court order flouted - child payments reduced

Hello

Hi I'm reposting this as I posted in the wrong forum, sorry.

My exh and I finalized our divorce may 2009. The Consent Order states that my eh will pay me periodical payments of £x every month for my daughter and the payments increase every year inline with the Retail price index so I assume it's not governed by the CSA calculation. Someone suggested he could apply for a chnage in the order but he has not.

My exh has halved the amount he pays saying his salary has decreased and according to the CSA calculation he can pay less. (this wasn't true when he stared doing it 6 months ago as I have seen his bank statement. It's still not true but he works for his family business which is now paying 3/4 of his wages as a loan repayment to avoid income tax (but he's made no loan to the business))

How can I get him to pay me what he should and What is my legal position?

Thanks

Lu

Arrears of child maintenance included in a contact order can be enforced like any other debt. There is guide and forms available from HM Court Services website and court officials can check over any completed forms if you do not wish to use a solicitor. Having said that often a solicitor's letter does the job with less hassle at a low cost and as there is a general court rule that the unsuccessful party pays costs your ex may wish to avoid proceedings.

You should be aware though the court cannot order someone to pay arrears if circumstances have changed and they cannot pay the debt. It is possible to negotiate a change to the order and have it documented by a solicitor as a deed. That wouldn't be legally binding but could carry some weight with the courts if there were problems later.
Alternatively a year after the date of the consent order either party can apply to the CSA, the CSA notifies the court and the court order ceases to have any effect.

Thanks

Am I right in thining that the court order stands until he goes to the csa to get things changed?

My ex is getting £5000 every 6 months from me at the moment so he can pay. It seems like everything he bargained for is written in stone and he can ignore his obligations. Why didn't my solicitors tell me I'll only get this money for a year then I can forget it.