child maintenance payment calc

Hi guys,

I think i'm being a bit slow, but i cant see what i take into account and what not for my payments. I'm 100% happy to pay what i should and have no intention of hiding from that - but i also don't feel the need to subsidise my ex with more than she should get!

I earn about £2k after tax, and pay £125 into a work sharesave scheme, so my net take home pay is £1875.

I have my son 2 nights a week and some holidays, so i'm in the 104-156 or whatever it is bracket.

I also have him for tea another night when he doesnt stay (Don't think thats relevant, but more info is better than none!).

I also get a performance bonus once a year of between 0-10% (tends to be around 6%) which is about £1400 generally, though i think it was 4% this year with hard times etc, so about £1k.

my ex earns about the same, if not more than me. she lives with her new bloke. (again, may not be relevant but more info etc)

Any advice appreciated as I think its going to get technical with the ex demanding P60's and threatening to be awkward.

Thanks!

Chris

Chris

In some situations CM can be unfair, both to the payer and the parent receiving it.

If you follow the CSA guidelines they take no account of what the parent with care earns, or whether the parent with care has anyone else living with them. The CSA also ignore any arrangements you may have about providing for your children other than overnight stays - so you giving your son tea is not considered by them. Nor I believe is buying school uniform, clothes etc.

This type of situation can then be unfair on the parent who is not the parent with care, but who has the children regularly and so incurs a lot of child related costs, particularly if the parent with care earns more.

In my case my children are 16 and 14 and are with me at least half the nights, and my 16 year old son is often round at my place raiding the fridge etc when on paper he is supposed to be at his mums. I have exactly the same housing costs as my ex. Also because the kids are here a lot I end up buying them clothes etc, and paying for school trips etc. The CSA would also have me pay the ex child maintenance. She also has her new man living at her place too whilst I am on my home so she is only paying half the mortgage I am and has more disposable income.

I was paying my ex child maintenance last year as I could afford it, but I stopped when I got made redundant and I have not restarted. She moaned about it a couple of times and threatened CSA. But I pointed out how often I have the children, and the costs I pay to support them, and told her I would apply for the child benefit so that I could be considered the parent with care and then she would be liable to pay me child maintenance. We seem to have reached a truce but I know that she could still go the CSA and I would have a fight on my hands.

I think the CSA is great for chasing parents who are truly absent, but they can be very unfair to parents who act responsibly and do have a lot to do with their children. My advice is to talk to your ex and agree a level that is fair and works for you.

All the best.

IGB

Cheers IGB,

I definately agree - communication is always the best way to go - unfortunately my ex just wants money and as much of it as she can get. I'm not trying to hide from my responsibilities, I just don't want to overpay! my ex has holidays on a regular basis, meals out etc and I'm struggling, so don't really feel the need to give her more spending money and build up more debt.

So - anyone know what i should be paying?

Many Thanks!

Chris

Hi Chris,

IGB is correct when he says your ex's arrangements re: living in sin and similar income have no bearing on your assessment!.
NRP are always in a more vulnerable position when it comes to the CSA (which by the way is an acronym for the ex's C-lothing S-hoes and A-ccessories!)


As far as I can see from the info you've provided, you will be liable under the CSA 'rules' to pay the Basic Rate which applies to any non resident parent that earns more than £200 per week (net). One child means 15% of your net take home pay will be the figure that they base their workings on.

If you pay any loans that were taken out before you split and the proceeds were used for the family as a whole, they will also take this into account and deduct it from your take home pay. (Don't hold your breath on that one tho!)

You are allowed to pay into a company scheme within reason and this figure will also be deducted from the net.

You have one child who stays with you two nights a week so that means a 2/7th reduction from the calculation. You could push up to the extra bracket due to the holidays, but in my experience it cost me days with my children cos my twisted ex blocked access so that I definitely fell in the 2/7ths bracket!

You haven't mentioned any other children you have (previous or new relationship) so assume that there aren't any more little Chris's looming in the cupboards!

So I reckon, that they will look at your last years P60 and work out the calculation from that which includes your bonus.

SO, by the footy-csa-calculator, without your P60 at hand, I reckon you would be assessed roughly:-

£1875 x 12 = 22,500
£1400 bonus = 1,400

Net monthly average = 23,900/12
TOTAL = £1,992

15% of net = £298.80
Reduction for overnights 2/7ths. = £85.37

CSA Assessment for your child therefore would be roughly = £213.43 per 4 weeks cycle

This payment can be paid either directly to the womb on a voluntary basis or through the CSA collections via direct debit. If you fail to pay, they have the power to deduct from your employer before you get it!

I always gave towards my children, it was never enough for the stbx so she got the CSA involved and they assessed a figure a lot lower than I was paying her!
Happy days.

I spend the extra now by buying stuff for my kids when I have them and spend it directly on them instead of paying for the highlights and other important survival stuff etc of the stbx.

Good luck.

Footy

Thanks footy, thats fantastic - I was going to give her £200, so I can up it to that and we should all be happy! (Probably )

Much appreciated mate.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Unfortunately tho, you are at a disadvantage from the outset when it comes to the CSA and their view on fairness.

It's because you would have had the advantage of having the 'Pampiniform venous plexus' a few years ago and would probably used it to great advantage at that time.

This is a fact that is relied heavily upon in Family Court circles and court outcomes in divorce proceedings.

Good luck pal.

Footy.

Hi Chris

I have just been through this with my partner and his STBX. The CSA do not take in to account payments for Save as You Earns etc as these are deemed to be "optional". You will have to add the £125 back in to do your calculation.

So, to cheer you up though, they do allow you to make "reasonable" pension contributions. We decided that 10% of his salary is a "reasonable" contribution. Though we are still doing a private agreement, it was a very entertaining conversation with the STBX when she started going nuts that his salary had gone down following the demise of his work Final Salary scheme (where he had to make no contributions). She was insisting that her money should stay the same as his penison was "optional" too.

Obviously, you may decide not to do a pension contribution, just for info really if you feel the Jimmy Choo shoe collection funded by you is getting a bit too big! You can use it to bring your payment down as net salary is lower and save towards retirement.