CSA is taking money away from me to spend on my son
I have a son aged 5 that stays with me 4 days a week. My ex and I have always had a agreement that she pays for him at hers I pay for him at mine and we meet halfway on costs for School activities, Partys etc.
She claims every benefit under the sun and I struggle to get by on my basic. Now she wants monthly payments as she has spoken with other dads and they all pay support. I do pay support to my son. Its when he is with me. She earns more in Benefits than I take home working 10 hour days 5 days a week.
I would like to know how much ill have to pay out per month please. Any more that she takes from me will basically be coming out of my weekend money for my son which means she gets money that id be using. So she we receive money from me and benefits but not spending it on our son as ill have him.
Thank you for your help
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my son hasnearly the same situation ,if he pays what the csa says he must pay then he wont be able 2 afford his rent ,he cant claim a penny from any one because his x wife claims every thing ,she also earns a good wage working and can afford a people carrier 2 dogs ,a holiday abroad ,dresses the children in nex clothes ,and buys them expensive presents ,the c,s,a, dont care about the poor dads its so unfair
If you have him 4 nights a week then it should be the other way round. You should claim against her.
If your ex only has your child 3 days a week, and you can prove this. The CSA if they were to be involved can only charge you for the days that your child is actually in her care. Which is good for you as long as you can actually prove it. Otherwise the CSA will take her word over yours every time. A legal joint custody agreement written up in a court of law would ensure that you only pay for those nights when your son isnt with you. If your son spends 4 nights a week with you. Your maintenance has to be reduced by 4/7ths accordingly on what ever the CSA assess is the weekly amount thery think you should pay. It is galling that the PWC being unemployed seems to have all the rights and Law on their side. Even if you tried to claim maintenance from her, the most you would get is a basic £5 per week if anything at all. For one child the CSA would expect you to fork out 15% of you basic nett income each week/pay period. So get a calculator and have a delve through your wage slips. This should give you a rough idea of how much they are likely to try to hit you for, if the CSA become involved that is. Once you have worked out what it would cost you per week, reduce this amount by 1/7th for each night your son is with you in a week. Thats what the CSA would go for as long as you can legally prove he stays with you on those nights.Once you have worked out that figure, why dont you try to come to a mutually beneficial agreement to keep it just between the 2 of you, and keep the CSA out of it. You wouldnt get any maintenance from her if the CSA was involved so offer to scrap what ever she was giving you and you keep paying her instead. If your ex is as reasonable as you saqy she has been. you should be able to reach an amicable compromise that suits you both. If not, the alternative could be a lot worse. If she wants it monthly, just put the cash aside each week and give it to her monthly. Just ensure that you can prove you are making those payments. (i.e via direct debit or standing order from your bank account to yours, and retain your statements) At least then if she ever makes demands for more, and you are more or less giving her what the CSA would take in any case, they are less likely to become involved. Hope this helps.
from your bank account to hers should have read in my previous message.
ring the csa and discuss the nights u have the child compared to her, ifits pretty much equal share then u pay less. make sure u tell them every minute u have the child even if its an hr here and there. who claims the child benefit? find out who has the righ to if u have the child equally. what about child tax can u claim that on top of ur wages as u have the child regular, ring and find out. As for csa they base it on how many night a yr u have the child. if its over 52 its less. its all figures that noone seems to understand, but look into everything and see if u have to pay it. and one mo bit of advice, pay throught he csa do not go with a private agreement.