Court orders

Hi folks
This web site is new to me so i`m feeling my way a bit.Firstly,i`ve been divorced for about seven years
and have two boys from that marriage aged 7 and 11.
My maintenance was agreed by way of court order at the time of our divorce and since then i have always paid it in full and on time without exception.
Now,i don`t have a problem honouring my parental responsability and helping out financially.What i do have a problem with is the amount.I`m self-employed and in the construction industry and for a long time now i`ve been struggling to keep on top of all my financial commitments.My earnings are down by about 25% of what they were and on top of that i am getting married later this year and have a lovely 8 month old son with my fiance and 2 future stepdaughters,so obviously
money is even tighter.With all of this in mind,Can anyone advise me whether i have reasonable grounds to have my court order reveiwed and ultimately my payments reduced ? I would add that my ex wife has since bought a house with her now long time partner and they to have a 1 year old daughter ! PLEASE HELP !

is this direct pay! also contact ex wife if still speaking times and ask if she will accept reduction, if not go on to the csa maintenance calcualator, and this will tell you what you are legally bound to give her. and ensure you put in that there are 3 other people in the house.

i've the same hazzle with my ex husband, i only give him what he is entitled to and he doesn't let me see my children.

Hi
Thanks for that.Its a waste of time asking her to agree to a reduction,I`ve tried that before!I also asked the CSA but as soon as i said i was paying to much they wer`nt interested in the slightest.In fact they advised me to stop paying altogether and wait to get summonsed.I told them i was happy to pay a fair rate but didn`t get anywhere!Its a bloody joke.Anyway,i will definately look on the csa web site for more info and inform them of my present curcumstances.
Many thanks
Marky mark

When circumstances have changed you can apply for a variation and the court will look at both parties financial circumstances again. The fact she is cohabiting and your earnings have dropped are factors. It's worth pointing out though, if your earnings are at a higher level than when payments started they can be increased as well as decreased so applying for a variation can be a gamble.


Since March 2003 either parent can apply to the CSA for a child support assessment one year after the date of a Consent Order and the order will cease to have effect. Unfortunately this will not apply if your order predates early March 2003 and going through the CSA won't be an option.