Paying Maintenance or Child Support

1234 21/12/2023 at 10:30 am

Hello, my husband has a 19 year old son from a previous marriage who he is still paying child maintenance for. His son is still technically in full time education, doing a level 2 NVQ but is also working 40 hours per week. At what point will the maintenance payments stop? We have the agreement between us rather than through CSA and we can't find anything around what happens if the child is working and whether or not that changes anything. Does anyone know what the rules are please?

Big edd 19/06/2021 at 9:51 am

Do I need to pay cash when my son is working full time

Dons 17/12/2020 at 1:23 pm

I’m after some advice I have a 16 year old with a disability who only does 6 hours education a week as that’s all he can cope with but his dad is now saying he doesn’t have to pay his csa anymore does anyone no anythink about this

HM 19/05/2020 at 8:29 am

Hi, my ex partner originally was told to pay CM through direct payment, however he did not decide to pay. I had to then move to get a DEO which happened for 6 months until he requested it was stopped and he could go back to direct pay, which CMS allowed. Then he never paid, so payments went back to being collected by DEO, this has been for 6 months now and i am die payment which is late and I’m wondering would CMS have allowed him to go back to paying through direct pay and not have notified me due to current conditions? Would he be allowed to change back to direct pay eventhough he has a past history of never making payments this
Way?

El 22/01/2020 at 5:04 pm

If my ex girlfriend (mother to my child) gets married and has 3 more kids, do I have to pay child maintenance ? And at what age does child maintenance stop ?

Sheryl S 03/11/2019 at 5:31 pm

My ex agreed to pay me £150 a month towards our daughter. He WAS having her Friday and Saturday nights every other weekend. Then due to work shifts changing he told me he could no longer collect her on Fridays. He now has her less than 52 nights a year yet has not altered his payments. I work full time and need to pay childcare. He has two other children from a previous marriage but one is over 18, the other is now doing an apprenticeship. I’m not sure what to do as he is far from easy to talk to. I need his payments to increase.

Dee 30/10/2019 at 10:47 am

Is anyone able to help? My ex pays weekly child maintenance but over the school holidays sometimes has our daughter for 3-4 days should he still pay every week even tho he’s had her for longer than a weekend?

Carl 13/06/2019 at 5:26 pm

My ex doesn't pay maintenance for her child and there appears to be no way of getting it out of her. CSA aren't actively involved like they used to be. There needs to be consequences for parents who don't contribute to their child's upbringing.

Wren 28/03/2019 at 11:44 am

I have a 13 year old son, the father has never paid anything towards his up bringing. Can I now claim for child support and will he need to pay for the last 13 years he has been absent.

...... 02/02/2019 at 10:05 pm

Hi

Me and my ex spilt up at the start January. When I moved we agreed I would give her £300 to look after if we ever spilt up or I’d move out.

Her I agreed that I won’t pay her this month but I will pay end of February due fact that she won’t give a penny back. She also kicked out after paying all the rent left me pennless.

Now just been paid she demanding I pay £150 or she going csa I told we agreed that was okay cause she spend all my money for start for deposit.

She also not letting see her for more than two hour on a Sunday.

I have told her I will have 3 nights a week as fair and she treats.

I really don’t what to do. She asked if I could go out get her nappies baby food etc she leaving really bad position what do I do?

gabby 06/11/2018 at 2:59 am

Me and the father split up before my son he gold me he would pay £10 every Sunday to help me . we agreed that he can see him every sunday for couple of hours and he still agreed about the payment when my son was born . its been 8 months and he still not paying me back . according to him his lower told him he shouldn't pay coz he doesn't see him as much . I'm just wondering if he can do this and if its true

Gee 05/11/2018 at 8:13 pm

My partner pays child support arranged by him and the mother of his child. We have 2 children together also. His son is in full time education and also works part time, he is about to turn 18. When are the legal requirements to stop paying, as my partner wants to stop paying the money to the mother as the money doesn’t get spent on his son and start paying the money into his son’s bank. The month also works full time, as does her husband. Any advise if this is possible??

Max 30/10/2018 at 5:10 pm

Me and my partner had an agreement that he would pay weekly, which he has not done. When ever he stopped making payments I would contact him and he would start making payments, but this time he has not paid for a long time. I did not go to the csa, as I did not want him suffer any hardship. Now our daughter is 18. What can I do to receive the back payments from him?

Kerky90 15/08/2018 at 6:18 pm

My partner has a son with his ex we have two children together (I’m on materity leave) my partners son stays with us 3 weekends out of four and for half of the school holidays as we’ve just had him for 12nights as his mum went abroad my partner always picks him up and drops him of which is 30mile drive my partner gives his ex £10 a week buys him clothes for our house and hers and buys him school uniform aswell she also claims for his son and gets ADHD money for him which we’ve never asked for a penny of his money however his ex is always demanding money of my partner will my partner have to pay csa

C909 14/08/2018 at 9:01 pm

Hi just need a bit of advice, I currently give my ex £180 per month so that she has income to support our 2 and a half year old son, because I've been giving her the £180 before my son was born right up until now without ever defaulting on a payment , if she demands more can she get more if she goes through the CSA ? My son lives in Wales and I live in Bristol so I normally have to travel across to see him which costs in terms of travel costs - will CSA take this in to consideration....?

Bumblebee 07/08/2018 at 4:27 pm

Hi I've been paying child maintenance for my two children since 2011. Now my daughter moved out on 17th of January and my son moved out on 21st of may. My ex partner only just informed CSA about this on 10th of July. I've been phoning up regularly and been promised several times that they're going to stop the payments and I will be back payed from the date my son moved out. Now I just spoke to a gentleman today which promised me again they're going to stop the payments and he also in not a polite way informed me they will only back pay it from the date my ex partner phoned that means that she will be getting an extra 2 months of money out of me. Its only £36 a month but as I'm disabled its a lot of money for me to pay. Is there anyway I can get that extra 2 months of money back from my ex

I was also informed that ESA was told on 17th of July to stop the money but as I'm still paying obviously they didn't listen

BellaB 28/07/2018 at 1:24 pm

I left my partner of 24 years in March 2013 (through the support of Womens Aid) we have a 12 year old together and the child lives with me. As we weren't married I have no entitlement to funds/things from the family home, despite paying the £65k deposit from the sale of my old home. I approached my ex with a view to discussing maintenance, I checked the CSA calculator and based on his wages if they chase him he would have to pay £58 per week however I do not want to make his life difficult and think £25 is a reasonable amount. His opinion is he is not paying a penny to keep a roof over my head when our child had a perfectly good home before we left (a good home but terrible life!) He will however buy anything the child wants, designed tops, sportswear etc., I explained it's not about material things, it's about care and well being and he said if I go to CSA he will ignore letters, I said they'd arrest his wages and he replied well I'll pack my job in and then you won't get a penny. I am trying to keep the peace for childs sake but to be honest I had no money for gas last week so we couldn't get hot water for washing for 3 days and he spent over £100 on 3 tops for child, who of course thinks this is great as I always apparently say no to anything they want. (I'm on sick benefit through cancer and subsequent health issues through that) £25 would make such a difference to us.
What I need to ask is, does he legally have to pay for the child or is it only if I chase him for it?

LawAndParents Editor 24/07/2018 at 11:09 am

You could apply to the courts to have the existing order amended - this is usually done via court form C100. It may be worth contacting the passport office and asking them for advice first.

Alex 23/07/2018 at 1:27 pm

I have a 13 yr old son and have been divorced for over 10 yrs. The father has no relationship with my son and contacts him very sporadically. His location is unknown.
Due to changes in the law I am unable to renew his passport without his father's permission therefore I need to amend my current residence order to allow me to renew his passport without his permission.
Please could you advise on procedure to do this?

LawAndParents Editor 23/07/2018 at 12:50 pm

If the father refuses to pay child maintenance when asked, you can contact the Child Maintenance Service to ask them to take the money. First check out the CM Options website for further information.

Couz 21/07/2018 at 6:23 pm

Hi there, this is a weird one. Me and my current partner have brought up her daughter ( my step daughter). She may aswell be mine as I've brought her up all her life. However her real father hasn't paid a penny. But my partner doesn't want to Contact CSA because she is simply still scared of the bloke. Can I contact CSA for her.

Cheryl dowd 19/07/2018 at 9:36 pm

Hi my ex left 5 years ago hasn't seen or paid for my two girls since what do I do the girls don't want to see him but I think he should have to pay they are his children I've done it alone for 5 years

juleslim 13/07/2018 at 6:15 pm

Hi, wonder if you anyone can help me please
Split with my husband and sold marital home October 2014. Money from house sale held by his solicitor.
We've had the children 50/50, as he’s literal, and said he didn’t need to pay me any maintenance if we did this. I was happy to have the children with me more.

I requested some maintenance support at the time of the split, as the lower earner and even though applied for tax credit was on the lowest amount (stopped receiving well over a year ago).
Have been renting since selling family home, which is expensive, and takes almost half of my monthly salary.

My solicitors were awful, and allowed him to drag out sorting the financial arrangements til now.
We recently went to court. I am now representing myself as so broke, and had spent over £9,000 with 3 Solicitors and got nowhere.
Even though I asked one of my solicitors to request maintenance, which she did, the reply back was when he had evidence of my financial assessment (Form E) which I exchanged with him and was shocked to see he was earning almost 3 times what I wasn’t the time!
My solicitors never took up the maintenance request, even though I asked them, and I’m concerned now, I could’ve received some help ... and would it be possible to claim retrospectively please, does anyone know?
I don’t care how hard the advice is in reply, I just need to know, thanks

I’m really grateful of any help, as this has had such a stressful time on my health, having a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, Folic Acid deficiency, and Hypothyroidism in the last 3 years, causing long term sickness episodes from work.
My children are now 21 and 17, only the 17yr old is in full time education.
Ive never been given, or even offered any financial support from my ex, only him telling the children to ‘ask your mum’ as he has no money.
Thank you most kindly

Amz77 07/07/2018 at 11:09 am

Really need advice please. Court order in place for 3 years that my girls dad has not stuck to for the past 2. They are now taking maintenance from his wages which he is spitting feathers about and I have an email from him where he says if I don't agree to drop the case with the CMS he will go for 50/50 care. This was 3 months ago.
He has now started abiding by the court order doing all he should but I know this is so that he can avoid maintenance and eventually go for 50/50. Where the heck to I stand? knowing his only reason for doing this is to avoid paying. Previously he hasn't seen the children for 3 months at a time his choice not mine. I have 10 A4 pages of breaches of the court order.. what will happen if he goes for 50/50 now?

LawAndParents Editor 04/07/2018 at 3:17 pm

This is a common scenario, and it doesn't seem there is much you can do about unfortunately. Citizens Advice may have some information about additional about places you can go for financial help.

Shelly 03/07/2018 at 8:51 pm

Hi please can I have some advice. My ex pays no maintenance now for 6 months. My son is 12. He is working cash in hand everyday and puts accounts into csa which say he earns less than 8 pounds a month. He is self employed. How can a tackle this ? He won't answer the phone and the CSA just tell me he doesnt earn enough which i know is a lie. He lives in a 3 bed room house and runs 2 cars. You can't do that with no job. The house is mortgaged but in his girlfriends name not his. But she only works part time. I work full time but I'm now really struggling financially and not sure what to do.
Many thanks

Jo jo 26/06/2018 at 1:55 am

I have had a case with CSA and now CMS for several years, I’m currently owed 24K in unpaid maintenance. Ex agnores all letters and phone calls. He has no fixed aboe, self-employed and post go to his parents house. Liability orders are unless, lost count of the amount of liability orders the court have actioned. At stage now where a sauction has been granted to go to court for take away driving license or go to prison. Will this actually make him pay? I have no faith.

Bex 21/06/2018 at 6:30 am

Please help me my kids dad does nothing n pays nothing know he easy make 2_3 k a month .I am struggling .can look for him 13 years ago but couldn't find him.I have address for him n his wife n kids .is it too late for can help me ?

LawAndParents Editor 20/06/2018 at 12:58 pm

The parent who is the main carer receives maintenance from the other one, that is the way the system works. If you were to apply for 50/50 shared care, the maintenance payments might drop/stop.

chill98 16/06/2018 at 8:00 pm

I've been taken by my ex through CSA but I have my kids 3 times a week wich costs me as well . can I take her through CSA . as when I have my kids who helps me to contribute towards them . I think it should be a tow way thing as I had no choice but to leave the home

LawAndParents Editor 15/06/2018 at 2:59 pm

If you can't come to an agreement (via mediation etc), you may have to apply for a child arrangements order, where a judge will make a decision based on the best interests of the children.

lilynoneck 14/06/2018 at 10:35 pm

my wife has said she is leaving and wants to take our three children with her but one of children has stated that they are not going what can i do to stop her taking the other two

Derek 13/06/2018 at 11:29 am

Hi, I have a court order in place which states my three children stay over with me for a full weekend every other week. My ex has now stopped me seeing the children and brought forward a whole host of false allegations against me and is trying to turn the children against me. I have applied for an enforcement order and have since recieved a report from CAFCASS that states they see no reason for my ex to stop me seeing the children, a court date is up and coming.

