Disagreement over child maintenance

[GeorgiaP]

My ex husband will not pay me the full amount of CM as worked out on the cms calculator. He thinks the amount is ‘negotiable.’ His suggestion is that he pays £50 a month into each of our 2 childrens bank accounts instead (he is paying £116 less than he should). I have said okay but I want the cost of their clubs and swimming lessons to come out of it. I currently pay for them all – as far as I am aware these aren’t actually covered by CM so should be shared anyway? He has also said he will not pay towards school trips as this should be covered by CM? Can anybody confirm this and give me advice on what my next steps should be as we can’t agree – do I contact the CMS and what will they do? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi Georgia

I’m afraid I can’t comment from an official stance as mine and my ex’s arrangements were agreed between us. Adhered to what the calculator said though. When she had him the majority of the time up until around 15 months, I paid the full amount, and shared paying for kitting the house out with baby stuff. We’ve since moved to a 50/50 arrangement with child care, so we don’t pay each other anything, but share clothes buying etc, but if she has extra curricular things she wants to do her end, she pays, and likewise me at mine. I know that doesn’t really help much, but I don’t think your ex is being very fair. Perhaps if he was paying the full amount he may have an argument, but to pay for school trips as well out of what he’s giving can’t be right at all. I’m sure I’ve heard that there can be an attachment to earnings if they aren’t paying enough, but you’d have to look into it.

[picklepie24]

You can ask the cms to officially assess him and he can still pay you direct,  If he fails to make full payments they will sort it out instead of you having to chase him up.

At least if he’s paying the correct amount you will have the extra to pay for any activities even after you pay the same amount into their savings accounts, if that’s what you choose to do.

 

[Worldofme]

I think you can both negotiate payment of trips, swimming etc but don’t think he has to!
There calculation is the set amount you should get, if he choices to pay more then he does. If he doesn’t pay the set amount you have to contact them and tell them or they don’t care

[Mel]

Do you know how much he earns? Go online and use a child maintenance calculator.
I had no idea how much my ex earned and just agreed an amount he would pay each month.
I had to go to the CMS a year ago because he wouldn’t always pay on time and it drove me mad. They contacted him and worked out what he had to pay based on earnings.
Almost double what he was paying for the last 13 years!!!
I chose for the direct pay option. They tell him what and when to pay. He pays me directly. If he misses a payment they give him 2 days then chase him for it and can take it from his wages before he’s paid if necessary.
But you can get him to pay CMS and they pay you. They charge a little for that service.
As long as he’s working and paying tax and national insurance he can’t fiddle his wages to try to pay you less.
I only knew my ex’s phone number not even his home address but they had no problem finding him lol

[Author]

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