The UK's largest and most visited divorce site.
Modern, convenient and affordable services.
We've helped over 1 million people since 2007.

Click this button for details of our

email, phone nbr and free consultations.

How To Contact Us

Maintenance at Court?

Start
Prev
1
Next
End

stilltrying
Posted by
New Member

04 Aug 13 #403206 by stilltrying

Topic started by stilltrying

I have my FDH coming up sometime (ex keeps moving the date) - we are negotiating between solicitors re the equity and pensions etc but maintenance for my daughter doesn''t seem to be given much priority. I would think i need a figure of what he would be willing to pay before i can budget as to my own future and a property for me and the children (also have two older children who have just turned 18). My solicitor has asked if he proposes to pay maintenance to which they have replied he will give consideration, but surely this is something that he can''t merely give consideration to willy nilly, will the court make a direction here or is it something that i have to pursue through the CSA. Also he states minimal income due to being self employed and ill health grounds, although those grounds do not prevent him from doing office work. Will the court suggest that he seeks employment so that he can support his daughter in the future? I now work fulltime but didnt throughout the marriage as he always encouraged me to be at home for the children. Thanks x

Gillian48
Platinum Member

04 Aug 13 #403212 by Gillian48

Reply from Gillian48

Hi - I''m upraised your solicitor is discussing CM as a lot don''t get involved in this - if I was you I would persue it through the CSA all the time he''s stalling all the time your missing getting money. The CSA will calculate the money from the date of the application - I would ring them - how old is your daughter? Are your 2older children still in further education? I saw a comment on another post - I have older children 1 at Uni 1 just left school - I know I can no longer receive CM - my ex was horrible during my divorce insisting I only needed a 1 bed home as our kids were now adults . I couldn''t throw them out as he insisted I''m their Mum they have no income?? So hence the result was having not enough equity from the divorce I now rent whilst the ex lives the life of luxury in his 5bed house. Although he did lie about money and everything else and the courts believed him.
Divorce is horrible especially if your STBX is being awkward just hope you manage to get things sorted - don''t let him stall any longer go through the CSA and make sure you claim CTC etc.... All the Best. X

stilltrying
Posted by
New Member

04 Aug 13 #403218 by stilltrying

Reply from stilltrying

Thank you for your reply

I guess I am out of touch as i thought the solicitors would sort out the maintenance included in the ancillaries. My daughter is 15, my older two aren''t in education any more, one is working (job with good prospects but starting off on very low pay) and the other is actively looking for work. I agree with you, how on earth can they be told to stand on their own two feet, I said to my solicitor, we are a family of four as simple as that, they will always have a home with me - fair enough when they are in the mid twenties etc but when they are just starting out, so unfair. Meanwhile, the ex leads a life of luxury with fancy holidays etc etc. Hey ho, one day at a time

MrsMathsisfun
Platinum Member

04 Aug 13 #403225 by MrsMathsisfun

Reply from MrsMathsisfun

Unfortunately unless your adult children are in full time education their needs wont be considered in the division of assets. Your housing needs will be 2 bed property and the asset split will reflect that.

If you want to continue to support your older children then you will need to do this with your own resources.

Fiona
Platinum Member

04 Aug 13 #403252 by Fiona

Reply from Fiona

child maintenance can be kept on the agenda. Although the courts normally have no authority to impose child maintenance it can be negotiated and agreed in a Consent Order as part of the overall divorce settlement.

Alternatively you can negotiate a family based arrangement - see the CM Options website. Experience shows parents are generally more satisfied with arrangements agreed between themselves and more likely to adhere to an agreement rather than imposed arrangements. IF no agreement can be reached you can pursue child maintenance through CSA.

When it comes to sharing assets the welfare of children under 18 is the priority but dependent children over 18 aren''t irrelevant, even though they aren''t the first consideration. Under s25 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 regard may be given to dependent over 18s as part of the financial obligations or responsibilities of the parties, or as one of the circumstances of the case. Other s25 factors taken into account are each party''s contributions to the welfare of the family and potential earning capacity.

stilltrying
Posted by
New Member

04 Aug 13 #403304 by stilltrying

Reply from stilltrying

Thank you Fiona, that gives me some hope. Obv I accept that my 15 year will be the main concern but it just upsets me that just because they''ve just turned 18 they don''t get given a second thought. Obv i just want the best for my kids and will do i all i can to get a fair settlement that keeps a roof over their heads as well as mine and my daughters.

