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Hi,
A foreign girl got pregnant and admitted to me after that she purposely did it so she could get a house and benefits from the government. Naturally I am still extremely bitter.
I have not spoken to her since or had anything to do with HER baby. She wrote me a letter recently asking me to sign her birth certificate so she would be eligible for child benefits. She also said that in exchange, she would cease asking for CSA payments.
Naturally, I don't believe that she would adhere to her side of the bargain after I have signed the certificate and after a few months or years, she could contact the CSA and I wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
What I want to ask is this. If I signed the Birth Certificate and I get a letter in writing from her which clearly states that she will not use the CSA in the future, can this be put into writing legally if she pursued CSA payments in the future and would this letter in writing prevent the CSA from requesting payments???
Thank you for reading.
Hi
As far as I am aware, any letter would not stop her from contacting the CSA, but you refusing to sign the birth certificate won't make a difference on that matter either. The simple fact is that you are, from what you say, the biological father and you are responsible for maintenance for your child. I'm not sure whether this comes under the expertise of the child maintenance options, but I will ask them to comment if they are able.
Hi mrbitter,
Just noticed this one.
A Court Order when it comes to the CSA is only valid for 1year after it was signed. After which, she could approach the CSA for 12% of your gross pay. If you are on benefits however it will be a flat rate of £7 per week.
Its such a shame to hear cases like this... are you not willing to try and form some relationship with your child?
Hi actd,
According to CMEC the latest tax year is now available and according to their timetable (its somewhere on their website i read quite last month), the 12% of gross pay now applies.
Happy to stand corrected if anyone has checked or been assessed more recently?
couldn't find the figures on cmec, but it mentions the scheme and I've found figures elsewhere which confirm what you've quoted. looks like my ex will be due to pay me a whole £2 per week extra, or more correctly, the arrears will increase by that amount.
Hi actd,
This is from the CMEC site:
Timetable for Change
From 2012: The new 'gross income' statutory maintenance scheme will be established. Latest available tax year information from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will be used for child maintenance calculations, which will be based on gross rather than net income. Existing clients on both the existing statutory schemes will be actively supported either to make their own arrangements or to apply to the new 'gross income' scheme.
Charges are apparently still being disputed, and equally i've heard many hinderances to the whole "getting parents to co-operate on Maintenance" factors. The Government unfortunately just don't seem to realise the situations between some parents...
Yeah, I mean no one would, for instance, pay 100% of income into a private pension to try to avoid paying any maintenance at all would they?
Hi, I'm Sarah, a consultant for the Child Maintenance Options service. I wanted to give you some information that might help clarify things for you.
As the father of the child, you are legally responsible for financially supporting that child. This would still be the case, even if your ex-partner signed a letter that said she wouldn’t use the CSA. Even if you didn’t sign the birth certificate, the CSA can presume parentage if your ex-partner asks them to arrange child maintenance.
Regarding CSA child maintenance payments, the CSA will ask for 15% of your net pay or £5 per week if you are on benefits.
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