[Solved] help needed please

It may be worth asking the CSA whether they would take into account a Family Based Arrangment - they should do as it's something they are encouraging people to do. This won't cost you anything, nor will it change what you have agreed to pay to your first ex. The CSA will then assess you for 15% of takehome pay, reduced by 20% - ie you will pay the CSA 12% of your takehome pay.

EDIT - in light of the CMO advice below, the information in this post is incorrect.

Hi acrd,

That's what I'm referring to - me and my first partner have an agreement and we sorted the payments and amounts out based on the advise from CM Options . However the CSA will not take into consideration that I'm already paying out £320 per month for my first two children so they will work out what I need to pay for my 3rd child by my full wage. Surely this is not right ?

I asked the lady from the CSA why they will not take into account I'm already paying out for 2 children and she said as that agreement does not go through them/ their system they cannot take this into consideration so they will work out what I should pay my recent ex for my 3rd child based on my full wage

Have I misunderstood or is this correct ?

I'll ask the CMO if they can pop on and comment - hopefully they can help, so keep checking back over the next couple of days.

OK thanks acts - Also one more thing is I don't actually get a regular wage and my wage varies massively as my work is commission based so what I earn now could dramatically decrease the next month - How would they calculate this also. I do get a basic salary but most of my earning are commission and not guaranteed income ?

Hello JayMc

Thanks for your post. I'm William the Child Maintenance Options Consultant. Unfortunately, private arrangements have no legal standing. This means that the CSA cannot take into account any payments made as part of a private agreement.

Because you have a family-based arrangement in place with your older children's mother you can decide between you what counts as child maintenance, and to change your agreement as your children get older or your circumstances change.

Under child support legislation, 20 % is the correct liability amount to be paid for 2 children, however there are allowances for if you have your children staying overnight (for a minimum of 52 nights a year).

You can get an idea what your child maintenance payments would be through the CSA using the Child Maintenance Options calculator. You could also use this amount when negotiating your family-based arrangement.

If you decided to pay child maintenance for your 3 children through the CSA they would work out the total amount of child maintenance you have to pay and divide this total so that you pay the same amount for each child. The total amount payable through the CSA would be 25% of your net weekly income for three children. You can pay the total amount through the CSA and they can then pass on the right amount to each receiving parent or you can pay each parent with care direct. If you'd like some more information about how the CSA works out child maintenance, visit www.Gov.uk.

We have a web application that you may find useful, it offers help and support to separating families. You can find this at: http://www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation

For more information about family-based arrangements and access to useful tools and forms online you can visit www.cmoptions.org, or if you'd prefer a confidential chat you could call the Child Maintenance Options team on 0800 988 0988 (free from a landline).

William

What a very unfair and one sided scenario - Why do the CSA and Government in general actively encourage parents to come to family based arrangements if they will not take them into consideration or account when a greedy mother who's only interest is financial gain contacts them - I can provide proof of payments made to my other children in the form of electric bank statements and I think this needs to be took further as it is totally unfair...

How can this totally unfair and one sided debacle be taken further so that fathers who have to fight to see there children and still pay for their children get fair treatment and not taken advantage of ?

Why encourage family based arrangements if the whole thing isn't taken into account ? This system is an absolute joke and the CSA should be dropped for a much fairer system which does not just favour the maternal side of things but is equally fair for the paternal side - who actually makes these decisions anyway I'd love to question them

Anyone have a similar situation to mine - I really don't know what to do

in spring of 2013 the whole csa is being redone so all the old cases will be cancelled and you will have to reapply for the new one but i think they will charge a sum.

CSA is a joke i had loads of problems with them

Originally, the government proposed charging the following from 2013:

£100 as an upfront fee (or £50 for parents on benefit) for those who want to use the future CSA. Only “Victims of domestic violence” will be exempt (although there is no detail on how this will be proved or checked).
An on-going charge of between 7% and 12% on any maintenance paid to parents who rely on the future CSA to collect their child maintenance, as well as an extra 15-20% charge added to the non-resident parent’s payment.

the government is now proposing:

£20 as an upfront fee for all parents with care who want to use the future CSA.
The ongoing charges remain the same.

The changes wont actually come into effect until 2014. There a sticky about it at the top of the Finance section.