Thanks for your advice I will look the Act you quote

Child Maintenance Options
Moderator

08 Aug 13 #403699 by Child Maintenance Options

Reply from Child Maintenance Options

HI Stilltrying

I am William the Child Maintenance Options consultant. Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time, non-advanced education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid.

Education must be full-time (more than an average of 12 hours'' supervised study a week during term time) and ''non-advanced''. This includes:

GCSEs
A levels
iGCSEs
Pre-U
International Baccalaureate
NVQ/SVQ level 1, 2 or 3
BTEC National Diploma, National Certificate and First Diploma
SCE higher grade or similar

It does not include ''advanced'' education, eg:

a degree
Diploma of Higher Education
NVQ level 4 or above
BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC)
Teacher training

For further clarification on the above, please look at the following link: www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19/education.

If you and your children''s father are able to come to an agreement between yourselves, this known as a family-based arrangement where you can agree who will provide what for your children.

There are no strict rules or formulas that you have to stick to when calculating your payments. It can also include money and other kinds of support, for example providing clothing.

Family-based arrangements are not usually legally binding, however, they are quick, easy and free to set up. They are also flexible to change if either you or your children''s father has a change in circumstances. Research has proven that when parents collaborate together to make a maintenance arrangement, it can help their children adjust to the change in their family living arrangements.

You have mentioned that your children''s father is claiming that he is on minimal income due to being self employed and ill health. You may find our child maintenance decision guide: Talking about money useful this can help you and your children''s father decide how much maintenance your children need. We also have a family-based arrangement form that is not a legally enforceable document but may put your agreement on a more formal basis. These are available to download with all our other leaflets on our website at www.cmoptions.org/en/toolbox/leaflets.asp.

You may also wish to use our online calculator via the following link: www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/ to see how much maintenance you may be entitled to receive if you were to use the services of the statutory scheme. You can use this estimated figure as a starting point in your negotiations in making a family-based arrangement.

If you feel a family-based arrangement will not work for you, you still have other options including a statutory child maintenance arrangement with the Child Support Agency (CSA). The CSA have two schemes available Direct Pay and Collect and Pay. Direct Pay is where the CSA calculates child maintenance and then leaves you and your children''s father to agree together how your payments will be made. Once they have calculated the maintenance amount, the CSA will not contact you or your daughter''s father again unless circumstances change or if they are told that your daughter''s father has missed or fallen behind with his payments. Collect and Pay is where they calculate, collect and enforce payments on your behalf.

If an application is made with the CSA, your daughter''s father responsibility to pay will start from around the time the CSA contacts him. You can find more information about their service online at www.gov.uk/child-maintenance

If your child maintenance is agreed through the courts, this is known as a Consent Order, to arrange a Consent Order, both you and your children''s father need to agree how much child maintenance will be paid and how often before going to court. Arranging a Consent Order can be costly as fees for solicitors, mediators and court costs may apply. You may wish to look at the following link: www.gov.uk/find-a-legal-adviser to find a legal adviser in your area. Once a Consent Order has been agreed and authorised, your children''s father is legally liable to pay the amount the court has endorsed. However, the court does not monitor or collect payments. Therefore, you will need to seek legal advice for any missed or reduced payments, unless you are happy to accept them. After 12 months, either you or your children''s father can apply to the CSA and the Consent Order will no longer be valid.

We have a Sorting out separation web-app on our website at www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Sorting-Out-Separation.html that you may find useful as it offers help and support to separated families.

To find out more about how Child Maintenance Options can help you visit www.cmoptions.org or call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday.

I hope this helps.

William

Start
Prev
1
Next
End

Moderators: wikivorce team, rubytuesday, dukey, hadenoughnow, Tets, Forseti, Mitchum, WhiteRose, Lostboy67, WYSPECIAL, Bubblegum11

Do you need help sorting out a fair financial settlement?

Our consultant service offers expert advice and support to help you reach agreement on a fair financial settlement quickly, and for less than a quarter of the cost of using a traditional high street solicitor.