Advice sought please.

Hope this is in the right place.
I had a bitter divorce and my ex played every cliche in the book.I overpaid massively in maintenance and she still cut down contact and went the csa route.I found them very anti-NRP (in my case) and eventualy ended up giving my ex everything she demanded as I was depressed and heavily in debt.The divorce is through now and she has the former home and equity,contents etc.I have preserved my pension.
Things should settle down but I dont trust her.
To make matters worse I am facing redundancy.
I will get a payout of which will be around £40k with the first £30k being tax free.However I have solicitors debts and other loans to pay-I will be left with around 18 months salry but have to live in the meantime.I intend to pay her the agreed amount while I look for work but wonder what she can do in terms of going back to the csa and getting some of the lump sum.Im told the first £30 k is safe ?Can anyone advise please.

Redundancy money is not considered earned income as far as CSA is concerned.

You also need to tell them of your change in circumstances and ask for a review. You shouldn''t continue paying her the agreed rate without getting a reassessment done.

If you are not working the new rate will be very low or even nil which may upset your ex but remember who chose the CSA route.

It may be a chance to negotiate a different arrangement and ditch the CSA.

I''m not sure that is entirely correct. It''s rather confusing but redundancy pay isn''t counted as income for the basic CSA calculation although contractual redundancy pay is considered income when it comes to collecting arrears. Or at least it was, unless there has been a change under the recent reforms.

Here it is;

A deduction from earnings order (DEO) can only be made from the following earnings:

wages, fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or any payments on top of wages
private or occupational pensions and compensation payments
Statutory Sick Pay
contractual sick pay
contractual maternity pay
contractual paternity pay
contractual adoption pay
contractual redundancy pay*
Statutory pay is money that your employees are entitled to by law. Contractual pay is pay that you agree with your employees over and above statutory pay.

*my emphasis

www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-for-employe...y-counts-as-earnings

hadenoughofitall, I''m not at all clear what is going on here. Did you agree child maintenance in a Consent Order? If so is the order still in effect and how long ago was it made? Or do you pay child maintenance through the CSA and have you fallen into arrears?

Hi.She came away from the csa when i gave her what she wanted and we have a consent order with NO mention of maintenance-its a private arrangement between ourselves.Nothing drawn up.What I pay is more or less in line with csa calculations but on top i pay pocket money,phone bills and things for when they are with me.
I have no job lined up and if I do get made redundant then I want to know categorically what she can take if she goes the csa route.
My fear is she will hear I have left the company and will work out how much I would have got.
So can she claim any?I was told she cant claim any of the £30k lump sum that is tax free but any over and above she could?This seems unfair if true as I fear she would try that to be vindictive.
However if it is true then I have the option of putting everything over £30k in my pension as a top up which leaves me less to live on while i try and find a job.
If i do secure a job i will try to continue to pay what I have agreed and plan to treat the kids to a holiday in the summer but I really need to know if my money is at risk.
Can anyone categorically let me know how I stand.

In that case if your wife applies to the CSA or Child Maintenance Service the rules applied will depend on how many children you have and when she applies. The CSA/CMS is a blunt instrument and the staff have no discretion.

If you are made redundant the calculation will be based on your current income rather than your historic income. Under both the 2003 and 2012 rules redundancy pay isn''t considered income for the basic assessment. See Reg 34-39 Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 for the new rules.

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2677/contents/made

Having said that if you are made redundant there is every incentive for your ex to negotiate a change to the amount you pay rather than involve the CSA/CMS because the Government intends to introduce application and collection charges in the future.

Can you explai nthat again Fiona?Am I right in thinking that my lump sum is safe and that she cannot touch any of it?
My intention is to pay her thew same for three months as I also get three months pay up front and that is fair.
However, after that it is dependent on wether or not I secure employment and how much.
She has been very vindictive throughout and I dont trust her one bit but I need to be categorically sure of where I stand-some forums state that only the first £30k is safe from CSA, others that all of it is and some say anything up to £65k is safe.
it will be the only asset I have and I will be coming out with around £35k but I have debts to pay off-some that i have taken over to preserve my pension, and then solicitors fees,credit card bills,overdrafts etc.
Once i have paid off everything if I am frugal I will have a years salary to live on while I look for employment.To be honest,if that becomes the case I cannot really afford to pay much to her(and she has an income of over £2k a month so will hardly struggle).I do not want to involve csa and I do want to provide for my children but getting a job would be my priority and I just hope and pray she will be reasonable.
Also, can you or anyone else let me know if the consent order dismissing all future claims against each other will protect me and the redundancy payout(should it happen of course)
Thanks in advance