I currently pay the CMS calculated amount for the children and have done so without fail but she is now demanding more as, as mentioned, they do not stay othernight with me. Can she do this or does the original court order work in my favour as she has breached it?

louise 12/06/2018 at 5:30 pm

Yes their is a reason why ive stopped my daughter seeing her father to cut a long story short the police are involved apparently my ex has rang cms that the police are involved and the police has told my ex don't pay cms as hes not allowed direct or indirect contact with me or my daughter cms have advised me to ring police to ask what they mean by direct or indirect cms dont understand what they mean or why the police are getting involved as he still needs to pay for his daughter an not rely on just me paying for everything for my daughter i know you can't get involved in police matters but surely my ex still needs to pay for his daughter an the police shouldn't be telling my ex not to pay

Confused 11/06/2018 at 10:21 pm

Thanks for your response. At the outset of our breakup I had a solicitor draw up both contact and separation agreements. My ex also has a daughter by a previous marriage for which there is a court order in place for contact. The contact agreement my solicitor drew up matched the court order for his other child. However he refused to sign this agreement and he continues to frequently cancel/try to alter the contact times he asked me to try to meet. I have refused to move on the contact times to ensure my son has stability and routine in his young life and therefore sees his father regularly(he was 4 when we separated) surely this is the right course of action?

LawAndParents Editor 11/06/2018 at 10:43 am

Maintenance and contact are two separate things and neither party should use either as some kind of bribe or bargaining tool. There has to be some flexibility to change/swap contact times to accommodate personal circumstances but both parties should be in agreement about these. If you don't have formal contact times/arrangements in place it might be worth considering mediation in order to create an agreement. This can be made legally enforceable in the courts at a later date if necessary. If maintenance hasn't been paid, you may have to consider applying to the CMS to have them take the payments on your behalf - but note, there is a charge for this service.

Confused 08/06/2018 at 7:31 am

My ex has paid maintenance since we split almost two years ago. He often tries to change /cancel his contact times with our son which I never agree to. He has now said he won’t pay maintenance after the last time I refused to change and he has not paid. What should I do? I cannot communicate with him effectively as he get angry

LawAndParents Editor 06/06/2018 at 11:38 am

CMS is calculated based on taxable income. His lump sum (if less than 25% of the "pot") would be tax free. There isn't much you can do about this apart from perhaps to share care of the children 50/50 to reduce your outgoings?

Helen 05/06/2018 at 12:14 pm

Hi, my ex has taken early retirement with a navy pension and lump sum he has deferred his pension until our youngest turns 18 (she's 8) and no longer has to pay maintenance, I can cope financially please help

LawAndParents Editor 29/05/2018 at 2:56 pm

This person is providing accommodation, heating, food, probably travel expenses to college etc for your daughter. There is probably an argument that she should not be expected to do this for nothing. You need to talk this through with your daughter, the person who's providing accommodation and also your daughter's father to see if you can come to some agreement.

LawAndParents Editor 29/05/2018 at 1:00 pm

You should talk to CMS about the payments and why they've stopped. Is there some reason why you have stopped contact? Is that really in the best interests of your daughter?

Peanuts 28/05/2018 at 3:59 pm

I have a daughter of 18. She dropped out of her a levels and moved in with her boyfriend and his mother. I stopped claiming child benefit etc for her as I thought she had moved out as an adult.
Her father and I have separated and so he paid child maintenance for her, he was happy to continue as I still provide for her when she needs something!
Now I’ve found myself in a position that I didn’t think was possible, the boyfriends mother wants to claim child benefit, tax credits and child maintenance from my ex as she has applied to start college in September. The college is some miles away from home.
This lady has turned extremely nasty and we suspect this was her plan all along. I have offered my child the option to live with her father, myself or grandparents but she just wants to live with her boyfriend and this lady is allowing her to do that. Nobody either parent or authority have approved this lady to claim for my child so how can it be possible. I called child benefit who stated that there was nothing I could do, but I find that hard to believe. If she was under 18 social services would get involved so how can somebody I don’t approve off receive funding to do what’s right for my child with zero approval.

louise 28/05/2018 at 2:44 pm

Hi my ex was paying £120 a month through cms but has now stopped paying we do not talk so can't ask him why hes stopped paying for his 3 year old daughter just like to know are there any reasons he can stop paying? He did take me to court for access but its not in the court order if i stop contact payments will stop so dont know why they have

Stonebirds 25/05/2018 at 5:28 am

Hello.
My ex has signed a consent order to pay me £500 per month as long as our son continues in full time private education. I have moved him to an online private school which is covered by the £500 but my ex is saying he is not paying for this. Can he stop paying?

LawAndParents Editor 11/05/2018 at 1:56 pm

When a child is 16 the law says they must do one of the following until they are 18:
stay in full-time education, for example at a school sixth form or a college
start an apprenticeship or traineeship
spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training
Maintenance is payble in all the above circumstances except where an apprenticeship is undertaken. Why would child maintenance need to provide you with proof of anything? Sorry your question is unclear.

Confused dad 10/05/2018 at 1:05 am

My youngest son is 16 and leaving school this year, he wanted to do a apprenticeship however I believe his mother has dictated to him that he needs to go to college instead so she can still receive child maintenance support.

My question is as the paying father what proof am I entitled to receive from the child maintenance service that payments are to continue

LawAndParents Editor 09/05/2018 at 3:41 pm

No, not unless a claim was made in his name previously and he simply hadn't been found.

CoolCool 09/05/2018 at 12:40 pm

Hi - my friend has been contacted to advise him that he has a 13 year old child. If the child is proven to be theirs will they be liable to pay back dated child maintenance for the last 13 years?

Many Thanks

Jools 07/05/2018 at 10:27 pm

My ex up to three months ago was paying maintenance. He then gave up his job to work with his girlfriend and so is now self employed. He says he is now sick and can’t work and not going to pay any maintenance. Both myself and his children know this is a lie and his lifestyle is a lavish one. He will have no money in his name and a clever accountant who will cook the books. Advice please? Thanks

Kentlass 07/05/2018 at 9:46 pm

My son has moved back to live with me a year in July the 3 years he lived with his dad I paid no child maintenance as I couldn't afford it he was fine about it but since my son's be home with me his dad has very little to do with him if I was to put a calm in for child maintenance can my ex also put a claim in against me for the 3 years he lived with him ?

LawAndParents Editor 28/03/2018 at 3:05 pm

This is entirely up to you to agree with the mother. The law only says that you should pay child maintenance, you can calculate what you should be paying, using the child maintenance calculator

LawAndParents Editor 27/03/2018 at 12:47 pm

If you ex chooses to use the CMS route instead of your agreement she can do, but make sure they are aware of the amount of time you spend with the children etc. You will have to talk to your ex about the amount you are spending on the original family home. The Child Maintenance Calculator might help you.

Dusty 24/03/2018 at 9:59 pm

My wife and I separated 2 years ago and she contacted the CMS but we reached an agreement of a monthly amount £160 and it has been paid without fail since that day and i also collect the children from school 3days a week and have them every other weekend and that has not stopped unless she stops it as she has in the last 5 days. I am also paying £200 per month on an extension we got at our family home. Today i received a letter from CMS and they are requesting I now pay £240 per month.
Can this be done as i have not in any way broken our agreement and simply cannot afford what is being asked. All of this has come about since she was reported to the police for an attack carried out Monday evening.

LawAndParents Editor 21/03/2018 at 12:32 pm

CSA is now CMS, they cannot take more from you just because the other parent demands it. They will calculate the maintenance payable on same basis as the online child maintenance calculator.

Daddycool 19/03/2018 at 5:31 pm

Hi

I have been paying maintainance as worked out and agreed by the child maintainance calculator for 2 years now as well as extras for school trips etc, my ex now wants more and more money and is threatening to take it to the CSA. If I am paying what I should be (and helping out / paying a lot more on top for extras) what can they do??

LawAndParents Editor 13/03/2018 at 12:39 pm

Maintenance is usually based on income, so it depends what other means of income he has. The child maintenance calculator may help you.

Davey 10/03/2018 at 2:43 pm

I divorced and escaped my violent ex wife 10 years ago after a long (2 year) court battle to keep my 3 boys safe.
Finally the court ruled in my favour, giving full custody of my children to me.
Since then I have received a total of £65 'maintenance' for the 3 of them. (And not each kid!)
My ex has always found a way to avoid paying, whether it's not officially working or handing all of her own benefits to her husband (signing them over to him).
She only sees the kids once every 2 months, for 2 nights!!
The system is floored and an utter disgrace.
It's not that I want her money, but I feel the boys have been cheated in some way.

Lisa 10/03/2018 at 2:11 pm

My ex husband has just been diagnosed with MS and is going through an assessment to see if he is fit to work will he still pay maintainance if he can’t work?

Potter 07/03/2018 at 4:26 pm

Right where do I begin? In feb 2016 my son was born and since his birth me and my ex partner made a mutual agreement for me to pay her £40 a week, in Dec 2016 I was attacked by her and had to call the police, I still paid her the £40 a week after the attack but she insisted if I wanted to see my son again I had to go through the family court system. So In feb 2017 I seeked legal advise from my local solicitor and I was working at the time so this was not a free service. With no compliance from my ex partner we had to go to the next step of mediation which again she didn’t want to comply with. This meant I had to file a c100 form to the court which cost me another £215. With having to spend money to seek legal advice my finances were hard to keep up with and therefore stopped her payments in July 2017. In October 2017 she made an application to csa. The court case ended on 9th feb 2018 and the court gave me no contact with my son. 2 weeks later she lost her job with her company going into liquidation. A week after I had csa on the phone telling me I owed £863 because I never paid her £51.33 from the dates starting from Dec 15th 2017- 12th January 2018. How can she treat me like this. Most women see the fathers as just a pay cheque and this isn’t fair when she originally stopped the contact after attacking me in Dec 2016. I lost my job on the 3rd jan2018 and have been out of work since and now not earning any income now at all until I can find work again. On his 1st bday in 2017 I was not allowed to see him but my mom was so she took over his gifts for me which were clothed related, she refused these from my mom and said she wanted nothing from me. So I have lots of brand new clothes sitting at my house that His never been able to wear. I give up with the girl!!

LawAndParents Editor 06/03/2018 at 11:37 am

You can make an application to have the maintenance collected via the Child Maintenance Service. Take a look at CM Options for more information.

LawAndParents Editor 05/03/2018 at 3:40 pm

If you have a personal arrangement then you would usually have arrangements related to contact as well. The usual procedure if both parents work is to share school holidays etc. Maintenance usually only changes if there is an arrangement for 50/50 shared care in place and will sometimes also depend on each parties' income. If you can't agree on this, you should try mediation.

Anne 04/03/2018 at 5:41 am

Hi my ex and I have been separated for 7 years and I recently asked if he could have his 2 children for a week in the summer holidays and his reply was he'd have to see about annual leave and he also said he's not paying child maintenance for that month if he has to look after them for a week can he do that if we have a personal arrangement thanks

lol lou 03/03/2018 at 4:23 pm

we split up 5 years ago he only started paying 2 years ago.he gives me 100 a month and has no other children and is currently earning over 25.000 a year, sometimes he makes me wait a week or 2 weeks if i ask for it he gets nasty and says he will pay it when he's ready not when I ask for it, am fed up of asking him now he loves been in control is there anything i can do??

JB 03/03/2018 at 12:46 pm

Hi, my ex has quit/lost job 4 times in the last 6 months. The last time was the end of December and he had another job within a week but he claimed benefits too (he told me this). This caught up with him and after reducing my payments from 210 per month to around £7 a week they have now gone up to 310 per month which includes arrears of 327 spread over 8 months. When he was ‘on benefits’ he paid 120 for the month rather than the £7 per wk, so has decided he will only pay 220 this month. I’ve tried to explain to CMS the arrears are as he wasn’t out of work but they didn’t understand and said he has over paid for this month and last. By paying 220. I don’t want to the arrears spread over 8 months and he can’t afford 310 and said he will quit and not pay it. So I am now 100 behind for the last 2 months due to his lies and I’m on a short budget as it is. He has her hardly ever and was rained off work during half term and I didn’t even get a call to say hi to her. It’s so difficult to budget when you get not even a weeks notice sometimes of a change to the payments, why is this never considered?

Te 19/02/2018 at 11:57 pm

I applied for child support of my ex November. He never replied to any letter or phone call of your. You worked out he should paid me £116 a month but because he was ignoring the letters your did a deduction of earnings but of course this took mouths. My first payment should have been the 19th of Jan and the week it was due (after waiting ages) he quit his job! he's still not replied to any phone call letter so where do I stand with this please? Iv paid £20 for this and he's kit paid a penny since our child was born

sargy 19/02/2018 at 3:46 pm

my son is just turning 18 is in collage partime and wondering when i should stop payments? he did come out of collage for a little while he changed courses.

LawAndParents Editor 16/02/2018 at 10:57 am

Arrangements are usually made as part of a divorce settlement and maintenance but if you feel you are not receiving enough you can renegotiate using a mediation service. If that fails, the courts can decide.

