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Hello
Brand new here so first thing from me everyone. I separated from my wife in January and was told to leave the house. I had no Money I had found a flat but had to go to the council for help with paying for it. I am on ESA at the moment and I receive DLA as I have MS.
My wife drops the children of with me every school day and I have to give them Breakfast and take them to school, I then pick them up at the end of the day bring them back to my place and have to give them a evening meal. I also have them Friday night so again Breakfast saturday and they don't go home until 4pm so another main meal. A also have them Monday night so have to make them a packed lunch for school for the Tuesday.
Yes it's great that I see my children so much as some of you are struggling to see yours and I do feel for you. But this is where my problem is, My wife gets all the child tax credits and the child benefit and tells me that she cannot help me with the food for them which she did promise!! Money wise I get ESA and my DLA Care allowance middle rate as I have swapped my Mobility amount for a car so I can now get around easier when I need to. She says well If I can afford a flashy car then I can afford to feed them!!
All I want is a small amount a week to help towards there food I'm talking £10 - £15 which I don't think is much to ask for after all she is getting £6,000 Plus from the Gov for the children and then her £ 18,000 wages.
What do you think the chances are If I went to the CSA of actually me getting something or should I just carrying feeding the kids and me going without food?
Many Thanks
If you go to the CSA to open a case, it will be you paying money to your ex as it is she who is in receipt of the child benefit. Unless you have custody of the children and you are receiving the child benefit, the CSA will be no help to you.
Yes, I agree entirely - you would be paying the flat rate (currently £5 per week) to your ex.
Hi Lardy
Thank you for your email. I am William, the Child Maintenance Options consultant. I will provide you with some information that may help answer your query.
Both Dad72 and actd are correct in stating that if an application was made to the Child Maintenance Service, child maintenance would be paid to the parent that is in-receipt of the Child Benefit payments.
Paying parents are placed in a rate of child maintenance depending on their income. For paying parents that are receiving a gross income of between £5 to £100, or claiming certain benefits, they will be place under the flat rate of child maintenance. This is where the paying parent will pay a flat rate of £5 per week (from the 25th November 2013, flat rate will increase from £5 per week to £7 for Child Maintenance Service customers only). You can find more information on the statutory rules for child maintenance by visiting Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/how-child-maintenance-is-worked-out/how-the-child-maintenance-service-works-out-child-maintenance.
To see if you entitled to any further financial support, you may wish to get in touch with the Jobcentre Plus. Their contact details can be found on their website at https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus. You may also find more information at http://www.gov.uk.
For more information on the ways to put a child maintenance arrangement in place, please visit our website at http:/www.cmoptions.org. Alternatively, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on a Saturday. We have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
Regards
William
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