[Solved] How much will she get?

Hi

The basic calculation for your daughter is 15% of takehome pay (the CSA aren't yet using the new system of 12% of gross) as a starting figure - the fact that she is on benefits won't make a difference, nor will any money she gets from the other dad. The CSA won't take account of anything that you pay into a savings account for your daughter, but as I understand it, you aren't trying to reduce the payment by this, so any money you put into a savngs account is entirely up to you.

The CSA then work in blocks of 52 nights per year - for each 52 days your daughter stays overnight, the payment due is reduced by 1/7th - bear in mind that by reducing the payments, your ex may try to reduce the amount of time you have staying contact in order to get more maintenance - it does sound like you are trying to make a private arrangement, so I will ask our expert from Child Maintenance Options to give some advice.

One last point - what effect is the drug taking having on your ex's ability as a mother, and what are the current contact arrangements? If she is having problems with drugs (though the fact that she is on drugs doesn't necessarily mean she is a bad mother) are the social services aware of this?

She basically played online Bingo for 12 to 14 hours a day, whilst smoking canabis all day. It left me to do pretty much everything in the house including taking care of all three children, she would do a few pots and a bit of washing and feed and change the baby when i was at work or asleep after work(as little as 2 hours sometimes). I did 90% of the things round the house, did all school and football runs, aswell as a job.
We split up because i questioned her lack of commitment to our relationship and the relationship with the kids.
She admitted in mediation to be still smoking on a daily basis. I have this in writting but can't use this in court. And it apears that mediation have not reported her even though it says they should do on the form we both had to sign before starting.
I have not told social services yet as i am worried the children will get taken into care instead of put in my care as i am in the process of going to court but at the moment don't and have not been able to see the kids since March5th.
Once the court process is over i intend to tell social services, but am concerned it will hinder my progress if i do so before.
My solicitor has also said to hang back as there is time to fight fire with fire??

I have done the calculations using the above information and also the csa calculator. I have one answer of £25 and one of £21 per week.
Because she is on benefits is it correct that she would only recieve £10 of this if it was through the CSA??

To the best of my knowledge, any money you pay the CSA goes straight to her - they don't make any deductions for charges etc. I'm not sure whether any benefits she may received would be reduced. I've just done a quick calculation - £935 per month equates to £215 per week, and at 15%, the figure would be about £32 per week, or £140 per month, unless she is staying with you for more than 52 nights per year.

As long as the social services have no concerns about you, then there is no reason at all why they would put your daughter into care instead of putting her with you - they'd much rather she went to a member of family where she would feel immediately settled.

Hi, I'm Sarah, a Child Maintenance Options consultant.

ACTD is correct - all money paid through the CSA is paid to the other parent, even if they are in receipt of tax credits or benefits. No money is deducted from her benefits either.

The calculator will give you an estimate of how much your payments would be - you'll get an exact figure if you open a case.

If you feel that you can reach an agreement with your ex-partner, then a family-based arrangement might be the best option for you. Family-based arrangements give you the flexibility to agree how much child maintenance is paid and when, and to change your agreement as your children get older or your circumstances change. Many parents prefer to arrange child maintenance this way.

For more information about family-based arrangements and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit www.cmoptions.org, or if you'd prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).

I hope this information is useful to you.