Dadtalk

Hi,

Just need some help to point me in the right direction.

Went to court last year as ex wife thought I wasn't paying her enough, so after months of solicitors we ended up in court just for the court to say to ex wife, "You got a GREAT deal, go away".

Since the agreement I have been credit crunched big time, my annual income is half what it was but I am still paying top whack for kids when I was earning big bucks (I work in London in finance! Worst luck!)

It's coming up to the 12 months since the order so a few months ago I sent the ex wife my P60 so she had proof of my annual income and could see how bad things now were and between us we agreed to reduce the payments as per the CSA calculator.

Have let her know that as of next month payments will go down and she has now come back to me and said "Tough, I'm not agreeing to a thing, you'l have to take me to court again. Will not accept anything unless agreed from them".

What do I do? What is the process? What forms do I need? Do I need a solicitior or can I do this myself?? :?:

I rang the court and they said the can't give legal advice
I rang the CSA who said ex wife can refuse CSA intervention but we can use their calculations
I rang Citizens Advice Bureau but no reply and no one called back

Really want to avoid the cost of solicitors and court, cost me thousands last year and my new wife is expecting our baby in 7 weeks!

Some clear advice would be much appreciated!

Regards,
Matt

Bud - sounds like you've tried most of the right lines... I will forward to the Children's Legal Centre to see if they can help... You might want to call them if you need it quicker but i know their lines are always busy...

Their number can be found in our directory along with the contacts for Community Legal Advice http://www.dadtalk.co.uk/directory_of_s ... l%20issues - both are free.

Have you tried the new Child Maintenance Options services?

\ Buzz

One question - did the court set the maintenance payments, or did you simply agree the level with your ex and then the court approved this?

It would need someone on here with more legal expertise to confirm this, but I think that in the first instance, you would need to go back to court to get it varied, in the second instance, I don't think you do, and the CSA could then be used.

Would be interested in a legal opinion on this either way.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the responses.

Buzz - Spoke to Childrens Legal Centre and they said I need a solicitor, so looking into that option.

Actd - We agreed the level with my ex and then the courts approved this. I have been paying her the same amount since the day she left me. Courts took one look at it (I am apying £3000+ a month) and told her she ought to be darn'd grateful I was so generous.

From what you guys have said I can make a claim through the CSA and I'm hoping she'll agree to go along with them too. I have one worry - te CSA used to be shockingly slow and to be honest shite. I understand they have been reformed of late, what's your experience of them and what can I expect?

On another note, as of the 26th of this month when the court order ends (I will have been paying full whack for 1 whole year) can I pay her the CSA recommended amount? What I don't want to do is pay her full whack and then have to claim back any over payments as I know my ex wife and I'll never see it!

If I put the difference in payments to one side in case I have to pay her full whack until the CSA approve our payments and the process is in place, I'd happily pay her the difference. Only IF she was entitled to it but I'm not paying it out just becuase she wants to elongate the process and line her own pocket. As the agreement ends on 26th I can hardly be breaking any order when a new one is being worked on.

Thanks for taking time out to read about my woes!

Regards,
Matt

I can't remember the legal terminology, but it sounds like the court hasn't set the level of maintenance so you may not be bound by it. For this level, I would really recommend legal advice - probably best to go back to the solicitor who dealt with you originally, just to confirm whether you are bound by the agreement.

Another question is whether this payment covers maintenance for your ex-wife as well as your children - again, your solicitor will cover this.

The CSA calculation is 15% of takehome pay for one child, 20% for 2 and 25% for 3, and you can then reduce that if you have dependant step cihldren under 16 (18 if still at school) with further reductions if you have any expenses in seeing the children (excluding first £15 per week and you have to use cheapest reasonable means of transport generally). There are a few other odds and ends that the CSA take into account, and I'm not sure if there's a £2000 per month limit (I was nowhere near this limit).

My recommendation is that, assuming you are paying for the children's maintenance only, then after legal advice, you need to calculate what you should pay according to the CSA rules and start paying this - but again, I stress, I would get legal advice first.

Strictly speaking, you only become liable to pay the CSA when they contact you, so you could get away without paying for a month or so, but I wouldn't recommend this, purely because I believe that it's wrong.

The CSA are quite slow, and they have to jump through a lot of legal hoops if the non-resident parent refuses to pay.

I know all of the above because I have been dealing with the CSA as I am the parent with care trying to get maintenance from my ex-wife. It took me two years to get the first payment/arrears paid, and it's looking like it will be the same again to get the next lot of arrears paid, as my ex-wife has tried every delaying tactic available.

Hi Actd,

Thanks for response - excellent advice! Have spoken to old solicitor and we are not bound by the agreement as it expires on 26th leaving me free to go the CSA route and no, ex wife is remarried so no spousal maintenance.

Many thanks for the clear and concise info regarding the CSA. Have had a chat with a legal bod who said in the interim period I should only pay what the CSA recommend, however I will put aside the difference just in case there are probs until this is all done and dusted.

Another question for the forum though. Do i have to pay my sons private school fees? Forgot to ask legal bod when having free telephone consultation! I did when it went through the courts but the Citizens Advice Bureau said I am not obliged to pay if going through the CSA as it's not included in the assessment or payments.

Basically private school is £10,000 per year on top of any maintenance I have to pay. I can only only afford one and not the other but I desperately want my son to stay at his school as he's dyslexic and has some behaviour issues since hormones have kicked in.

What I would like to propose to my ex is that I either pay full maintenance as per CSA calculation and no school fees or I pay say half the CSA calc and maybe all or the majority of the school fees depending on CSA figure.

Am I able to do this I wonder or are the CSA inflexible when it comes to such situations? I know what my ex wife will say as she only sees life in pound signs, she'd take the money over our sons wellbeing any day.

This is a minefield! Thank god for this site! Have had some of the best and clear advice so far from you guys!

Regards,
Matt