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Hi this is my first visit so everything is new to me. I was wondering if anybody has any advice that could help me. My son wants to come and live with me but he is only 10 years old. I am working full-time and I work shifts. I am not divorced yet but I have just received papers from her solicitor for me to sign so that it can go to court. She has also started to turn quite nasty so I would be grateful if anybody had some advice for me.
Hi,
How do you feel about your son wanting to live with you? Are you in the process of applying for either shared or full custody of your son?
I want my son to live with me, he is my world but I have to be realistic. The job I do is shifts stupid start times and finish times. I am quite prepared to change my career if that is what it takes for him to be with me.
At the moment I have an agreement with my ex. He can stay with me whenever I'm free but this could change at any time as she started to get nasty.
I have discussed this matter with my son and told him if he was to wait until he is 11 years old then it wouldn't be a problem if he was to live with me, if I was to stay in the same job that I am in now. I am concerned about what my ex would say or do regarding this matter and where I would stand legally as she tells me one thing but she's does something else. She has already told me that she would be worse off as I have already asked to share the family allowance or some of the child tax credits, as I am at the moment financially crippled due to the fact that I have to pay all the debts that she has left me with because they are in joint names.
So I think she would object to my son living with me as this would reduce her income but for me the money is not important I do what I can with the money I've got.
I would say that if you are going to go for residence, then its best doing it now as a court is unlikely to move a child from where they are settled without a compelling reason to do so - a child's wishes would be considered but that's not enough of a reason on its own.
I would question why you have been left with all of the debts if they are in joint names - at the very least, these should be taken into account when calculating child maintenance using the CSA calculator.
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