Overseas support payments

Can anybody help me!!
My ex wife moved to the Middle East with her husband 2.5 years ago, taking my son with them. During these 2.5 years my working circumstances have changed, I lost my job during the recession and without much hope of getting back into the sector I was in, I decided to retrain. I have used all of my savings paying the mortgage etc, and because my partner earns a fairly good wage I can't claim any money from the UK government. Until my retraining is finnished I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, as I have no money coming in and I'm still paying £350 a month on CS so that my son, that I never see, can go to an international school. Can anyone give me any sound advice please.

Hi,

Erm surely if your income has dropped then CS has to follow suit. I cannot get my head around that but im unsure of international support payments. Why not ring the CSA and ask them. Ive actually found there customer services quite helpful.
Number is 08457 133 133


Regards
DA

The CSA is not in charge if one of the parents and/or the child lives abroad.
The way forward would be to try for a variation order; you should inform your ex wife that your income has dropped (and supply supporting documents) and offer to pay a reasonable amount of CS. You then put together a Consent Order and get it sealed at court. If your ex wife does not agree with you you would have to go back to court for a variation order.
Good luck!

Are you paying the £350 due to a UK court order or voluntarily? What do you think would be your ex's likely action if you reduced it due to your income drop? The CSA has no say in overseas cases.

You could alway drop it to what you think is fair, say 15% of your net new income, and see what happens. She may agree to a consent order.

If you went to court (and I dont see why you should do the running there), think about how you will serve papers. Would she participate?