(10-11-2016, 08:32 PM)nilbo Wrote: So I have a finance related question and want to keep everything on this one thread. I would be grateful for any advice.
So currently I am paying £25 per week CMS. Which is going to go up to £65. no problem with that. In fact i was going to top it up to about £120 a week.
Ex emailed yesterday saying she wants to arrange a family arrangement using our solicitors otherwise she will report me to HMRC for tax evasion (I'm happy for her to do this and have nothing to hide). I asked her if she has a figure in mind to keep her happy. She replied £340 per week/ £1200 a month! as you can imagine I nearly fell over. I@m not paying any nursery fees. She enrolled him without my consent or knowledge. I fully intend to pay half but not just yet.
She has stated she will not return to work until the little one is in full time education. He is not yet even 2. She also wants money for rent even though she lives at her parents house. She even went as far as to enquire if private schooling is still on the cards for 3+. This was the intention when we were together and if we both had an income. Obviously private schooling is not an option anymore.
So my solicitor has advised me to apply to court to sort out finances and set a timetable down for her solicitor and to do a full disclosure from both parties. Fine i get that. She will not negotiate at all and will be more concerned about ruining me in every way possible. But i'm thinking, i'm kind of happy with how things are at the moment. I have a contact plan that is increasing with another hearing in January. I'm paying the requirement directed by CSA. The only thing i am not doing is paying half of nursery fees which is the only thing i think she can throw against me ahead of the January. So I plan to address that from next month on wards.
Basically i'm unsure why my solicitor wants to kick off another process in regards to finances. I'd rather wait it out and let her do it through her solicitor.
Any advice will me most helpful!
The problem with how Child Support is worked out, she is in a no lose situation. Either she gets herself a better deal, or the CMS amount.
In law, the Family Based Agreement can have anything in it you both agree to.
If you refuse a Family Based Agreement, what in this case my advise is, she can put CMS in. They have Jurisdiction over Child Support, and a court would only deal with it as a Consent Order.
What your ex has coming in each week is not relevant to Child Support. The fact is that until the Child is 5, she will get Income Support (or Universal Credit in some parts of the UK), along with Child Benefit and Tax Credits. While she can not claim Housing Benefit (where immediate family is the landlord), she could if she was not living their, so as she had decided to live somewhere where she can not get help with rent does not mean you have to pay for it.
Her parents (being her landlord) might in fact be breaking the law by charging her rent (Social Housing Fraud Act 2013).
As the Resident Parent, any Nursery Costs are down to your ex. If she was working 16 hours or more (and any new partner would need to be if she has one), then she might be able to get some of the costs via the Child Care Element of Working Tax Credit. As she is not working 16 hours a week, the law of the country says she does not need any help with child care.
The CMS amount if fully inclusive, and if you decide to pay extra do it as a separate transaction. Do not do it in a way what she can claim forms a contract.
The fact that she is saying she is not going to go back to work, might mean she is intending to claim Spouse Maintenance. This is a separate issue, but more importantly it is considered to be an income as far as Means Tested Benefits are concerned. There is only a very small amount per week she keeps, before it then deducts it from Income Support (I can not remember if its £5 or £15). Child Tax Credit is based on income over the year, so it might decrease this, and as far as Housing Benefit is concerned if she finds her own place, its also income. (If Universal Credit area the rules are more or less the same).
Often ex partners try to keep the working on documents referring to it as Child Support for the above reason, so if does get it awarded (by court or agreement) make sure its a separate transaction from Child Support, and if you can, put on it Spouse Maintenance as a transaction reference.
Should it go to court, regarding private school and nursery fees, the decision was taken due to your combined income at the time, what has now significantly changed.
Posts made by me are my opinion and any factual information should be checked out. If you do not have a Solicitor, often your local CAB can get you some initial advice.
