[Solved] Private agreement but sick from work

As you have a private agreement can you negotiate with your ex and come to an agreement?

You could use the CMS calculator to establish what you would have to pay if she went to the CMS and use it as a starting point for negotiation?

Regards,

Dave

She won't even answer my calls, so no negotiation, I will try calculator although I have no problem paying when I go back to work, but will be on statutory sick from next week. Thanks though

If you receive any of the following you may be entitled to pay a lot less than you have been. I dont see sick leave on it though.

•Income Support
•income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
•income-related Employment and Support Allowance
•Pension Credit
•contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
•contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
•State Pension
•Incapacity Benefit
•Training Allowance
•Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
•War Disablement Pension
•Bereavement Allowance
•Carer’s Allowance
•Maternity Allowance
•Severe Disablement Allowance
•Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
•Widowed Parent’s Allowance
•Widow’s pension
•Universal Credit with no earned income

Regards,

Dave

Hi Gaz84

Thanks for your post. I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. You have mentioned that you feel you are unable to renegotiate your family-based arrangement as your ex will not communicate with you. Do you have any family members or mutual friends that could possibly speak to your ex on your behalf and try to renegotiate you arrangement. Alternatively, you may wish to use the services of a professional mediator. If you feel mediation may help you renegotiate your agreement the following link will provide contact details for organisation in your area that offer this service http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/.

There are no strict rules or formulas that to stick to when working out a figure payable. You can include money and other things, for example you providing child care whilst you are off work or the extras that you pay taken into account. Family-based arrangements are not legally binding, however, they are quick and easy to change if either you or your ex has a change in circumstances.

We have some tools and guides available on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/index.asp, which may help you with the renegotiation process. There is our Talking about money and Discussion guide, these can help you work out how much child maintenance needs to be paid and help you to plan your conversation with your ex. We also have a family-based arrangement form, you can complete this with your ex and sign your names to show your commitment to this arrangement. Although this is not a legally enforceable document, it puts the agreement on a more formal basis.

If you would like an indication of how much maintenance may be payable, based on how the Government’s statutory maintenance service calculates maintenance, there is a calculator available on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/. Some parents use the figure provide as a starting point to negotiate a family-based arrangement.

If you feel you are unable to renegotiate your family-based arrangement, you still have the option of using the Government’s statutory maintenance service. They have two schemes Direct Pay and Collect and Pay.
Direct Pay is when the Government’s statutory maintenance service calculates maintenance and then leaves you and your ex to decide together how your payments will be made. They will not contact you again unless either of you report a change in circumstances or if they are told that your payments have been missed or stopped.
Collect and Pay is when the Government’s statutory maintenance service calculate and collect payments on your behalf, as some parents prefer the security and help of a third party managing their child maintenance.

The Government’s statutory maintenance service calculate maintenance based on your net weekly income. They have for different rates and the rate paid is dependent on your circumstances. The four different rates are as follows:
- Basic rate is for paying parents with a weekly gross income of more than £200
- Reduced rate is for paying parents on a weekly net income of between £100 and £199.99
- Nil rate is where paying parents earn less than £5 a week, are in full-time education, under sixteen, in prison or living in care
- Flat rate is when paying parents pay a flat rate of £5 child maintenance per week, no matter how many children they have, if their weekly net income is between £5 and £100. This also applies if the partner they live with is in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credit.

Once the Government’s statutory maintenance service calculates maintenance you would only be required to pay the amount they calculate and extra payments would be paid at your own discretion.

If an application is made with the Government’s statutory maintenance service, your responsibility to pay will start from around the time that they contact you or you contact them depending on who made the original application. If you would like more information about the Government’s statutory maintenance service you can find this on their website at www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.

To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit cmoptions.org or call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday.

Thanks
William