or agreement between yourselves) giving you the majority of residence, if you start to claim from her via the CSA, she could suddenly decide to cut down the number of days that you have your son staying with you, at which point you may have to start paying her. I would suggest that you try to negotiate with her (and the government are going to 'encourage' parents to do this anyway) to split some of the costs of childcare and maintenance more in accordance with your incomes (perhaps your ex pays for clothes, school trips, or at least a larger proportion of them) and avoid using the CSA if possible.
No, one provides advice - this is from their website and probably explains it best..
What's the relationship between Child Maintenance Options and the CSA?
At Child Maintenance Options we provide impartial information and support to help both parents make informed choices about child maintenance. The CSA is the statutory child maintenance service and is one of the options for arranging child maintenance. You can go to the CSA if you want them to arrange child maintenance for you. We don't arrange child maintenance for you, but we can give you information about all your options.
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