Hi, i was hoping somebody could shed a bit of light onto my query. My wife and i have seperated, we have a 2yr old daughter currently living with her mother. We've been seperated now since sept '16. Since i left the matrimonial home my wife and i agreed that i would pay Β£250 p/m for our little girls needs. She currently goes to nursery, so im assuming that, that money would come quite handy. As far as the time i get to spend with my daughter, i have her for 2 nights every other weekend and after work for a few hours wednesdays and fridays. Lately, a few ppl have asked me if i have seen how much the CSA Calculator days that i should pay. Now, given that i spend about 1 night p/w with her, i am under the basic rate due to my income. Anyway the results suggest that i pay about Β£170 p/m. I brought this to my Ex's attention which she then argued that, im trying to cheat her out of paying so much. However, what she needs to understand that until i move out of my dads I'm more than happy to pay what i currently am paying. But when i do move, this will have to change as there is no way i would be able to afford Β£250p/m along with rent, bills etc.
Anyway my question is, are there any other conditions they take into accouny other than the conditions they present to you when using the calculator? In other words, exactly how accurate are the results they give you. Now i know they are just estimates, i was hoping someone with experience with using the CSA could help me.
Thanks
Hi the calculator is fairly accurate. The CMS don't take your living expenses into account, there are rare occasions for varying the amount but that's for things like if you have to spend a lot on travelling to see your child for example. A lot of parents do the basic CMS rate and then agree to share the costs of things like school uniforms and extra curricular activities - maybe that is something to consider?
Hello Scott Worthis
The Child Maintenance Service works out child maintenance using the paying parent's gross income, which is income before Income Tax and National Insurance are taken off, but after occupational or personal pension scheme contributions are taken away. In most cases this gross income figure comes from information given to HM Revenue & Customs by the paying parent, their employer or a third-party such as an accountant.
Yoda is correct in saying that the Online Calculator on the Child Maintenance Options and Governmentβs website are accurate, however, they do only provide you with an estimate and if an application was made with the Child Maintenance Service the amount may differ slightly.
I can confirm that none of your other outgoings are taken into consideration when making the calculation as the Government do see paying maintenance a primary payment. They will however, take into account any other children that live in your household and also any other children that you are required to pay maintenance for.
If you do require any information about negotiating your family-based arrangement or any of your other options for child maintenance, you can find this on the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org.
You may also be interested to know the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have a website, 'Sorting out Separation'. It aims to make it much easier for separating and separated parents (and childless couples) to find the support they need, when and where they need it, and encourages them to collaborate on a range of issues. The link is http://www.sortingoutseparation.org.uk/
For more information and for a more personalised service, you may wish to visit the Child Maintenance Options website yourself.
Regards
William
Hi guys thanks for your replies, much help indeed. I just eant to give a quick update. Im gonna be moving our of my dads very soon, so i talked with the ex aboit what ive mentioned before and yet she still argues with me that (and i Quote) "If you pay 250 now, why cant you still pay it when you move"? This is very confusing as its almost as if she is deliberately playing dumb just to get my riled up. As ive explained before there is no way i can continue to pay that amount along with my bills etc. I dont wish to go through CMS but if this carries on then i wont have a choice. But what she also doesnt seem to understand is that CMS will take a percentage out from what i pay, so initially she'll be getting even more less. She did say however just because they say you should pay 170, doeant mean you should. In otherwords theres no reason why you cant pay more. Its like it goes in one ear and out the other and its driving me mad. But ive explained to her whither we do this privately or through CMS, those payments will be reduced, regardless.
Hi There,
.
If you raise a case through CMS they won't take a percentage by defualt, they will only do that if you use collect and pay where the money is taken from you, goes through CMS ad is then paid to your ex, if you use direct pay, the CMS will supply you with your ex's bank details to pay her directly, meaning they don't charge you a percentage.
.
GTTS
Hello Scott Worthis
If an application were made to the Child Maintenance Service, you would be legally responsible only for the amount worked out by the Child Maintenance Service and would not be obliged to pay for anything extra, unless you wish to do so.
As got-the-tshirt has mentioned, if the Collect and Pay option were used, there would be the application fee that would be paid by the parent making the application. Also, you would pay a 20% fee on top of each child maintenance payment collected by the Child Maintenance Service and the other parent is charged a 4% fee each time the Child Maintenance Service passes on a child maintenance payment to them. There are also enforcement charges for paying parents who do not pay.
If the Direct Pay option were used, there would only be the application fee and no further additional charges. Additional charges would only occur if you didnβt make your payments and the Child Maintenance Service enforced payments. Either parent can apply to the Child Maintenance Service. If the other parent makes an application for Collect and Pay, you can request to use Direct Pay. However, it would be the Child Maintenance Serviceβs decision on whether this would be accepted. Your responsibility to pay will start from around the point you contact the Child Maintenance Service or they contact you.
Regards
William
How about suggesting to her that you could pay her Β£200 so it's a little more than you're required to pay just to keep everything sweet and avoid the CMS completely because if she digs her heels in like some do they will cotton on that they will get more money if you see your child less so could restrict access.
Sometimes when CMS are involved it creates conflict and best avoided if you can come to a compromise between yourselves as I've found it's always better to not rock the boat and keep everything fine and dandy π