Loss of maintenance

Hi Wiki's.

Brief history. Divorced May 09. Sorted finances when separated, i bought ex out, he came back for more, went to mediation, re-agreed things, he now won't sign papers as has decided its still not fair!

He is being made redundant at the end of October, therefore there will be no maintenance for our 3 children. I am gong to struggle, but thats not my question. Does anyone know if it is possible for me to deduct the child maintenance i was getting (£260) from the money i have agreed to pay him (£3500)? In other words if he is out of work for 6 months, thats £1560 of lost maintenance, can i deduct that from the £3500 i have agreed to pay him? Like i said he has yet to sign paperwork so nothing is agreed at this moment. If anyone needs more info let me know.

Can anyone help me?

Sky xx

How was the child maintenance put in place?

Voluntary or CSA?

Either way, as he won't sign papers that you agreed in mediation, I jolly well wouldn't be handing over any of the money you agreed to pay him when you are not getting any child support.

Pay nothing without the agreement !!!

My girlfriend has finally handed over the former home to her ex who has been threatening to kick the door down. She steadfastly refused to hadn over keys until she had their Separation Agreement in place. Technically illegal, morally the right stance to take.

He and his solicitors are inept, three attempts to produce a draft agreement each taking over a week for the smallest of changes. He even got his kids names wrong.

The night before the exchange, he phones up and says he wants to reduce the settlement by £2k as a down payment on a repair to the house that's due. That would need another re-draft but he is still insisting on moving in without it. No chance.

Stick to your guns, you want, or need, an agreement. He wants, or needs, the money. It's a simple trade off and I suspect you can live without the agreement for longer than he can without the money.

PS Is your agreement effective the date of signing ? You maybe ought to mention that to him - ie no back payments. Might shift his finger out of his ****.

What you really need is the Consent Order which is legally binding.

if your case is with the csa then no as they will reassess him on his new income and there will not be a debt to collect, but if you have a private arrangement you can do whatever you want as long as you both agree it

SkyAnn,

As you have no maintenance coming in in from him, keep the money £3,500.

Nothing has been signed.

Remember, you have to live.

You have reached an agreement which requires you to pay him £3,500 and for him to pay child support at £260/month.

His situation changes at the end of October and it is likely that he will be unable to pay after his redundancy runs out. The key here is 'unable'.

Your situation remains I presume that you can pay the £3,500, you just don't want to because of potential future lost support payments.

If the agreement has not been signed and sealed (I presume that as it has been through mediators it is a consent order) then technically you can walk away from it (resile it). But. I would not do that lightly.

He would certainly be in his rights to force it to a Final Hearing where you might find your position weakened by not honouring your side of the agreement. In short he might get more and you might have his costs awarded against you.

Presumably he will get a job again at some point and revive payments.

In the interest of getting the thing done in an amicable fashion I suggest you offer to reduce the child support by 1/2 for the time between when the redundacy payments run out (ie after the number of weeks pay received) and when he starts a new job.