consent order re maintenance at uni

Hi Fiona

I have a child at uni and another one due to go in September. child maintenance is paid via CSA and therefore I get none for the oldest child and it will cease in September for the one going to University.

I am divorced.

My oldest child is taking proceedings to take her father to court for assistance as he has told her he will not help her and does not pay me anything when she is at home. Her solicitor wrote to her father asking for some financial assistance, but her father did not write back.

Is there any way I can take him to court to get financial support for both these children due to the fact they are (one about to go) to university and they need a base? I would rather do that than my daughter continue with her proceedings.

At the end of the day they need somewhere to return in term time and their father lives with his girlfriend in a caravan and has no room (although to be honest even if he had he would not house them). He has not seen them in a year and when he has spoken to them it is abuse involving me and no communication has happened in a long while.

By the way I was made redundant last November and cannot find work no matter how hard I try, so I am living on benefits.

Thank you in advance.

sillywoman, is there a final court order for a divorce settlement?

I lost my home affter my divorce supported two children kept a roof over their heads and continue to support them as much as I can, have also bought both of them cars and insurance, gone without in order to put them first and not questioned it, my daughter knows how tight money is and never asks unless desperate and we would never not help either of them, but when an x wife constantly cheats, emptied all joint accounts, got a mortage free house bought for her in ordder to prevent his daughter suffering at all, then when my husband was out of work slapped a court order on our house, which is heavily mortgaged, and spends several weeks abroad each year, plus new cars, and does not give his daughter money for petrol, etc. where is the maintenance going? not on her for sure. That is why it is wrong. Maintenance shouldbe to help the child not support the lavish lifestyle of a cheating x wife!

Why has everyone assumed that the poster doesn't want to support the children.

What they want to know is if they can stop paying the ex CM now the children would be considered adults and then choose if they can (and want) to support the children directly.

Surely once a child reaches 18 it acceptable to pay them support directly not be forced to pay CM to the ex. It is after all called child maintenance and the CSA have no jurisdiction once a child has left secondary education.

When these court orders where signed before 2003, it was usually assumed that full time education meant the end of secondary school not university.

I have made no assumption. In this particular case the term "full time education" isn't the issue as it appears the order child maintenance was extended to cover an over 18 attending university. The courts have the authority to make such an order and enforce it. There is no point wishing different laws exist when they don't, we all have to work in the framework of the law and the only opinion that is binding is that of the judge.

Hi Fiona

The original poster here is clearly a very supportive mother and step mother.

My case, however, very different. We have a final Consent Order, now divorced and my ex husband promised to help the children through university, but has decided not to help at all!

They get no pocket money, no nothing, he doesn't see them, hasn't done since he met his girlfriend and the CSA have to phone every month to get payment from him.

I just wondered if there was any way I could get any finances from him for the children. Its awful my daughter having to take her own father to court.

ataloss2, presumably the order was made because the ex-wife applied for a variation or enforcement and your husband had the opportunity to attend and put his side across???