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I separated from my ex four years ago and we reached a private agreement over maintenance weekly amount and then I contributed extra for any large expenditure. This has worked well and I am happy to pay towards my children, even though she makes access so difficult that it caused huge stress to the children and I finally felt it best to cease contact and allow them to have a stable more peaceful life. I have always made my payments, but have now been contacted by CSA to assess a new claim from her. The assessment has been made and I am told I must increase my payments weekly, but I will definitely not then be in a position to afford the extras.
I have a new partner who has four children who live at home, two of whom are eligible for Child Benefit etc and the CSA has taken this into account and reduced the weekly payment I make to my ex by £20. The position in my current relationship is that my partner is unable to work at present as she is suffering long term health issues as a result of the abusive marriage she left three years ago. She therefore only has an income of Child Benefit, Child Tax credit and ESA to support the five of them plus a now reduced amount that I can afford to contribute after paying for my own children. She receives no child maintenance from her ex and has no other income. The information on the government site for Child Maintenance seems to suggest that under CSA rules my only required payment to my ex is the flat rate of £5 per week as my partner claims income based ESA but nobody at the CSA seems to be able to explain how this would apply and why it doesn't apply in my case. If that were correct I would continue the voluntary payments for the children at the level they have been previously to top up the £5 but in all seriousness my new family cannot afford to live and eat if I pay the increased figure to my ex.
Can anybody clarify for me.
Hi, shame she as decided to go down the csa route after you have been paying and the extras. You do not have to provide the extras and she as shot herself in the foot becaudse now you wont beable to. The csa are being scarpped next year so she will have to pay a percentage to make a claim herself. The govermet are hoping every one will come up with there own family based agreements.
Are you working ? and why do you think she as all of a sudden decided to go through the csa. a WORD OF WARNING THO THE DATE SHE MADE THE CLAIM IS THE DATE YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FROM.
Hi Dutch
I'm William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. We are unable to answer Child support Agency (CSA) case specific queries, however, I have provided some information below:
The information that you have read on the Gov website about the CSA's flat rate is correct. Any family unit where either the paying parent or their partner is in receipt of income-related Employment Support Allowance would pay a flat rate of £5. It is useful to note that there are two types of Employment and Support Allowance, income-related and contributory. If your partner is receiving income-related Employment and Support Allowance then you would need to contact the CSA for them to reassess your payments. If your partner is receiving contributory Employment and Support Allowance then the calculation is likely to be accurate however, you may still wish to contact the CSA to confirm.
You will only be legally responsible to pay the amount that the CSA calculate, any extra payments that you pay would be paid at your our own discretion.
You have mentioned that if your payments were set at £5 with the CSA you would continue to pay the amount you were paying. You may wish to discuss this with your ex-partner and try to get your arrangement back on track. To help you with this we have some leaflets available on our website at www.cmoptions.gov. There is our Child Maintenance Decisions Talking about money guide and our Discussions Guide. These can help you and your ex-partner work together to agree a suitable arrangement between yourselves.
Family-based arrangements are not legally binding, however they can be quick and easy to change should your circumstances change in the future. For more information about family-based arrangements and access to useful tools and forms online please visit our website, or if you would prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).
There is a Sorting out separation web-app at http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation that you may find useful as it offers help and support to separated families.
Hope this helps.
William
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