LawAndParents Editor 14/02/2018 at 3:39 pm

You should establish whether your daughter has indeed finished full time education before stopping payments really. You should be entitled to claim the money back from your ex for the weeks when the maintenance wasn't payable. It's worth checking how much your daughter is earning, or whether she's on an apprenticeship as the mother will still need to pay heating, accommodation, food bills etc.

ridmeister 14/02/2018 at 9:50 am

I have been paying Child Maintenance for my 16 year old daughter through a family arrangement after the CSA closed our case last April. I pay £250 per month to my ex via bank transfer. My daughter was going to college but I had heard that she has left and is now in paid employment. I have just ceased payments and have emailed my ex asking her to confirm my daughters attendance at college. Am I entitled to hold back payment and even seek money back from my ex if I have paid when my daughter was not in full time education.

Hola90 13/02/2018 at 8:05 pm

Divorced for 3 years and have always had money paid from ex, even though it has gone down over the years and at its lowest now (due to him having another child). Would this be seen to cover paying into the mortgage too as he has recently stopped this extra money and I'm struggling to afford the payments on my own. I've looked into taking mortgage on myself and at this time this isn't an option. Is he legally obliged to pay into this (his name is still on mortgage) due to his 2 children living here? I mean aside from the maintenance payments (which barely pay for bills?!) thanks in advance

LawAndParents Editor 12/02/2018 at 9:48 am

He is entitled to ask you to reduce the maintenance paid on the basis that someone else is now contributing to your living costs. But you don't necessarily have to agree. You should seek help from a mediator or failing that, the courts in order to come to some agreement.

Tmelody 09/02/2018 at 4:24 am

Advice welcomed please.
My Ex husband and I made an agreed arrangement for Maintenance payments 5 years ago. I am now living with a new partner (along with my Son) and we have a 7 month old but we are not married. My Ex sees my son weekly but never has him overnight. He has now asked to reduce his payments based on the fact that my partner is “contributing to household costs”. Am I in a difficult position if I challenge this, (based on recent acknowledgements made by the court of law (Grey and Grey)) and should I be expected to accept the reduction? It’s a mine-field! Many thanks.

LawAndParents Editor 05/02/2018 at 11:46 am

Payments for children still in full time education are usually made to the parent with the majority care.

Jon 02/02/2018 at 4:09 pm

I am after advise I have got a agreement for a amount for my 18 Yr old daughter which I pay her I have proof that I pay her now her Mom is moaning she wants csa to deal with as she wants me to pay her instead of my daughter am I wrong for making the payment to my daughter.

LawAndParents Editor 02/02/2018 at 3:16 pm

You can refer a case to the CMS, but note that there is a charge for doing it this way.

Flowerlilly22 01/02/2018 at 7:12 pm

My ex husband has been particularly vile lately and has decided to stop my child maintenance payments out of pure spite. Will the CSA be able to get involved as previously the arrangent has always been between ourselves...

LawAndParents Editor 30/01/2018 at 3:41 pm

If the girlfriend will not allow him to see the child, he may have to consider a mediation service or court application. While he may have to maintenance, this should not relate to seeing the child in anyway and £120 per week is too much. Check the Child Maintenance Calculator to see how much the CMS say he should pay.

Mother of 6 29/01/2018 at 3:52 pm

Hi my son is 18 and in college and as a part time job he as a baby and his girlfriend wants £120 off him every week and she don’t let him take the baby at all he can only see the baby if he goes to her house what can he do

Serri 25/01/2018 at 1:50 pm

My ex has just told me that he is now on half pay and so I will now get half of the money he pays towards the children. Is this right? And no warning, only found out because of something my son said

Dj 23/01/2018 at 10:44 pm

Davies22,

It don’t matter where the deposit goes you can force a garnishment that hits at his employers payroll

LawAndParents Editor 19/01/2018 at 2:25 pm

You can use the Child Maintenance Calculator to find out the amount you should be paying.

LawAndParents Editor 19/01/2018 at 12:18 pm

He can use the Child Maintenance Calculator to find out the statutory amount he'd be expected to pay.

Corycory 18/01/2018 at 3:01 pm

I have a no contact order against my ex, he cannot contact our Son.
He stopped payments via the CSA some years back.
My Solicitor advises me it is best not to provoke him by taking him back to the CSA for non payment, as apparently he can take me back to court whenever he sees fit!
What a waste of thousands of pounds that was (and to top it all I would have been able to claim legal aid due to domestic violence but ended up paying my solicitor). I now need extra cash as I am struggling. Should I pursue or leave it in order not to rattle his chain so to speak? Son is 10 years old. Any advice appreciated.

kate 16/01/2018 at 5:38 pm

My partner is paying 160 a month to his ex but buys them clothes etc that they need because they come to him dirty. he also pays 50 per child into a bank account for when they are older and she’s now demanding 300 a month. because he is paying into bank accounts and providing clothes because she blows money will this mean he has to pay the amount she says

LawAndParents Editor 12/01/2018 at 1:45 pm

Our site is simply for advice, we have no direct connection with the Child Support Agency or the Child Maintenance Service.

Lelia 11/01/2018 at 11:41 am

My ex has primary care of my 2 young boys,they live over the border in Ireland so it's an hour and 20mins to collect them as I only get to c them at weekends. I have to pay £80 a month for both kids and I don't work,now he is looking more. I need advice as I can't afford it and he keeps wanting more...

Davies22 10/01/2018 at 5:34 pm

Hi my ex knows how to play the System and have got away with it for 15 years neither you or csa can do anything worth while! My question is iv just found out his pay goes into his mother bank account, can you do anything to investigate this?

Ky 07/01/2018 at 12:41 pm

My exs daughter is 16 next month and hasnt gone to school since she was 13, he is saying he will still be paying her mum maintenance regardless, even though legally he will no longer need too. My question is shouldnt that decision of his then financially be taken out of his own money amd not still calculated and split between two exs by CMS, why should my children recieve less because he chooses to continue supporting a child who is now able to work full time.

gaz 03/01/2018 at 10:34 pm

l split with my wife in 1995 in holland and have not seen my kids for about 20 years because i did not work or had any money .my x wife said because i did not pay for the kids that if i came holland that i would go to prison now the kids are 26 and 28 years old i would like to see my kids before l its to late..

Mars 03/01/2018 at 3:15 pm

Can I pay less child support because i was in a train accident and am an alcoholic as a result of the trauma

LawAndParents Editor 02/01/2018 at 2:52 pm

Unfortunately child maintenace and contact are two separate things. If you want contact with your child and the mother is not facilitating this, then you may have to apply to the courts - this is difficult in that it would cost you more money and she cannot be traced. The Child maintenance service has no obligation to provide you with contact details. If you do not earn enough to pay the maintenance, or want to contest the amount, you must get in touch with the CMS and give them full details of your employment (or benefits claim details),

Azreal 29/12/2017 at 10:30 am

My ex is currently paying me via a direct debit he set up after two years of me asking for financial help with our son. He's a great dad, sees him every weekend. He moved in with his fiance last year and their wages combined means that after rent and tax they are extremely solvent and I'm working part time with no other financial means yet the payment I get from him had remained the same and it's less than the calculated amount the government suggest on their website. There are however, no clear rules or guidelines when I tried to ask about this situation, wether the fact his living arrangements can effect the payments to me? He doesn't have any other children to support by the way and neither does his fiance.

Dave81 25/12/2017 at 7:52 pm

Child Maintenance did not contact with me after 5 months of separate with my ex partner.They sent me a letter that I have to pay £40 a week.They didn't ask me do I work or do I have moey for my child.She is with my daughter but I cannot contact with my child because she was change address and I cannot find her .I was contact with the police but they can't help to me.I have a solicitor but he never find my ex.
What could I do ???I want to have a contact with my daughter ,I want to pay but I don't have £40 a week - it's to much for me at the moment.I also want a contact with my child but I don't know how.
Please for a help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LawAndParents Editor 11/12/2017 at 11:16 am

It's unlikely that you will be able to reclaim the maintenance. Could you talk to the grandparent and see if they will make a claim for child benefit as their grandson is living with them? Alternatively could you apply for a residency order so your son can live with you? Or shared residency etc?

Good mum 10/12/2017 at 6:15 am

My ex had my son living with him but has a weird antaginistic personality and my son moved to his grandma's to live full time after his dad reverted to being an alcoholic and was mental unstable. Only he wouldn't tell the maintenance or child benefit the my son's residence had changed and I have been forced to pay him maintenance at 370 a month . I can't afford that. For 14 years my son lived with me and his dad only paid 6 a monthdespite being a graphic designer earning 45k a year. I can't get the cms to stop the payments or take any notice of me informing then for over a year .they sat because he has child benefit they have to make payments even though he doesn't pay anything for my son and makes him pay for all things out if money from a chip shop job.cab I take him to the small claims court to get the money back
He's been violent to me to stop me getting access and lies to my son all the time to make him feel sorry for him when he's using my son to get money for himself

johnboy 07/11/2017 at 4:55 pm

I pay direct to my ex partner for a son i dont see since he was 2 - i am a manger so pay alot of money direct to her....i dont know what school he attends or anything - surely it is parental right for me as a dad who pays all this money that goes to my ex and probably not my son not to know which school he attends - she lies so how on earth would i be able to find out which school he attends and if he is still at school ??and what he is doing so i know when i can stop paying??? she doesnt work and on full benefits !! Please any answers would be appreciated x

fifi 25/10/2017 at 9:13 am

Hi
My Husband has two boys when we met were 10 and 8 years old. He paid £279 per calendar month. Once he moved in with me the rate went up to £450 per calendar month. I was very naive and we had a joint account. We can’t afford much as he is in car sales and some months he comes home with only £1300 so £450 is quite a lot. Having said that he probably takes home 35k per year.
My husband plays golf every week. Whereas, I don't do anything to drain the funds. I love him paying for he’s children but I do think it’s too high. We don’t have any holidays.
He’s ex is going to New Zealand with the boys which is very expensive. She has re-married and her husband works.
My Husband refuses to go to the csa as he’s ex has worked it out on hers gross pay and they would put it up. I think that £200 for the first child and £100 for the 2nd child = £300 per calendar month is great.
I’m 5 years older and my pension is coming out in 2 years he wants me to pay off the mortgage so that he doesn’t have to struggle to pay for things.
So worried don’t know what to do

Tshidi 23/10/2017 at 6:50 pm

Would like to know, my baby is 7months now and His Father never ever supported her. Since birth till now, and when i asked him. He had this thing of saying the baby is not his. Then told him that we can for DNA test, He said its not necessary to do that. But stil He's not supporting thou. Which steps to follow , cause i am the one who s doing everything for the baby, medicals everything.

Loppy 16/10/2017 at 8:18 pm

My ex partner left me when I was 7 months pregnant and has never paid any child maintenance for my son who is now 16. I never bothered to try and claim from him as he has never worked and didn't think I would get anything from him. But now everyone keeps saying that I should claim maintenance but I feel I've left it too late now. Any advice please

LawAndParents Editor 04/10/2017 at 2:58 pm

Unfortunately if the mother of the child will not reason and will not agree to mediation, the courts are really your only choice.

MrsT 04/10/2017 at 9:16 am

My Husband has a 10yo daughter from a one night stand with an older woman when he was in his 20s. The mother has never let him have a Christmas day and, since finding out we were engaged, has reduced contact to one night a fortnight, thus increasing her entitlement to support payments (the 52 nights a year threshold). She has no court order for anything and has refused to set a date for mediation. The mediator offered to sign any forms we want for court but court is expensive and can be a double edged sword. My husband had a very good relationship with his daughter and so have I, she also complains that other kids she knows see their dad more but the Mother just won't listen to any reason. She accused OH of being threatening once but his mum was there and wrote a statement to his defense. She is basically profiting from witholding contact for no reason. The child maintenance office told hubby she was a very rude woman when they spoke to her, how can we deal with a woman like this? The payments are crippling us and we have a toddler now who is forgotten by everyone else because all they ever care about is this situation with my stepdaughter.

SadDad 30/09/2017 at 6:20 am

I divorced my ex wife 6 years ago as she was violent towards me for many years. She took the 2 children and lived with her Parents as the marital home was not " Good Enough" ( her words. I was left single handed my to pay the keep of said house until it's sale along with trying to meet the unreasonable amount of £250 per month CASH request by my ex so I could see my two children. 2 failed court attempts to actually see my children and sale of the house later my ex decided then she wanted more a month as she now was renting a house and I had to pay for it. Like a fool who just wanted to see his kids I almost killed my self working to meet these demands. When I finally couldn't continue I selfishly asked my ex if I could pay less to which she informed me she would speak to what was CSA. After speaking with they agreed I was paying too much and that the actual figure was far far far less. My ex declined this amount. I then volunteered again to pay Csa payments but again she declined on the grounds that SHE couldn't live on that amount. Time past with me not making any payments but paying the figure suggested through Csa into a savings account for my children. My ex met someone moved away with my children leaving me no knowledge of where they were. I still continued to pay into the savings account for 5 years. I recently found out that unfortunately my ex has split with her I assume husband and moved back locally and is plotting to contact what was Csa to hit me with non payment of Csa. Can she do this? She declined it as it wasn't enough for her. I'm scared.

woody8316 21/09/2017 at 2:28 pm

Hello all
I have been gifted with two children a boy and a girl.

