Need some advice..
Had no issues with access last year, had my child every weekend and days in the week when ever he wanted to stay extra.
Last year Oct however this was no longer convenient and I asked to change things up a bit due to stress and needing some time, I asked for weekends for 2 weeks and weekdays for 2 weeks. Other parent refused and limited my access which ultimately lead to mediation to no avail, the other parent was not willing to compromise and is very money oriented.
I have gone from a mutual agreement to paying double as she is saying he is not staying with me <52 nights a year, or in other words, not at all. The last 2 months, I've had 2 weekends and for a gone that has an 11 year old, it's not cheap to pay full child maintenance and also do things together at the weekend. The other parent is refusing to liaise with CM and tell them he's staying more often (2 in 4 weekends). They wouldn't even listen to my side of the argument.
I have text messages where I can hopefully prove my child has stayed with me however, she refuses to communicate and wants me to arrange directly with my child and is claiming im harassing her which is not the case.
What can I do? I can't afford to entertain my child, pay full maintenance and live. The most important person hurting out of this is my child and I'm at a loss. Would CM even entertain my proof or will they just ask me for a court order?
Hi,
CMS prefer court orders as evidence unfortunately. You could take that route and self represent. But don't expect a significant reduction in maintenence for 4 nights a month. You can check CMS calculator to see how much that would amount to.:
@4seven if you need some guidance with court process, feel free to get in touch. Have sent you a PM.