Effect of redundancy on child maintenance order

Hi all

I've been divorced for about 6 years and I have 2 kids at senior school for which I pay 50% of the fees. I also pay about 1K cm per month - rather more than the CSA amount would be!

This has become increasingly difficult, but I have continued to pay and fortunately received bonuses which (just) kept my nose above water over the years. My X has been threatening to go to court for more, quoting inflation as her reason. She remarried a couple of years ago and still does everything in her power to discourage our kids from seeing me. I have a relationship now too though we are not married and I have two step-children whom I support although the court has completely ignored in past hearings! Not a great situation, but that was just the background!

Now it looks likely that I will be made redundant in the current economic meltdown and I am very worried about the possible outcomes. Either way, no bonus and I will probably be redundant and receive a hopefully reasonable sum. On the other hand, I am in my mid fifties, so finding similarly paid employment is very unlikely. I shall probably look for contract work or set up a business of some kind if that looks viable. I will obviously if it happens go and negotiate with my x, but I need to know how the court will look at the situation?

We have court orders for the fees and the CM and obviously I want my kids to continue at the school if possible, but I have a very delicate balance to manage between possible retirement/low pay and a very aggressive and bitter X who is very hard to agree anything with unless it involves paying more or seeing the children less. Will the court consider any redundancy payment as income? Will they consider my needs at all - until I get another job? What if, as is almost certain, I am paid a lot less? My hope is to continue paying half the school fees but to reduce maintenance significantly and then re-establish it according to my income. My fear is that the courts might just treat any redundancy as income till it runs out and then take my house without allowing any changes. That is certainly what my X will demand...

Please - anyone with similar or relevant experience - let me know what happened to you or may happen to me.

Thanks

Z

Hi,
I don't think you can get out of paying maintenance and this is 15% for one child, 20% for two and 25% for three.So if you have a lower income then the maintenance will be lower.

As for the school fees, I expect you will probably need to go back and ask for your circumstances to be reviewed. You can't pay what you don't have and your wife may 'want' but that doesn't mean she'll 'get'.

As for any redundancy money, I don't have a clue. Hopefully someone will be along soon to advise!

hi zoom,
I do not think that this will be taken into account if you had a Clean Break.If you do not get any reply bump it up now and again,better response during the week.
good luck

Thanks, but I am not trying to get out of maintenance and I would be happy to pay according to the CSA scale now or in the future.

Problem is if I manage to obtain and set aside any redundancy to cover 50% school fees for a period while I get myself some other lower income and X will tell judge she can't now pay her half owing to less maintenance, then judge might just tell me to pay 100% fees in the mean time even if he does reduce maintenance.

X had capital but this has all been salted away, even though that was there to pay her half of fees. Problem is my assets would be visible and hers wouldn't and in my experience judges seem to react in one way only to that sort of situation. Quite apart from my assets being intended to help me get over losing my job and finding another - not to fund extra school fees which I already now can not really afford!

I see it like this,you are divorced your redundancy payment is yours.don't see how the ex is entitled to any of it shes remarried.Spend it pay it off your mortgage buy a car anything then when you go to court it's not even up for consideration.Pay off debts that you have personally.
you have had a good job and whilst you had it you paid for your kids education,If you then haven't got a good job you can't pay private school fees.If you were still married and you lost your job yo might well have to put your kids to state school so why do you feel more guilty about it coz you're divorced.
i personally feel that divorced decent guys who still pay have an incredible economic noose around their neck the ex missus will quite readily except the extra bunce money even though she and her new partner prolly don't need it and you still have this sort of well I'm the mother so i'll dictate the terms of the access.i know you can go to court but in reality the ex wife who has main care has a whole host of little tricks she can pull to make access difficult in reality,especially when you have to knock em out of their comfort zone financially.
Good luck I don't envy you at all mate.
All the best
Pete

If you have a clean break order cant see why tour x can touch this

Thanks Pete. Yes that is exactly the problem. After divorce (or a bad one at least) it is seemingly impossible to get together to face financial change responsibly and fairly and to take all the real issues into account. Let's hope it's not a case of Lawyers 1 children 0 and parents draw as it was when we were divorced...

Z