My wife and I split as she decided to take the kids back to germany for a 1 week visit and never reterned...(ow arnt i the bad one )
anyway i have been to see my children all be it for a weekend here and there
I have since picked him up for a visit to the UK and hes now telling me he wants to stay with me.?
what do i do ..? i have spoken to my wife she says hes to come back to Germany..?
the poor little mights crying when we talk about it
hes 11 if this helps
jamie

Sam 21/09/2017 at 12:27 pm

My ex has accumulated arrears of almost £20,000 which have still not been paid. The cms have now applied for a liability order against him as he is self employed. They have proof of a bank account which he has regular income paid into, they applied for a deduction and he removed all funds from the account and as far as I know closed it. He has not done a self assessment since 2012, isn't claiming any benefits but IS registered self employed! Where do I stand with any chance of getting any payment? Surely he can't be paying any tax ? This really frustrates me. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

Emzi 21/09/2017 at 12:41 am

My partner pays an agreed amount of money to his ex for his son now she is trying to stop him seeing him does he still have to pay her while she is refusing access?

Jemima 19/09/2017 at 10:03 am

Hi DB1(Deadbeat 1) now lives two minutes from My house yet doesn't bother with our seventeen year old Son and hasn't properly for 17 years.

But he owes me over two grand in maintenance arrears but My payments have been reduced because him and his ex have a secret arrangement so pays less to me.

Annoyed because he claims to have no money to the point he couldn't afford a 29p birthday card for his son or to buy him Christmas presents yet can afford to buy his five year old Daughter things, sees her regularly. Lives with his gf and her two children playing step dad and paying money into her household but My son isn't involved in his Sister's life because he just doesn't care.

Oh gets better he is now getting married considering his so hard done by and owes me money.

Sick of the Cm not making him pay the arrears in full.

Years of chasing payments, late payments, alleged overpayments when the csa calculate what payments I receive, how is that My fault.

His payments are made part direct debit and attach off earnings yet its the next month before I receive My half payment from him even though he gets paid on the 15th of every month. And then the other half on around the 10th of the following month. Absolute joke.

Don't see why I have to wait nearly a month for payment from him or his employer.

The Cm are just as bad as the csa in My eyes.

For 17 years I've had nothing but grief from him and his family. He even turned up saying he couldn't afford the amount they were taking from him but can afford holidays and a up coming wedding.

How can you live two minutes from your child not speak or bother with him just because you hate the mother.

DB2 Is the second Deadbeat I unfortunately have three kid's too. A five yr old twins of two.

We've only been split for four months due to his abusive aggressive emotional abusive behaviour. He hasn't paid a penny for our three kid's, yet can afford to buy cigarettess £10 a pack, tobacco £10 a pouch and cannabis £15 every other day, new clothes etc.

Only offers to take care of the five year old but ignores the twins so basically I don't get a break at all.

His family have fell out with him because he also owes them one but never pays anyone back just takes and takes. Yet I'm struggling to make ends meet. I have provided the Cm with his national insurance number, his employer's address, his mobile number and address. Yet he still isn't paying. Why can't they take money from him from his bank account instead of his employer who clearly isn't responding to the request for Child maintenance to be taken from his wages each week.

I am in debt because of him bullying me into buying him cannabis if I refused he wouldn't take our to school. I have high blood pressure suffer from bipolar disorder and I am at the point of no return, had to cancel hospital appointments because I have to take the kid's with me which I can't always due, due to the appo

Ran 31/08/2017 at 11:48 pm

Hi. I have jus been granted joint residency of my five year old son. He resides with me three nights and his mother four nights per week. I have always payed csa since he was born. When I was granted joint residency I had to negotiate. So basically I got the three nights but now pay half of the child minder fees. I provide everything for my son when he is with me. E.g. Clothes and so on .I also pay half of everything that he needs for things like school uniform ,school activities, birthdays and so on. His mother claims child benefits , tax credits and get 70% of the child minder fee paid for. I don't see how this is fair or an even split but have been told only one parent can claim. My barrister explained to me in court that all the tax credits should be put towards the child minder fee then the bill shud be halfed but this wasn't written on the order. Any help or advice would be much appreciated

Si 29/08/2017 at 3:13 pm

If I am not allow access to see my child then why should I pay she lied to me was married and said she couldn't get pregnant now is trying to make me pay money to her for been a sneaky tramp so I will just keep changing bank account simples. If your not willing to let me my child she me then don't as for my money.

Loo 24/08/2017 at 7:10 pm

My partner is making back payments to his ex that were set up through cms and she has also cancelled the claim because they have agreed on future payments and amounts that he can afford so she told cms what the agreement was and that she accepts it as maintenance and the money's paid into the kids accounts every 2 weeks as he gets fortnightly pay. So he is paying her arrears without fail every 2weeks plus newly agreed maintenance payments without fail through bank payments everyone's happy....my question is if she decides to be awkward and spiteful as she tends to be, can she decide to go back and start up a new csm claim even if he is making payments without fail? And we can prove all payments are being made with bank statements. She tends to get pissed off when we can't do what she wants and try and screw us over

LawAndParents Editor 22/08/2017 at 11:24 am

What a difficult situation for your partner. We really don't know the answer...in general if the name's not on the birth certificate and the father is not the biological father, he is not responsible for maintenance.

Aryastark 19/08/2017 at 7:31 pm

My partner raised two kids and had his name on birth certificate of both his ex wifes kids (they have now been proven by way of dna tests in court to not be his biologically) he still fighting as a person of interest in court for contact but she is pushing to give him limited contact and have his name removed from the birth certs ... however after 3 years at court she is now demanding he pay child maintenance as even though he has been aware he is not the father he still persuaded contact etc at court.
Can she do this i was under the impression that she can only peruse the biological father for maintenance.
Ps they arent divorced yet but been separated 10 yrs

LawAndParents Editor 16/08/2017 at 11:10 am

This is for your partner and his ex to negotiate. Just because he pays maintenance doesn't mean that he shouldn't provide for the times when he looks after her. One solution would be as follows:
- Your partner buys some spare sets of clothes
- Dresses daughter in spare clothes on Sunday and returns his daughter in them
- He washes the clothes that have been removed, ready to use as spares next time
- It's quite simple really.

LawAndParents Editor 15/08/2017 at 2:17 pm

Unfortunately there isn't much that your partner can do about this except give full details of his earnings and outgoings to the CMS.

Missl 14/08/2017 at 10:47 am

My partners ex sends his daughter to stay overnight (sat night) with just the clothes she stands in. He pays maintenance and I understand that she does not have to provide clothes for when she is in his care, however she does not even provide clean underwear for her to return home to her in and sneered what she has on will be fine. Surely she should be providing clean underwear for her daughter.

Katty 13/08/2017 at 9:47 pm

My partners ex has suddenly put in a child maintenance claim for her 15 year old who.hes never met what can we do we have 2 children school age and 5month old twins im so worried we dont get any tax credits only his wage 1500 a month but our rent is 600 and were barely getting by x

LawAndParents Editor 25/07/2017 at 1:00 pm

Maintenance is not related to acces, so you cannot refuse to pay on that basis. The easiest to way to work out what you should pay is via the CM Options website. If your ex is refusing you access, you could try mediation to come to some arrangement regarding contact. If that does not work, you may have to resort to the court.

John 22/07/2017 at 1:39 pm

Recently split up from my girlfriend we have a child together I get my child Wednesday-Saturday afternoon we both work but want to know who has to pay who

beanbag 19/07/2017 at 12:10 pm

I split from my ex girlfriend whilst she was pregnant. Since the child has been born she has not allowed me to come to see her or even tell me that she was born in the first place. And rejected all my requests to see her when I did find out. Up until now she hasn't wanted nothing or even tried to communicate with me. The baby is now 3 months old and the ex has asked to be back dated with child maintenance for this period of time and payments going forward.
I'm happy to pay going forward if I can see the baby. But do I have to back date as she denied me any acces ??
I have a 9 year old son I pay for with my ex wife. This is not an agreed amount as yet as we are selling the house we lived in. But will need to be worked out at the same time. How much do I need to pay each. ??

FGA 14/07/2017 at 10:42 am

It was agreed in our signed divorce agreement that we would provide 50% support for our children at university.

My child has now been at university 1 full year & during that time my ex-husband has refused to support him (claiming he did not agree to anything & cannot afford it/doesn't want to). Can I take him to court to enforce the agreement?

Jaks 30/05/2017 at 9:44 am

My ex husband pays maintenance for our 2 younger children and only in.the last 12months and I've been left nearly 6 yrs. Since hm having another partner he is being more irresponsible then before. Our 13 yr old discussed to stop going over a yr ago due to the ex and his girlfriend behaviour and calling me infront of them,but our younger children still.goes. he's now saying he wants to buy some spare clothes for her and keep at his.but is ginger to stop the cost out of his maintenance to me, when she tages clothes for over night. Can he do this and may I say he doesn't provide any extra help for the q3yr old. She has a school trip and he won't help pay for half. He's told me no
But the agreement was maitnaince amount and half extra support for trips and school uniform and any out of the ordinary expenses. But with no joy. Please help as he quiet nasty and his new girlfriend is always looking for trouble that I've had to stop him coming round to collect the child and drop her off at her outside at her nans to meet them there.

Wizz2130 21/05/2017 at 10:19 am

Hi. I have religiously paid child maintenance for my 2 children for the past 15 years and continue to do so. I have a private agreement with their mother. My children are nearly 16 and nearly 18. My eldest child is currently at college and has decided to spend all her time at her boyfriends house and hasn't even been home for the past 3 months. Should I really still be paying their mother for her?

LawAndParents Editor 17/05/2017 at 12:32 pm

We've replied below..........

Chas 16/05/2017 at 12:58 pm

I've been going through the CMS for nearly 4 years and during this time on and off my ex has messed around with the payments.
There's been arrears on the account for most of the time, but recently when he changed job he didn't even pay the scheduled payment for 4 months as he knew that it could be changed over to collect and pay because of his change of circumstances.
There's now nearly £2000 arrears on the account which he has made an agreement to pay back at an extra £80 per month...but now he is underpaying again because he knows the system and that they won't do anything unless he underpays by the normal amount minus the arrears.
I have involved my MP which seems to be a long process and not very successful.
Could I take my ex to a small claims court for the arrears? And would this be backed up by all the information from the CMS do you know? I understand I would have to pay to do this, but I feel as though I am being taken for a fool, and when my children have hobbies, school trips and clothing etc that needs to be paid for why shouldn't it have to be paid back!
Thanks for any advice.

LawAndParents Editor 15/05/2017 at 11:11 am

You could try but it's likely that the courts would allow your ex to pay it back in instalments just as the CMS are doing. It might be worth having a word with a solicitor though.

Cally 11/05/2017 at 6:11 pm

Can't find it on any web pages csa are saying no

Cally 11/05/2017 at 6:06 pm

I pay maintenance to my daughter in Australia through a court order as I had to attend a court in the uk which was on behalf of Australia court I also have two children who I pay maintenance for in the uk I also have 3 children whom Iam their step father to who live with me and their mum does the child maintenance service assess the maintenance I have to pay overseas into the calculation otherwise I will hardly have enough to pay my own bills please could someone offer advice

LawAndParents Editor 04/05/2017 at 2:29 pm

Not usually. Maitenance is only payable until a child completes the first (A level or equivalent) qualification.

Biggles 04/05/2017 at 8:06 am

My daughter has turned 18 and finishing her A-levels this term. she now wants to go on and do a level 2 course at college next year do I still have to pay maintenance

DaddyB 22/04/2017 at 11:55 am

I lost a court case to my ex-wife who took our children to Australia on a 4 year consent order. 6 years later she has split with her then partner and now asking me for child support although I don't see them anymore. Given she has broken a court order by not returning, can she now ask for financial support from me even though I have never been to Australia? Seems very unfair to me? FYI I always paid my maintenance here in the UK and gave her the house which is currently rented and providing an income. Thank you in advance

LawAndParents Editor 20/04/2017 at 11:57 am

No, maintenance is supposed to cover the costs of bringing up children. Which includes contributing towards the everday living costs of the child - this obviously includes accommodation, heating, food, clothes, education etc. If he refuses to pay maintenance, you may be expected to attend mediation to come to some agreement. Talk to CM Options for advice on what to do if that fails.

Jones2008 17/04/2017 at 6:33 pm

My ex partner has dropped a bombshell today. He said he is not paying anymore maintance. Instead he wants to pay the amount into an account for our son when he is older. Can he do this. My partner has always supported me and my son. Paying for uniforms, trips and other things. He says my son can have the money when he's older. Can he do this ?

LawAndParents Editor 30/03/2017 at 2:31 pm

The things that are taken account of are: whether you're receiving any benefits, how many children you have, if you have any other children, what your income is and how often you have the children in your care.

Jas 29/03/2017 at 7:12 pm

Does the CSA take into account all your outgoings a parent is paying as I'm being crippled with child benefit amounts. I'm also fighting custody for my two daughters the last 2yrs and have also been paying supervised contact payments every 2wks to see my youngest as the oldest being 10 has been poisoned by her mother. With my bills, food and mortgage payments and accumilated debt she has left me with it is all but impossible to survive. Please tell me all this is taken into account.

