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In December 2006 I was awarded a decree absolute and the solicitors involved agreed maintenance payments I would pay in respect of my 10 year old son. I increased payments in line with inflation every year. When I retired in May 2011 (aged 62) I reduced payments as per the CSA formula. My ex wife immediately appealed to to the CSA who upheld my payments. She then applied for a variation order. Last Friday the judge at the tribunal decided I had £300K of assets (mostly inhereted since the divorce). £200K related to cash/shares and £100K to a holiday bungalow. I pointed out to the judge that the bungalow did not produce an income and that it was a drain on income. The judge ruled it an asset and then multiplied the assets by a statutory 8% to produce an income of £24k per year. He then added on my weekly pension of £106 and decided I would have to pay my ex £85 per week and backdate the award to the date of the appeal. This leaves me with £21 per week to live on so the capital will deplete rapidly. Is it possible to redirect some of the capital into a pension fund in oder to reduce maintainence payments? Would putting half of the bungalow into my partners name also have the same effect? Has anyone any other ideas to reduce payments?
Hi
You can normally put some of the income into pension, which will reduce the liability, but I'm not sure if the same applies to capital. As for putting 50% of the bungalow into your partners name, the tribunal would almost certainly see this as a means to reduce your payments, and I would be pretty certain that a tribunal would not reduce your liability at all - they do no like schemes which seem to them aimed simply to reduce maintenance payments.
You should be able to appeal (unless the system has changed) and if you are refused leave to appeal, then you can appeal directly to the commissioner.
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