CSA advice forum

CSA advice forum » Child Support Agency

1. buzzingtalk
   Member
   
   

   Hi, I am writing this on behalf of someone I work with who I am trying to help out. He divorced from his wife last year, and they have 2 children. Their son, 15, lives between the two houses and spends more time with dad (who I am helping out) than mum. Their daughter, who is 3 or 4, lives with mum. Mum only lets dad see the daughter for 1 hour a week (!!!) and supervises EVERYTHING. She will not let dad take their daughter out, or have a day with her; or even have her overnight. Dad is a caring person, was never violent, did not cheat etc so she has no reason to worry about the daughter being unsafe.

   They split up as mum was trying to get all of the money out of dad, and was a massive control freak. She is now trying to brainwash the son into staying over there more than 4 nights a week so she can get a CSA claim in. She has also put in a claim for the daughter, who the dad is happy to pay for but wants to see more than one hour a week.

   dad does not have an awful lot of money, and is hoping to sort all of this out the proper way and make sure that they get equal access. He does not want to have both kids only living with him, but he wants an equal share. The ex wife is making it very difficult to talk to her or even access his daughter.

   So a few questions -

   1. Are there any charities that may be able to help?
   2. What would you do/what have you done in this situation?
   3. Is putting in a CSA counter claim going to take into account both the financial situation of dad, the mums brainwashing, and the lack of contact?
   4. Dad is prepared to take it court for access if need be, but he cannot afford a lawyer/solicitor - how do you go about this, what agencies are out there to help?

   I really want to help him, I was a child when my own divorced parents went through a long and bloody divorce, but it is very hard to see through the 'no win, no fee' lawyers in google. If anyone can help, even point us in the right direction for advice, I would be very greatful :)

   Dad has spoken to citizens advice, and they were helpful but recommended a solicitor.

   Thanks for your help!

   Sarah.

   ps we're based in Norwich, Norfolk if this helps.

   Posted 3 months ago #

2. IRuler
   Member
   
   

   Hello Sarah, I understand your predicament only to well as I am a father who was even described as "good" but the facts are that your freind will have a very difficult fight on his hands and using a solicitor is probably one of the biggest mistakes that can be made by couples going through divorce as ultimately the only winners are the solicitors.

   I took a shared residence appeal to the Court of Appeal and was initially unsuccessful, I have recently issued proceedings again for a shared residence order on different grounds and these are the grounds your friend needs to concentrate on are the seven criteria under s1 (3) of the Childrens Act 1989.

   If you acting as a McKenzie friend can assist him with putting a reasonable application forward then I would advise you do this and visit http://www.familylawweek.co.uk to look at various case law relating to shared residence and contact. It may appear daunting initially but it gets easier once you understand how the courts work and how judges have made decisions re prior cases.

   My ex had legal aid and is now left with a 16k debt as a charge on the equity of the former marital home, so believe me there is no such thing as "free" legal aid.

   Anyway be prepared for some knock backs but persist and if your friends ex-wife is being unreasonable then the court should be able to identify this and hopefully do what should be right. Warning though the courts may say he has Parental Responsibility and thats enough but again PR means very little as his ex will still try to dictate to him and use the kids as the only weapon, unfortunately!!

   Posted 3 months ago #

3. mr.pink
   Member
   
   

   Unfortunately the maintenance calculation and access are two separate issues. The CSA only want money and are not interested or concerned with the NRP having access to his children, the brainwashing or anything else. For two kids they want 20% of the NRP's take home pay. There is a discount on this amount when the children spend nights with the NRP and there are CSA leaflets available.
   I have heard so many stories of the father going to Court to obtain access but the Order is worthless when there is acrimony - the mother just ignores or obstructs the access process, or is out when the father is supposed to visit. It leaves the father without contact and severly out of pocket.

   Posted 3 months ago #

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