Rr 06/03/2017 at 8:20 pm

Hi my daughter is nearly 10 her dad had a accident 4 years ago at work and stopped paying he always said once he got his claim through he would bak pay me, ive dropped our daughter off pick her up from his done all the running about as he couldnt drive cos of his hand hes just had a pay out of nearly 250,000 and paid me 2,700 what a joke this was up till jan 2017 now ive asked him for payments he said he can only afford 10.00 per month he only has our daughter 3 hrs afterschool on a wednesday which i drop and pick her up then overnight 1pm saturday till 1pm sunday every 2 weeks then the week after its sunday 1 till 6 again dropping her and picking her up i work he doesnt im paying for child care whilst hes not doing anything ? What can i do just to add hes since had a baby bought a car house and getting married in april your help will be greatly appeciated

Sandy 06/03/2017 at 6:50 pm

Hi! Is it possible to get my husband to pay child support despite us still being together and leaving together? I'm a full time mum and I've never had financial freedom, my husband controls the money and doesn't give me or the kids pocket money. He gives as and when he feels suitable and it's never enough.

Nono 20/02/2017 at 6:12 pm

Hi,I have a son who is 11years old.his father is a police officer.every time I want money to buy my sons school uniform or food,or anything I ask for my son he said he will help.bt knowing very we'll tht he will not do tht.I went to maintenance court in 2008 nd the court tell him to pay R500each month.first time he paid the money for some few months tht 500 he was demanded to pay nd tht same he use to 350 or 450.nd I didn't complain to him abt y he give me half money coz he suppose to give 500.so his started to give me some stories nd some month he didn't send de money,some he did nd he in 2011 he pays for only 4months in de year for de whole yr.as well as 2012.worse thing he doesn't come nd tell me y he didn't pay or make me understand y.since from de he gave me problems. 2012 he pays 7 months nd 13 he pays 3months.2014he pays 4months.2015 1month,2016 2 months nd nothing for 2017.plz plz help me.what should I do

Kjw 06/02/2017 at 11:42 pm

Hello. I have 3 children & my eldest moved out the last week of one month ( he has ODD so he can be difficult). My ex refuses to pay that month for him as he was here for 21 days of the month not the full month. Please advise if he's within his rights. He pays only child support since they started high school (nothing for clothes shoes etc which he is to supply those things when they're there so very little).

Confused 23/01/2017 at 2:47 pm

Hi, I am a mum of a 3 (nearly 4 year old) girl. I work full time and she goes to full time nursery. The only benefit I get is help towards the nursery fees, nothing else. My childs father doesn't work. There is no reason for him not to work. He is a young healthy man. He was working on and off but now since months before christmas he doesn't. He lives with his mother and claims he has no income. He sees the child 2 nights per week. He does not support her financially at all. I do not get anything from him. Like I said he is claiming he has no income and as far as I know he doesn't work. But what I do know is that he is always out with his friends, he has a car that he is able to run, he smokes a lot and he is able to buy cigaretts, he has a mbile phone he has to pay for, he is also able to buy new clothes and shoes in which I see him in when he comes to collect his daughter. He is not claiming jobseekers allowance. My question is - how do I find out where is he getting the money from. He clearly has enough money to lead a good carefree life without having to pay anything towards his child. I suggested e sees her more so that I could reduce her nursery hours and pay less - afterall he sits at home all day everyday. But he did not agree. I am so fed up and frustrated with the whole situaution and the fact he can just get away with it. Any suggestions?

Bel 23/01/2017 at 12:18 pm

I have been receiving regular payments from my ex husband for our son for the 14 year or so but he has never increased this value over this time period although the cost of living has clearly increased. The amount agreed was on the divorce agreement so he says that what was agreed so that is what he has paid. Surely this cannot be correct? Do I have grounds to force him to backpay an increased value at all?

Li 06/01/2017 at 12:18 pm

My ex is paying an amount through csa, however 6 months ago he stopped seeing the kids therefore payments should have been recalculated as l informed them. At the same time l put in a variation order in as he has 2 properties on rent and csa rules state if his capital is over £65000 then it counts as some sort of income. The confusing part is that both properties are in joint names however we have a court agreement that states he is the sole owner of both properties. He wasn't able to transfer mortgage into his sole name hence court agreement.
Its been 7 months since l made the application and l feel as if l have been fobbed off every time I call. Can l take this to court for the arrears as well

LawAndParents Editor 24/11/2016 at 2:31 pm

Child maintenance is usually calculated using annual earnings (from the self assessment form) so he should continue to pay.

Jce 23/11/2016 at 10:24 pm

My ex partner has decided to go on holiday for 3 weeks (without our child) to Australia and is adamant that he doesn't have to pay me child maintenance while he is away as he won't be earning money (he's self employed). Is this right? I am under the assumption that if he can afford to go on an expensive holiday he should still be paying me money for his child as he won't be having her for 3 weeks.

JJ 07/11/2016 at 10:46 pm

I have been paying CSA for 10 years to my ex for our son and she also drew up an agreement stating that I have to pay extra outside of the CSA for stuff like school meals and extra curricular activities like football practice. This agreement is not legal or anything it was just written by her and she told me if I don't pay she will keep my son away from me. 10 years on I just can't afford to pay CSA (which is usually around £350 pm) on top of the extra amount (which is always £200 plus pm) I just want to know if she has any rights to take my access away from me if I stop paying the extra cash to her - I just can't afford it anymore but I'm so scared that she will take my boy away! Does anyone have any advice or know if she can take him away if I am still happy to pay the CSA?

LawAndParents Editor 13/09/2016 at 12:16 pm

He should use the Child Maintenance Calculator to establish how much he'd be required to pay. Sometimes household income is taken into account, sometimes flat rate of £5 is taken if a person is on certain benefits, like ESA etc.

Confused 11/09/2016 at 7:33 pm

Does my partner legally need to pay csa to his ex for his daughter if he is no longer working but i am

Lawzie 08/09/2016 at 9:15 pm

Hi, I am contacting on behalf of my friend, she has split from her partner 3 years ago, he was suppose to be paying money from his benefits but she received nothing, then ahe found out he was working and claiming so after a couple of years trying to get this sorted and numerous calls to csa she has been getting no where, so now I have been chasing it for her where now she is told that she is due nothing even tho he is back to work but states he is unemployed, we have contacted thw fraud squad, but its so frustrating for her. Where can we go from here

LawAndParents Editor 17/08/2016 at 1:43 pm

You could try the small claims courts. The CSA will not be able to claim back the arrears as they can only do this from the date of the first CSA claim.

KA 16/08/2016 at 10:08 pm

I had a family based child maintenance arrangement set up with my ex. He was supposed to pay £200 per month (standing order through the bank) for our two children, contribute towards uniform and school trips and after school activities and have them every other weekend. He paid the money and had them every other weekend till about 3 years ago. In 2014 he stopped paying the £200 also without informing me. Once I realised I contacted him and he informed me it was due to a change of job and it would continue once he had got his first pay. It never did. I contacted him and few times after that with no joy resulting in him now not awnsering my calls or texts, he hardly has the children but when he does he picks them up when he knows Im working and drops them then shoots off before I get out to speak with him. I have now contacted the CSA for future payments. However I would like to know if I can take him to the small claims court for the missed payments from August 2014 to this month?

LawAndParents Editor 16/08/2016 at 10:46 am

This was private arrangement which they both agreed to. They are both at fault in that neither of them informed the CSA when the decision to make a private arrangement was made. Does his ex want the CSA to continue with this claim? Your husband could try appealing against the CSAs claim. Take a look at this information on how to appeal a CSA claim

Basil 13/08/2016 at 1:17 pm

I need some advice please. My husband previously paid child maintenance via CSA direct from his wages. A few years ago he changed jobs and set-up a standing order with the ex to cover maintenance. His wages were lower so he gave her a mo they figure which she accepted. His ex did not contact CSA to advise them there was now a private arrangement in place. There is no longer a legal requirement for maintenance as the child is now at uni. 6 months ago he received a phone call from CSA stating he owed 2 years payment. He explained there was a private arrangement in place and a standing order was paid direct to her account. He was informed they would talk to the ex and get back to him. He has now received a letter in which the CSA state they have contacted the ex who confirmed the arrangement. However, they will deduct the amount he has paid privately but still state he owes more money. If she accepted the amount, can CSA seek the difference in the payments?

Sorry for the long post!

Roo 06/08/2016 at 9:43 am

I had an agreement with my ex that he would continue to pay half the mortgage when he left. That payment stopped 2 year's ago. Which left me fighting to keep my head above water. I have since bought him out of the house. I paid him a lump sum and he keep various assets jointly acquired. He spent most of the money on a brand new car. I have not had a penny from him for our 2 children since August 14. Can I stop access?

LawAndParents Editor 21/07/2016 at 1:48 pm

You should allow the CSA to chase any arrears, their records should be accurate. Maintenance is not payable once your child is at university level unless you've made a private agreement. Most students take out a student loan and a part time job to pay for their accommodation, tuition fees and travel/food through their time at uni without having to relay on their parents.

Zee 04/06/2016 at 2:11 pm

I wish to know a dress for ma husband since he left S.A. it's hard to support a child we need child support and also to maintain me if am calling he dnt pic ma calls he pic it sometimes
what can I do to get his working address

LawAndParents Editor 03/06/2016 at 10:48 am

If he's not on the birth certificate he will not have to pay maintenance unless ordered by a court to take a paternity test etc. If it's established that he is the father, he can be made to pay maintenance.

LawAndParents Editor 27/05/2016 at 2:10 pm

He can show his bank statements to demonstrate when he paid - assuming he didn't pay (which is never advisable). If he was redundant but didn't claim JSA then it may have been that he should have continued to pay with any redundancy money, so they CMS or CSA will look into this.

Webby 25/05/2016 at 9:39 pm

Hi
I.hope some ome can help I'll keep it short an to the point

Can anyone confirm if csa take out goingins in to account when making a decision? (alot of conflicting story's on line)

Also the fact my partner has been paying csa privately arranged following csa stating amount he needs to pay an his vindictive ex has now contacted csa statin his not been paying (I can assure you he has) what can he do?

Also the fact he was made redundant an was unemployed 3 months an not signed on as his ex was aware can csa make him pay for the period even tho he was on 0 income?

Any help would be very much appreciated Many thanks

LawAndParents Editor 25/05/2016 at 11:40 am

Your partner can apply to court to terminate his own parental responsibility if he feels he wants to. The courts will always only terminate parental responsibility "an appropriate step in the regulation of the child's life where the circumstances really do warrant it and not otherwise". Termination of his PR may not stop the mother from keeping his family informed with pictures etc. If he wanted to do that, he might consider a solicitor's letter or an injunction (which the courts would have to decide whether to grant or not). He should consider the welfare of his child in this matter as his attitute may have a long lasted psychological effect and is also being denied contact with his natural grandparents etc.

Annoyed 24/05/2016 at 3:19 pm

My partner and I are getting married. He has some extra curricula activity with a lady, whilst this has been forgiven, we are now paying support to her for a child she told us she had aborted. Nevertheless he will do what's right and pay the money. However he does not want anything to do with the child. He doesn't want it turning up and expecting him to play daddy, nor does he want to know about his schooling or anything else regarding the child. She has insistently harassed his family and friends with pictures and socialedia messaging. Can he relinquish parental responsibility owith the order he still pays her maintance but he has nothing to do with the child

Milena 15/05/2016 at 5:45 pm

Hello, I live with a man who pays maintenance to his own child, because of me and my son he pays less . We live together for 9 months, I receive only child benefit and nothing else. He doesn't give us any money,he doesn't look after us and I pay him bills( water,gas,electricity,Internet), he used to ask me to pay him rent.I work part time job because of my son's school cuz i don't have anyone else to look after him, my whole family live in my country. We hardly survive so my question is - Is there anything I can do to change my situation?
Thank you

LawAndParents Editor 21/04/2016 at 2:24 pm

You have not said what the money is for. Could use the small claims court?

jen 20/04/2016 at 9:56 pm

I would like to know how to get my ex-husband to pay me the money that he owes me it was me $9,500 for the last 5 years and still has not paid me is there any legal action I can take to get the money that he owes me I recently got marrieddoes that affect anything of me getting my maintenance back cuz we got divorced in 2011 he stopped paying me 5 months after our divorce saying that he didn't have the money to pay me and he would would start paying me once he went back to work and that never never happened please help sincerely Jennifer Harrison

LawAndParents Editor 20/04/2016 at 12:40 pm

The alternative would be to apply to have the money collected via the Child maintenance services - they will calcualte an amount based on your income/circumstances etc. Once that arrangement is in place the mother should not be able to quibble about the amount/ask for more.

Keve 18/04/2016 at 6:55 pm

My partner is lovely, wouldn't see his son without anything but was unfortunately tricked and lied too upon asking about birth control. Anyway, long story short, he pays £150 a month without CSA, but now the mother is constantly harassing him for more money. If the child were to see the money, he would provide but she smokes cannabis and is out every weekend with her friends, whilst leaving the child with whomever she can. She goes out at the weekend and then hassles him via phones calls, text messages for more money once the weekend is over. This is becoming more frequent and we need help/advice. She cannot harrass him like this...surely?

