Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
Hi 🙂
I would appreciate some advice on our situation.
My partner and I have been together for 3 years. He is currently unemployed but doesn't claim Jobseekers as I support him. We have nothing in writing but have an agreement with his sons mother for child support and I pay this every week (by standing order from my personal account). Based on what I think is the rule we are paying almost double what the CSA would take. My problem is i'm not sure I have put the correct information in as partners ex says we should be paying more and she's contacted the CSA.
I have 2 questions...
1. As we have nothing in writing will the payments I have made for the last 3 years count or will she be able to claim for those too? He was paying through the CSA before this time but that case was closed.
2. What exactly is taken into account? My earnings? Tax credits?
Partners personal earnings are zero (he doesn't work as someone needs to be home for my son). I work full time to support us, pay mortgage (my house) pay bills etc and we have working tax credits and child tax credits. I also get the severe disability element of CTC for my son who is severely disabled. We also have partners son for 14 weeks out of the year (All the school holidays) and it costs us around £140 every 6 weeks or so to go collect him and take him back.
I feel really selfish posting this as partners son is just as much a part of our family as my own son and I love him to bits but I really can't afford to pay any more. I wish I could but I can't.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hi there,
As long as the previous case was closed you shouldn't be liable for payments after that. The current claim will only start from the point she started the claim. if you paid her by standing order did you reference it as maintenance or anything?...if there is a problem you still have the proof that you have paid weekly because it was paid through the bank.
I don't think your salary is taken into account, the benefits that you receive might be but the fact that you have a child living with you will also be taken into account, as will the overnight stays your partners son spends with you. Travelling expenses can also be factored in as a reduction of the amount you are liable for.
Theres a sticky at the top of the Child Maintenance section called "How does the CSA calculate payments" it might be helpful to have a look at that as it explains things in a little more depth.
Hi Nanny, Thanks for the reply 🙂
I have read the link above but it said something about if the parent earns a higher wage then all tax credits get taken into account if both dad and partner earn an equal wage then 50% of tax credits get taken into account. It says nothing about dad earning no wage at all. It's all very confusing. Would it be 100%, 50% or less? If it's 50% then we are already paying 5 times the amount it says we should. This is whats confusing me. why on earth would she think it should be more? Are we doing something wrong?
Sorry for rambling :dry:
Hello Jo.
Thank you for your recent post. I am Sarah, the Child Maintenance Options consultant.
You have said that your partner had a mutual agreement with his ex-partner and you asked if these payments would be taken into account if an application was made to the Child Support Agency (CSA). We call this type of agreement a family-based arrangement. This is not legally binding and payments cannot be enforced. If an application was made to the CSA then your partner would be responsible to pay child maintenance from around the time he is contacted by the CSA.
You also asked in your post if the CSA would take into account your earnings and any tax credits you receive. The CSA works out child maintenance payments using a set formula, which is based on your partner's income. Other factors are taken into account, including the number of children that need child maintenance and if your partner lives with any other children, but this does not include your income. Other factors are taken into account such as the number of nights your partner's son stays over.
When the CSA calculates maintenance, they also take in to account any Child/Working Tax Credits that you or your partner may receive. This is because it is classed as a household income.
The only time Working Tax Credits would not be taken into account is if you are the main earner in your household. However, Child Tax Credits are always taken into account.
You said that it costs you and your partner £140 every six weeks in travel costs collecting your partner's son and dropping him off. The CSA can take into account reasonable travelling expenses. If your partner would like more information about his case and how child maintenance is worked out he can find their contact details online at http://www.gov.uk/childmaintenance.
If your partner would like an indication of how much child maintenance may be payable using the CSA guidelines, he can use our online calculator. This is on our website at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/calculator.asp.
We have a sorting out separation web-app that your partner may find useful, it offers help and support to separated families. He can find this at: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
If your partner would like more information on how Child Maintenance Options can help, he can visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org. If he would prefer a friendly and confidential chat, he can give our team a call on 0800 988 0988. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm.
I hope this helps.
Sarah.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.