Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
Hello eveyone. Im a dad of three, very slowly falling apart financially and mentally. I pay 485 GBP to my ex. We have three children together, 11, 5, 2. The CSA are using a slary i used to get in April 2018. Its 4000 grand less but isnt enough of a drop for them to change it. I have a 9000 GBP legal bill as she dragged her heels in for 4 court hearings. She got legal aid as she hasnt worked for 12 years. I won 156 nights of custody in feb 2018 which was amazing, but obviously my costs are much higher now, and im paying that figure in CSA. On a good month i break even.
I was told that i cant even claim any benefits because my ex has 55% custody. If I had exaclty 50% then I wouldnt have to pay CSA. It seems so crazy that 5% makes such a difference. This kind of stuff kills people. Does anyone have a ny advice on the benefits issue? The thirs chilsren was born after April 2017 so she cant claim for him. It seems i cant either? Please help. Thank you
Hi,
that sounds very annoying. am sure you would not want to go back to court to get 50/50 care right now. if you want benefits then you would have to quit work.
when will CMS review your pay again? and are they giving you deductions for the
156 nights that you have your kids?
Yes. I am getting deductions, but it doesnt amount to much. I pay 485 per month plus i have the kids 3 nights week. Im so happy to have them that much obviously.
hi there,
what do deductions amount to roughly? £30 cut every month?
You said it's £4000 less salary, but that isn't enough for them to drop the payments - it needs to be a 25% change for them to amend the payments, so you could consider putting money into pension to bring you to that 25% figure - it only needs to be until they change the figure, and then you can stop the pension increase.
Hi there
If your ex isn’t claiming the child benefit for your youngest child, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t. We have had members that have claimed for one or more of their children in this way. Worth looking into perhaps?
All the best
hi,
does anyone know if i have to wait till my next cms review date next year. or should i report changes in income right away?
thanks.
Not sure. Very little.
Thanks. I cant say i know exaclty what you mean because im very naive with that sort of thing. I dont have the spare cash each money now anyway.
You said it's £4000 less salary, but that isn't enough for them to drop the payments - it needs to be a 25% change for them to amend the payments, so you could consider putting money into pension to bring you to that 25% figure - it only needs to be until they change the figure, and then you can stop the pension increase.
good idea. but have to be careful. CMS have a diversion of income procedure. one of them being:
making excessive pension contributions. What will count as excessive payments could depend on your individual circumstances.
You said it's £4000 less salary, but that isn't enough for them to drop the payments - it needs to be a 25% change for them to amend the payments, so you could consider putting money into pension to bring you to that 25% figure - it only needs to be until they change the figure, and then you can stop the pension increase.
good idea. but have to be careful. CMS have a diversion of income procedure. one of them being:
making excessive pension contributions. What will count as excessive payments could depend on your individual circumstances.
I agree - putting money into pension should only be used to adjust your income if it's close to the line, not putting a huge amount in as an obviousl way to avoid maintenance.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.