Jess 11/04/2016 at 4:48 pm

Hi,
My father has never paid any maintenence for me from when my parents split up when I was around 1 1/2 years old. My mother has had to pay for me all by herself and with her partner with no help from him. I am now 18 so I am no longer entitled to the payments however I wondered if anything could be done regarding all the money that should of been paid to my mother. We never wanted to take action before as everytime we mentioned coming to the CSA, he said he'd start to pay OR he got his girlfriend pregnant so we took pity.

Fudgey 11/04/2016 at 3:20 pm

Hi, My Biological Father who has not lived with my Mother, Sister and Me for the last 12 years is currently living with his New Wife and her Grandson,so he says and is paying Child Maintenance/CMS for her Grandson (He would be Step Granddad).He has reduced £36 per week to £26 per week of my Child Maintenance all because he has a None-Biological Child who has nothing to do with him living under his roof and says he is claiming CMS for him, which has reduced my payment. Is this possible to do? Also shouldn't the Child's Father be paying for his CSM? Doesn't this make the Child who is living with my Father receive two portions of CSM? (One payment from my Father and One Payment off his own Father) Any Help would be appreciated. Kind Regards

Fudgey 11/04/2016 at 2:32 am

Hi, My Biological Father who has not lived with my Mother, Sister and Me for the last 12 years is currently living with his New Wife and her Grandson,so he says and is paying Child Maintenance/CMS for her Grandson (He would be Step Granddad). He has reduced £36 per week to £26 per week of my Child Maintenance all because he has a None-Biological Child who has nothing to do with him living under his roof and says he is claiming CMS for him, which has reduced my payment.
Is this possible to do? Also shouldn't the Child's Father be paying for his CSM?
Doesn't this make the Child who is living with my Farther receive two portions of CSM? (One payment from my Father and One Payment off his own Father)

Any Help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards

LawAndParents Editor 05/04/2016 at 10:11 am

While she is still studying at A level or equivalent you will be expected to continue to pay. Assuming she finishes her studies this year, you can end maintenance payments at the end of August, unless you have a specific maintenance agreement in place via the courts etc. You can then choose to give any support directly to your daughter, while she is travelling or studying.

Hayles 02/04/2016 at 6:15 am

My daughter turned 18 in Dec 2015. She is taking her A levels with a view to starting uni in sept2016. She now tells me she is deferring for a year to go travelling. At what point can I legally stop paying child maintenance to her mother, my X wife

LawAndParents Editor 31/03/2016 at 1:59 pm

Maintenance will be payable until she completes her further education (a' level equivalent). This is usually the August after they turn 18 but can be up to the age of 20.

Phort 29/03/2016 at 2:07 pm

Hi, my daughter is 18, (turned 18 in December 2015) she only sleeps at her mothers home 2 nights a week, the other 5 nights she stays at her boyfriends. My daughter is at college (I believe she has has to re-sit the last year). How long do I continue to pay maintenance to her mother?
Regards, Phort.

LawAndParents Editor 29/03/2016 at 11:47 am

Have you treid questioning this with the CSA?

nk 26/03/2016 at 1:54 pm

My husband and I have seperated for 2yrs now he lied to child maintenance about his income. He works as a radiographer in different agencies but receives salary in the company name he registered. He then pays himself pretending to be a staff of his own company. He pays his tax according to what he pays himself from his own company. Please my son is suffering how can child maintenance help get out money from him. The company he opened is still existing and all the work he does as a radiographer is paid into that account name. Please i need help

melissa 22/03/2016 at 6:41 pm

Hi, I am a mother of one and divorced from my husband and we had no contact with him since November 2014 he has no interest and doesn't ask for contact or contact me directly or indirectly , and I rightly or wrongly dont make him see her or pay for her , I have been told to pursue child maintenance however I do not want to and my child is more then provided for , however I wondered can my daughter claim back child support from him if she wishes when she is 18 ? Thanks x

LawAndParents Editor 16/03/2016 at 10:26 am

You must continue paying it to your daughter's mother until the end of the your daughter's study period. Usually this will be the August after your child turns 18 unless she has had a break for some reason or has had to re-sit a year. You can pay something directly to your daughter voluntarily if she continues on to university etc

Kitkat 15/03/2016 at 9:55 am

My daughter is now 18 & living with her mum and in full time education (college not higher than A-level equivalent.) I still pay into her mums account every month. My question is, can I pay the payments into my daughters account & when does my payments cease. ie, leaves college & age please.

Tebza 08/03/2016 at 7:25 pm

I'm 20 year old my mother pass away nd I dnt hv enough money to go to Tertiary my father he staying with another wife.....he dnt support mew can I maintance him???

LawAndParents Editor 03/03/2016 at 12:43 pm

You could try applying for a variation of maintenance. As the receiving parent you can ask the CSA to look at certain types of the paying parent’s income that are not included in the main
rules used to work out child maintenance. This is called ‘additional
13 income’ and can increase the paying parent’s gross income figure used to work out child maintenance.

Lisa 01/03/2016 at 8:52 am

My partner pays for his children each week through csa but they are taking far to much an leaving us with little to live on now that I'm out of work an we have bills and falling behind with loads, this this be changed??
We need to do something because we can't go on like this. Thanks

Terry 29/02/2016 at 2:57 pm

Hi,

My wife & I divorced 8 years ago. Both of our children chose to live with me (now age 21 & 14), this was part of a Primary Care court order. Both still live with me. My ex wife and I have now both remarried. My ex wife initially refused to pay maintenance, and I reluctantly had to contact the CSA. They ordered payments to be made by my ex wife, which has been in place since 2012. My ex wife has now stopped working, so CSA payments have stopped. Her husband is wealthy, yet apparently she is no longer obliged to make any contribution to our 14 year old sons upkeep - is this correct, and what, if anything, can I do to ensure she does make some contribution?

Thanks, Terry

LawAndParents Editor 26/02/2016 at 2:17 pm

No unfortunately, the father of a child can usually be made to pay maintenance regardless of whether he has other children and/partners.

Scanzaza 25/02/2016 at 11:12 am

My husband had an affair and had a daughter in this affair. The child is registered on his name. He didn't eant to put her on his name but the mother kept threathing that she will take him to court, so he had to registerher a year after she was born. Now the mother of this child wants child maintenance. I am refusing that he gives our family money to this woman. Do i have the right to refuse that he pays her. She knew he was married with children when she started the affair with him. I am devasted with the whole affair story, but i stayed with him trying to save my marriage and family, but i don't want that he gives her miney. Afterall it is my money too since we are married

Can he refuse to pay her since i am againt it?

LawAndParents Editor 12/02/2016 at 12:47 pm

Would she be willing to attend mediation? Can your son ask her directly? You could try making an application via the Child Maintenance Service. See the CM options site for more information.

Chris 09/02/2016 at 8:24 pm

I had my son late in life. he is now 16 and at college. His mother left five years ago, leaving our son with me and has never paid a penny in child support. She works full time. She took me to court trying to claim half of my pensions, one military and the other is the state pension. The judge threw it out of court and advised her to support her son. She didn't. Now our son has to travel twelve miles each way to college and I have managed to get him a cheap moped as we live in the countryside and public transport is minimal. Things were not good between his mother and I as I found out about her affairs and she turned nasty and violent, to the stage I had to get a restraining order on her. Now I am finding it difficult with the running cost of his moped and all the other things that he needs and I would like to ask her for £50 a month to help him out. I cannot afford a solicitor and our son says he doesn't like asking her for money. I know if I speak to her she will just start screaming down the phone. Any ideas would be gratefully received. Thank you.

marky 28/01/2016 at 4:03 pm

hi ,iv been asked to pay child maintenance which I don't mind they have worked it out at £22.91 a week. I live in a flat which is £400.00 a month and have electric, Gas Council tax and bus fares to get to work to pay apart from food, I work 3 nights a week and get Around £758.00 a month, my parents help me out a lot. When I told them about how much I pay out they said they don't take my bills into consideration , how am I meant to live

DuffMan 24/01/2016 at 7:06 am

my dad never paid child maintenance for 18years now i'm 26 and still never seen a penny I was told my dad an mom arranged £20pw am i still entitled to the child maintenance he never payed for me

Scrounging mums 19/01/2016 at 9:08 pm

You women love to over exaggerate new cars 4/5 holidays per year please do yourself a favour get a job stop lieing and keep your legs together for once

Becca 18/01/2016 at 8:18 pm

Hi, just after som advice really... I have a 7 year old son, me and his father have been separated since he was a baby. He has never worked (legally) because he refuses to pay child Maintenance, as he has two other children from a previous relationship. He is now living with his partner and legally he is 'apparently' living off his partners wage, am I able to get Csa from his partner if this is true?

queenie 26/12/2015 at 11:32 pm

My kids are now 17 and 18 their father has never paid a penny for their upkeep someone told me you can still apply for all back pay that he should of paid ,is this correct and if so ,how do I go about doing this ,hope to hear from you soon thankyou

LawAndParents Editor 21/12/2015 at 10:09 am

You could try using the CM Options child maintenance calculator - that would give you an idea of what would be expected, given all your and your ex partner's income/circumstances etc.

Blondey. 20/12/2015 at 8:41 am

My ex partner is refusing to pay any money for our daughter as he is in university he claims that he doesn't have to pay anything because he's a student.. I've been trying to look up information with regards to this but there is no info explaining this.. I need help and as much info as I can before I contact CSA.

Pippa 27/11/2015 at 2:49 pm

I have been separated from my sons father for 2 years and he has sporadically paid money over that time. In September he gave up work to return to university and has not paid anything since as he is refusing to work while in uni. Where do I stand with this? Am I just to accept that he is not going to contribute for the next 3 years while completing his degree? I find it especially frustrating as he has enough money to go to America over the Christmas period, yet he cannot find anything to contribute to financially supporting his child. Would child maintainable deduct from his Student Loan and grants, because he clearly has ample excess money even when he says he has nothing. If he can afford a transatlantic flight there must be some money there for his son?

Kasb67 24/11/2015 at 4:36 pm

It has taken years and years to get any money from ex for maintaining our son. He ignored all letters from CSA at first. It went all through the CSAs procedures, registering liability orders (3 times). Right to force of sale of one of his properties...during this he finally agreed to £300 mth plus £5000 lump sum. He paid £300 for a couple months but no £5000 came. Force of sale dept then decided not to force sale of property as he was paying some money...even though he hadn't fulfilled his agreement. You think you're getting somewhere and then they move the goalposts. Different people telling me different things...CSA need educating all from the same book.So unfair as he gets away with taking about 7yrs to pay off what was £23,000 debt. Every month I'm unsure whether it will appear in bank. My hair has fallen out through all the worrying, while all through the years, he's been taking 3/4 holidays a year, drives all the latest models of cars, has a few businesses, several properties and was a major drug dealer in the south....but hey-Ho what can I do! CSA made all the wrong decisions and the powers they have are pathetic. The government could give them stronger powers but don't. It's a joke...if your ex is self employed don't even bother going for it via CSA.

childrenmissingout 22/10/2015 at 12:35 pm

my ex is refusing to pay csa its been to court endless times bailiffs been round and nothing we have 6 together been on my own now for 7 years he hasnt seen the kids in them 7 years as the years have passed my kids have got older so now he only has to pay for 3 of them but the debt is still there it is in its thousands he buys new cars and goes on holidays and supports his girl friend and her kids they are not his kids so how has he got away from paying for his kids for 7 years why cant more be done to make sure fathers like this pay his self employed with money coming in weekly so why is he getting away from paying for his kids i have been with the csa for 7 years and got nothing i need answers because every time i phone up all i get its in court will take at least 6 weeks phone back then. its called child support agency well my children are not being supported i need answers

Roynia 19/10/2015 at 9:11 pm

My ex won £2.5 million on lotto few years ago, I have 2 sons with her and oldest left school at 16 but hasn't worked or been in college. She still claims child benefit for him when I think she shouldn't do and cause of this I have to pay CSA for 2 when it should only be one now. My eldest is 18 in April 2016 so hopefully CSA will drop soon

LawAndParents Editor 23/09/2015 at 2:28 pm

If you want to make a claim for financial child support you can contact the Child Maintenance Service...more information is here. Unfortunately if the father does not want contact with his child there is not a great deal you can do. Even if a court order were granted it would be difficult to enforce.

tersh 21/09/2015 at 9:38 pm

Hi i want to know what can I do if my ex threatens me,and he never sees his child its now for 3months and he doesn't support his child,he smsed me that says he won't support the child and that the child isn't his,what should I do?plz help

LawAndParents Editor 21/09/2015 at 12:09 pm

You can only get backdated maintenance if a claim was made for it at time when it was relevant (e.g through the CSA or a court order) and payments were not made, or were not up to date.

