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My ex has been granted leave to remove and will be taking the children to live in Colombia ( Her country of Origin).
We are in the process of finalising financial remedy order and she has now raised the issue of Child Maintenance. She is expecting that I should pay whatever the CMS calculator spits out for the children.
My review of the CMS site suggests that once they are no longer resident in the UK this sum is no longer applicable. it's my understanding that Colombia does not have a REMO agreement with the UK and thus she cannot claim to enforce this. I maintain that private arrangement on the basis of the relative difference in cost of living ( its 252% cheaper to live in Colombia than the UK)is the best solution and something that I feel would be a reasonable agreement. Obviously if they are resident in another country I will not be able to see them or have them for overnights on a weekly basis, plus i will have to account for the cost of travel to be able to see them at all.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the above?
hi,
I suggest that while she is still in UK that you pay child maintenance according to the CMS calculator, and not go through the official CMS system.
@bill337
Thanks Bill.
I am already paying well in excess of this amount.
I suppose my question is about what is fair and reasonable once the relocation has happened. The CMS calculation is based upon UK living costs and not that of the new country of residency. If I was to pay this sum it would be well in excess of the total average wage for the country in which they will be resident.
My point is to use the CMS calculation as the starting point and then adjust this based on the cost of living for the new country of residence. This to me seems fair, unless I am missing something?
To put it into context I have already been striped up on the financial settlement based upon her not working and being the primary carer for the children, her unwillingness to look to either utilise benefits or to find employment or a combination thereof. Thus allowing me to request some flexibility at work regarding having some sort of shared care. Thus leaving me nowhere to go.
She refused to engage in mediation then instructed a solicitor who has been less than collaborative and taken a month to respond to each and every email, letter, and basically ignored everything that we have put forward.
Then she has come along with the relocation, meaning that I cannot see my children for much of the year and have to travel to a country that is less than safe to be able to see them. I spent a lot of money fighting this to no avail.
The law seems unable to take into account the context of individual circumstance and choices made unilaterally and is in my opinion a rather blunt tool wielded against those who through no fault of their own are the sole breadwinner in a family.
I suggest that the ex is the very antithesis of modern feminism and has exploited the law to effectively take me to the cleaners and walk off with my kids.
Like the Murphy's i'm not bitter!
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