Kreebee 20/09/2015 at 3:54 am

Hi I was wondering if anyone new how I would go about taking my Father for all the child support that he has never paid? I only know of him, I have never meant him in my life that I no of and he has never been in my life for 20 years he only cared about his other kids. I know that he has a very hight paying job and is bring in over 5,000 a week. I would like to no how I can claim the child support that he has never paid. I no that once you turn 18 years old that you are then able to claim it. I am now 20 years old and I'm am unsure on what I have to do to be able to claim it. Any help would mean a lot .

LawAndParents Editor 15/09/2015 at 12:12 pm

The new partner's income is not usually included in child maintenance calculations. Your contribution will be calculated based on: any earnings you get, money from an occupational or personal pension, tax credits (in some cases) etc and how many other children you have to pay for. The government website gives a lot of useful information here.

Dru 14/09/2015 at 3:19 pm

I am a mid 30's divorced father with a 6yr old child who stays mostly with her mother, and i'm currently engaged. i pay regular monthly maintenance to my daughter's mother to help with her care. I am in full time employment, however i am considering trying to improve my future prospects by studying for a degree at university full time. this will see me swapping full time employment for study, and my earnings either stop completely or be drastically reduced.

Where does this leave me with my responsibility towards my daughter's maintenance? When i'm married again will my new wife have to pay anything as we have a joint bank account or does the financial responsibility stop with me solely?

Herbert 02/08/2015 at 11:14 pm

My daughters husband has stopped paying the agreed amount of money to her, recently she was the victim of domestic violence due to her allowing a person who had a restraining order not to contact her in her house as she is terified of him.
Due to this the children went to their father for rest bite and are now shared care.
My daughter has to have supervised care until she attends courses to help her cope better, her husband has decided he wants custody of the children and without any consolation has stopped paying monies.
What can she do?

LawAndParents Editor 11/06/2015 at 11:46 am

@tiredoffighting. It is difficult. Make sure you are receiving all the tax credits and any additional benefits that you can, even if you are working. You can check for this and other benefits on the Child Tax Credits page and by using the Turn 2 Us calculator. Don't let this prevent you from letting the children see their father though.

tierdoffighting 07/06/2015 at 7:20 pm

My ex didn't see his kids for over a year and I took him to court (the kids felt abandoned by his disappearance and eventually he responded wanting contact) and the court decided he should have contact at the contact centre once a month with his mum. (He is 33 but she is easing the kids back into a relationship with their dad). Thankfully he has shown up so far and explained his disappearence on mental health. He is on benefits right now and had been for several years. This was ppartially why we broke up. I have been told I can get 7 pounds a week from him via the CSA. So far he has contributed nothing. The CSA have tried to take money directly fromhis benefits but for whatever reason they haven't been able to. I am on the verge of just giving up as although he is owe over 300 pounds now in back dated money, I doubt his kids will ever see a penny from him. Everything seems to be harded for the resident parent than it needs to be.

LawAndParents Editor 20/05/2015 at 10:58 am

@Jo33. They will do what they can to establish whether or not your ex is working but their resources are limited, so unless you can appeal to his better nature, there's not much you can do.

Jo33 16/05/2015 at 11:52 am

Hi my ex partner has never paid anything towards our 3 children as he has never really worked and I recently received a letters saying he is either in training or employment that pays less than £7 a month so I'm not entitled to anything from him, but he justsent my daughter a message telling her he's working now so can take her out, if I inform cms about his job how will they find out where he works and things so he can start making payments ???

LawAndParents Editor 11/05/2015 at 11:40 am

@Zaar. Here is some information about the child maintenance service which also includes some useful links to organisations that may be able to help.

zaar 04/05/2015 at 5:12 pm

The father of my child has stopped paying maintenance and he says he is not working but I know he has a company that he runs. Court has advised me to seek help from private laywers but I can't those lawyers what else can be done to force him to maintain the child

LawAndParents Editor 13/04/2015 at 10:38 am

@Leovirgo. Maintenance and access are completely separate things and should not be linked. If your ex is refusing you access you should first seek the help of a third party (or mediator) to help negotiate access arrangements. If that fails you may need to apply for a court order to negotiate this. Has for the high maintenance payments, here is the advice from the CMS if you think you payments are too high/cannot afford to pay: "If you think your statutory payments are too high, you should contact the statutory child maintenance service straight away and check that they have the correct information about your circumstances. You should contact them immediately if you are having problems paying or you are going to miss a payment. If you're struggling to pay back arrears speak with someone immediately as they may be able to consider changing what you pay. But, regular on-going child maintenance payments must be paid in full and on-time."

LeoVirgo 09/04/2015 at 4:47 pm

Hi,

I've been paying child maintenance for 7 months now. I initially proposed to pay £350 per month for my daughter of 10 but my ex approached CMS and I have thus been instructed to pay £456 per month. I have been left with a huge personal loan which was primarily for the benefit of my ex to cover her student loan while she was unemployed as well as two credit card bills.

I've been sleeping on a friend's sofa because I cannot afford to even rent a room. I've contacted CMS to see whether the monthly payment can be reduced but they rejected my request. If I refuse to pay, I risk being fined £1000 which leaves me with no choice. And on top of this I have no access to my daughter.

Any help on how to deal with this?

LawAndParents Editor 09/04/2015 at 12:49 pm

@laila33. yes if you cannot make an agreement amicably between yourselves, the CMS is your best course of action. The CM Options Website has more information.

Laila133 08/04/2015 at 10:29 am

Hi my sons father is refusing to pay any child support to our child he said a gold digger. I can't prove if he is working or not. Can the cms check to see if he has enough funds in his account to pay me Maintence?

LawAndParents Editor 07/04/2015 at 12:31 pm

@Juul. Yes you can if he has broken the agreement.

juul 02/04/2015 at 7:48 am

My ex husband signed a legal document saying he would pay me £300 per month. He now does not pay. Can I take him to court?

LawAndParents Editor 07/04/2015 at 11:58 am

@jo. No he should not need to continue CSA payments in this instance. He may wish to pay something directly to his daughter to offer additional support.

jo 01/04/2015 at 5:14 pm

My partner has paid csa for many years and his daughter is now 17 and pregnant and will be claiming chilsd benefit and benefits herself will my partner still have to pay csa to her mother

LawAndParents Editor 02/03/2015 at 2:28 pm

@Jodav. Try the Child Maintenance Options site for details of what he may have to pay. There is noting you can do to prevent him from going to university though.

Jodav 26/02/2015 at 2:35 pm

I wonder if anyone can advise me. My ex husband has decided to give up work and go back to university, he says for the next 8 years, thus he says putting himself in a position where he will not need to pay maintenance anymore. Is there anything I can do?

LawAndParents Editor 02/03/2015 at 10:52 am

@farawaybaby. Check up on the child maintenance payments with the CSA or CMoptions. Unless you've made specific arrangements, child support payments stop when your child completes their further education (usually A level) - at around age 19 (sometimes 20). To find your sons, have you tried social media or friend & family?

farawaybaby 25/02/2015 at 7:36 pm

i left my ex 4 years ago due to domestic violence both my sons live with him which wasnt a decison i wanted now my 2 sons are 24 and 21 am still paying for child maintenance for the youngest which i thought would of stopped by now both are working so why am i still paying?? cant contact the father as i dont know where he or the boys live as a mum missing them so much..... dont know what to do :((((

LawAndParents Editor 20/02/2015 at 12:23 pm

@Elmo. We can't really give you an answer on this, as these are fairly unusual circumstances. In general if your child is post 16 and is not in full time education, you would not have to continue with CSA payments. The exceptions are usually where a child has special needs of some sort.

Elmo 18/02/2015 at 5:15 pm

I pay child support for my two daughters who I have no contact with (through their choice, not mine). One is 18 and I believe is still at college and my youngest has just turned 16. My youngest has been in all sorts of trouble and been placed in foster care many times. She has had a social worker for 4-5 years now and has been in the system as a vulnerable person, attending a special residency school for her behaviour. I found out, via a letter from Social Services, (which I presume was sent to me in error as my daughters mother requested I had no update about their lives) that she is pregnant and her baby is due very soon.
My question is how do I stand on paying child support via CSA. The reason I am asking this is because my ex partner fraudulently claimed child benefit for 2 years and also child support from me for my son who was in full time work but she claimed he didn't have a job. He worked for her partners company so this situation was taken advantage of. She claimed that when my daughter went into care she had told the CSA and they said it made no difference to the child support being paid to her. I didn't contact them myself as didn't want to make a bad situation worse but I am now feeling that I shouldn't be paying CSA for my daughter if she has her own baby. I know my ex will not advise the CSA but should I? As I said I do not want to make my "relationship" or lack of it, any worse by contacting the CSA if it is not going to make any difference as my ex partner takes my actions out on the children. Any advice would be appreciated.

LawAndParents Editor 09/02/2015 at 12:24 pm

@john. You could try and sort this out - speak to your father to see whether he can give you the contact details of how he currently pays maintenance. Your mother may also be claiming child benefit for you while you're still in education, so you may want to try and make some arrangement that you receive that too.

john 04/02/2015 at 3:44 pm

I'm 17 and I have recently been kicked out of my house and I am living with a friend. This will be a permanent change until I go to university in September 2015. I want to be able to pay my way at my friends house but I have no income and I cannot get a job because of forthcoming exams; I need to concentrate on my A-Levels. My mother and farther are separated and I know that my farther pays my mum maintenance, however if I am not living with her then should he be paying maintenance to her because I nor the people I live with ever see any of this money. Is there any way that myself or the family I live with could receive maintenance from my farther? Many Thanks

LawAndParents Editor 09/02/2015 at 11:20 am

@Adam. If no claim was made when you were younger it cannot be claimed retrospectively.

adam 04/02/2015 at 12:26 pm

Just really wanting to know I recently found my biological father and wanting to know if it's possible that me now been 28 years old can actually claim anything from him as he has not paid a single penny yo my mum all these years and had known about me too just think it's disgraceful and want to make sure something can be done any advice please

LawAndParents Editor 27/01/2015 at 10:01 am

@julia. Unfortunately many fathers manage to get away with this. Can you come to some alternative informal arrangement with your ex, e.g he will pay for some specific items/trips etc? He cannot be denied his parental rights based on what he is paying though - and nor should children be denied time with a parent for this reason.

Julia 23/01/2015 at 8:32 pm

My ex is a very high earner but manages to give me 27 pounds a week for child maintenance, he has created his own company and spend his money in himself but still wants his parental rights

LawAndParents Editor 23/01/2015 at 12:23 pm

@awills. Contact the police to be sure. They will be able to advise you what to do to put your mind at rest. There is nothing strictly unlawful about putting money into someone's bank account though.

awills 21/01/2015 at 12:23 pm

My sons dad and I have been split since my son was a baby and we never lived together. The relationship ended due to abuse and violence. I tried to allow him contact with our son once a week but he would rarely show up and visits stopped altogether after I refused to let him mess our son around any more. My son was scared of him and cried when he saw him. Because of his abusive and violent nature I decided it was best for my son to have no contact at all, and I have never requested payments for the same reason, I wanted no ties with him.

I am married now and have changed address and bank account since being with him. So my legal name has changed, my address has changed and my bank details have changed. Yet for the past two months I have received payments from him, under his name and he is using CSA as a reference. I have been in contact with both the CSA and the CMS and there is no case in my name or my sons name. He has gained my details somehow and I believe unlawfully. Is this a case for the police? I am worried that this violent and mentally unstable man can now find me since he has my details. I have a new baby and stay at home alone while my husband works seven days a week and I am scared he will turn up or snatch my son (he did this at my previous address.)

Will the police find out how he gained my details? Has he broken the law?

LawAndParents Editor 18/11/2014 at 11:48 am

@sarah jane. You should raise your issues with your ex first. It may be that the rumours are untrue or that when you daughter is around, he ensures that the friends are not visiting etc. If you're still unhappy, try and arrange for him to have contact with his daughter elsewhere. Unless you know she is definitely at risk of harm, it would be unfair to stop your daughter from seeing her dad.

Sarah Jane 17/11/2014 at 5:30 pm

If I have been reliably informed by other people that my daughters father is using cocaine and lives with two other family members who are also using cocaine, do I have any rights in stopping my child from sleeping at her fathers?

LawAndParents 17/11/2014 at 2:36 pm

Lou1990. We hope you get things resolved with the CMS, unfortunately you cannot refuse contact because of non-payment though.

Lou1990 15/11/2014 at 12:03 am

Hi, my ex and I agreed on an amount for him to pay towards his son each month back in January. However since then has messed me around a considerable lot. I have had on payment transferred to my bank account and bits in cash but overall hasn't paid a penny in over 9 months. I'm fed up of keep asking for money especially when I keep being given excuses I.e. Haven't been paid, had to pay some debts off, haven't been paid enough. This is on going and now is the last straw after hearing that he is out partying with his current girlfriend but hasn't paid anything towards his child. I am contacting child maintenance service tomorrow but as my son lives with me do I have the right to stop contact until payments are received?

LawAndParents Editor 14/11/2014 at 2:39 pm

@Shell. Yes he does, but he could approach the CSA or a court, to make a request that the support is paid directly to his daughter.

shell 13/11/2014 at 8:39 pm

My partner has been making regular payments each month since he split from his wife. Last weekend his daughter moved out of his ex-wifes house and into her boyfriends; does he still have to pay maintenance? She is 16 and in full time education.
Any help would be great.

LawAndParents Editor 10/11/2014 at 11:45 am

@Emma. Unfortunately it looks as though your partner will simply have to pay into the account that the CSA has managed to get details for. Make sure he keeps a record of all payments made (in case the CSA records are not available to him - it's been known!) and to let his daughter know that he is paying and by how much.

Emma 07/11/2014 at 8:38 am

They don't seem to know what they are doing. Right at the beginning they wouldnt allow ny partner to pay money into his daughters account, and stated it had to be her mothers account. Then the bank details we received from the CMS were his daughters details, and as the amount he would be paying is a lot, he rang them and double checked and they said it was wrong and they would try to get her details again. She played up saying she didn't want to give her details, they suggested getting a basic account just for my partner to pay into, she said she didn't think she could get one because of her credit rating. The CMS gave her 7 days to try. Now we've received bank details for a joint account of his ex wife and her wife, yes I wrote that correctly. My partner is concerned that if he pays into this account then the money could be used to fund the wife#2's bills, rather than towards the care of his daughter. The CMS don't seem to be checking these things, and it feels like my partner is being put in the same boat as non paying dads, even though when his daughter lived with us, the CSA had to get a deduction from earnings on his ex wifes wage after 6 months of her not paying, and saying she couldn't afford it yet went to turkey for 2 weeks... Seems that the CMS are stereotypical.

LawAndParents Editor 06/11/2014 at 12:10 pm

@homerjkev. We cannot find the answer to this, so it may be something you should check with the CSA. Usually child maintenance is paid to the parents with majority/day-to-day care, so if the parent no longer has that, you may not be expected to pay. However, your child will still need support, so ideally your CSA payments should be diverted to the foster parent (but as mentioned, we're not sure what actually happens in this circumstance).

Homerjkev 05/11/2014 at 9:50 am

Hi I am seeking advise. I've been paying CSA got a number of years and my youngest child his 15. I have resent leaned that she does not live with her mother and placed in care with foster parents. Am I still legally required to pay maintenance? Thank you

LawAndParents Editor 03/11/2014 at 2:26 pm

@Emma. Can the CMS not sort this one out for him? They have the power to take money (and pay it) in several ways.

Emma 02/11/2014 at 8:22 pm

My partner has told Child Maintenance Service that he wants to pay his ex via direct pay but she is refusing to give her bank details so he can't pay her the money and is trying to catch him out. He wants to pay but can't because she won't give her details. Where does he stand? His daughter used to live with us and his ex took over 6 months to start paying for her and had a deduction order on her wages because of that. And we think she is trying to get the same done to my partner but yet he is wanting to pay, she is preventing it so its her fault. Need some advice please?!

Jai 28/10/2014 at 8:37 am

My ex has a new job on £51000 was earning £24000 before.... I have worked out on the CSA calculator he should be paying me £109 per week yet he said he will pay me £85 that's all he can afford! He paid me £70 before which consisted of £4 for sons football and £6 for kids gym memberships and £10 for school uniform as I buy all other clothing and the other £50 was maintenance. The £109 should be paid plus the uniform gym and football allowance though I said I would accept £100 but he refuses to pay more than £85!

Dazc0383 05/10/2014 at 6:28 am

My dad has recently been stung with csa by his ex partner for a daughter they had together who is now 18, she is in college 2 days a week studying beauty n living at home with her mum but she also has a baby of her own for which she gets benefits for. My dad has been ordered to pay 250 per month by the csa and I would like to know if this should be happening when she is getting benefits as an income due to having a 1 year old. Surly it can't be right and my dad has paid maintenance for here weekly without fail since they split up. Any help advice would be greatly appreciated thanks

LawAndParents Editor 26/09/2014 at 11:10 am

@vickyb. Is your ex being truthful? If the employer has been taking it out and not passing it, your ex should simply show his payslips to someone at the CSA and they will take it up on his behalf.

vickyb 25/09/2014 at 11:27 am

My exes employer have been taking payments off of his wage but the havent passed them on to the CSA, my ex doesnt want to set it up between ourselves, even though i wuldnt expect him to pay as much as the CSA make him. Is there anything we can do to make the employer pass the payments on? I dont think its fair that they can take the money off of him and then not pass it on, i would rather the money stay with my ex than for neither of us to be able to use it on our son. is there anything i can do?

PT 19/08/2014 at 11:39 pm

I pay maintenance through a court order made prior to 2000, originally for 2 children.
My eldest who is 19 has left school, had a full time job for a year and is now about to go to university.
I stopped paying maintenance for her, when she got the job. Now that she is going to university, my ex-wife wants me to start paying maintenance again? Can she do this?
I still pay a monthly amount for the younger child who is 17 and at college.
Thank you for any advice.

dip 19/08/2014 at 7:39 pm

my daughter was 19 several months ago
in july she left full time education and started full time work,
i have contacted the csa several times lately with no direct response as to when the payments i make should stop.
i have 4 other children with my wife to whom i support so it's urgently important to me i stop paying and start letting my other children have a life

Ronaldo 19/08/2014 at 1:47 am

I pay child maintenance, do i have to pay half school fees as well or does the payments cover all costs.

Kelly 17/08/2014 at 11:27 pm

My partners ex will not give him her bank details for him to make payments. What can he do?

Squirmy 27/07/2014 at 11:28 pm

I have a daughter at 16 I have never met her we have a limited contact on Facebook she's in full time employment. Do I need to continue paying CSA this is an agreement with the ex partner please get back to me about this matter please I just need to now where I stand thank you

luckyluckylucky Editor 11/06/2014 at 12:03 pm

@Tate. Yes until the children are old enough, you will be expected to support them irrespective of what you've paid in the past. Maybe you can come to some formal agreement with your ex for future payments? Alternatively the CSA will base any regular payments on your income and any shared residence that you can obtain.

Mums the word 01/05/2014 at 12:16 pm

Parental alienation syndrome (abbreviated as PAS) is a term coined by Richard A. Gardner in the early 1980s to refer to what he describes as a disorder in which a child, on an ongoing basis, belittles and insults one parent without justification, due to a combination of factors, including indoctrination by the other parent (almost exclusively as part of a child custody dispute) and the child's own attempts to denigrate the target parent.[1] Gardner introduced the term in a 1985 paper, describing a cluster of symptoms he had observed during the early 1980s.[1]

Parental alienation syndrome is not recognized as a disorder by the medical or legal communities and Gardner's theory and related research have been extensively criticized by legal and mental health scholars for lacking scientific validity and reliability.[2][3][4][5][6] However, the separate but related concept of parental alienation, the estrangement of a child from a parent, is recognized as a dynamic in some divorcing families.[2][7][8]

The admissibility of PAS has been rejected by an expert review panel and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the United Kingdom and Canada's Department of Justice recommends against its use, but has appeared in some family court disputes in the United States.[9][10] Gardner portrayed PAS as well accepted by the judiciary and having set a variety of precedents, but legal analysis of the actual cases indicates this claim was incorrect.[6]

No professional association has recognized PAS as a relevant medical syndrome or mental disorder, and it is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems of the WHO.

nounou 10/08/2013 at 3:59 pm

my husband has a 15 year old with another woman. we have been paying her .£20 per week fornthe first 5 years and £30 per week for the last 10 years. He was made redundant in March of this year. We explained the situation (there was no prospect of another job and he was on job seekers). Got a telephone call this morning from the csa. What I would like to know is whatbare my rights in this situation.

cricket 16/11/2012 at 1:53 pm

my ex has never paid maintainance for our 12 yo son. he claims to be unemployed, but in fact develops properties and is self
employed, he is hidding behind a business name so appears to be unemployed when checked by the CSA. he dictates when he sees our son and expects to be involved in every aspect of his life. how can i make him pay child support.

LA 13/10/2012 at 9:26 pm

me and my ex split up a year ago. I have an eldest daughter who he has raised since she was one and two of his children. At first he was paying 75 pounds a week maintenance, then decided that he shouldn't have to pay for my eldest, so started paying 50 pounds a week instead. He has a full time job, but has said that he can't afford to keep paying me maintenance, has said he will just buy things for our youngest instead. Can he do this? because I think I will really struggle with the three kids without his payments

Noddy 13/10/2012 at 12:05 am

After just 5 months my ex wife who has agreed to pay some maintenance for our four children, stopped paying. She has renegotiated her full time salaried employment and now works as a consultant , same company, using a service company. I think based in an offshore jurisdiction.

Absent legal aid, (I don't qualify) what will be the costs of chasing such persons to recover their contributions?

Presumably over and over again?

Given they can vary their hours worked and endlessly claim new reduced circumstances.?

What point is there in negotiating a maintenance amount within the divorce agreement if the ex can so easily stop payments just 5mnths later...without warning or notice?

nunus 05/07/2012 at 6:18 am

my child father and i are separated.we got a boy who is two years now under my care.The father is now in america and i in cameroon sobecause of the distance he think he can not be charged for child maintenance.for 7months now he has not given menothing and its weighting now on me.please tell me how i can do this that he takes care of his care by law

lesley 22/06/2012 at 9:14 pm

my husband has always paid maintenance although not through the csa for his daughter, his ex has always claimed to the csa that she doesn't know who the father is, unsure if this enabled her to claim extra benefits. the daughter turned 16 last may, she was offered a placement at college but declined this so was doing nothing education or work wise, so my husband stop paying maintenance in the aug. about 2 months ago he received a letter stating he would have to pay £53 a week maintenance! she may be doing paid work experience now or is actually working she certainly not in full time education. do we have to pay this money ?we have 3 young childrens to support also. these people know how to work the system, the daughter never went to school full time never mind full time education now. the csa have told me while the ex is claiming child benefit for the child my husband has to pay maimtenance, why should they be entitled to our moneywhich we both work hard for,when they are clearly defrauding the system, which i have reported them for. this women has 4 kids by 3 different fathers, has been given a four bedroom house and only started working 2-3 years ago as her benefits were going to be getting cut. it's an absolute disgrace! please can you give me some advice. thanks

Ally 06/06/2012 at 5:32 pm

My husband has paid for his daughter every month since his 1st wife left him and moved to southern Ireland. He has paid for all flights for her to come to visit us, and also for us to go to her if school did not permit her to be out. We assumed he would stop paying this year as she is 18 In September, but unbeknown to us, she took a year out of school last year ,apparently you can do this in Ireland (. .?), so now his ex wife wants us to pay for another year!
We were not involved in any decisions as to her taking a year out, in which we found out she did 2 weeks work experience the whole year!!! So are we liable to continue paying?
It has always been a voluntary decision by my husband to pay for his daughter and there are no court papers or people involved.

Disilva 02/06/2012 at 5:39 pm

I am turning twenty soon and am currently studying at University. My father and mother separated when I was six years old and my father has lived in Greece for all this time and never paid any child support for me or my brother who is now 14. My mother has always struggled through and now she cannot do it by herself any more. I am wondering what legal action I could take personally so that at least my brother can be supported, as my father has refused on countless occasions to provide any support.

Fulltime Ed Editor 08/05/2012 at 9:49 am

@Des. You are only committed to paying for a child who is in full time education until the end of the school year in which they turn 19.

Des 04/05/2012 at 4:06 pm

My husband and I have been paying maintenace for his 2 children since his marriage broke down 11 years ago. His eldest daughter is 19 and left 6th form last year in July and is now at University. We stopped paying maintenance for her at the end of last July as per court order which stated that payment must be made until she reaches 17 or finishes full time education. We continue to pay maintenance for his 16 year old son. Her mother has recently demanded that we reinstate the maintenance for his daughter (requesting that it is made payable to her plus arrears from last August)as his ex wife is unable to manage on her income. His ex wife had left it 6 months to actually decide that we had 'no right' to stop payments. We have declined to agree with her demands and now she has instructed a solicitor to reiterate and pursue her demands. Can you possibly tell us where we stand with regards to her demand for reinstating the maintenance for his daughter?

Woolf 04/05/2012 at 12:27 pm

According to "Statute" of the Limitations Act 1980 the CSA (under the 1991 Act) must be time-limited to make a claim for arrears/non payment to 6 years. How can the CSA in 2011 make a claim for purported arrears for 18 months between 1993/1995 (ie 18 years ago) from a recently deceased persons estate under the 2009 Regulations when the CSA were already time-barred under the 1991 Act at the time of death and there is no provision in the 2009 Regulations for "retrospective" claims? "Chapter and Verse" would be appreciated.

nay 03/03/2012 at 1:37 pm

my daughter has moved in with her sister,her sister wants guardianship and parental responsilbility for my daughter,if i allow her to have these can she claim child support from me and my husband?(not the childs father)

bb 19/02/2012 at 1:04 am

my husband's ex partner has sole parental responsibility for their 10 years old son. She does not allow me to see the son. Is there anything we can do?

lee 17/01/2012 at 10:50 am

my necie ,12, is going through the process of moving in with me , my necie lived with her mum before, do they pay full maintenance or half of what her dad pays so they pay half each? x

Paying Maintenance or Child Support

Arranging to Pay For Your Child

What Happens if I don't pay Maintenance?

The Next Step

Ask Law and Parents a question