New Member

[JonR]

Hi all,

I've joined this Forum today, thought I'd pop my head round the door to say "hi, I'm Jon and pleased to eMeet you all". Brief summary of my situation, Divorced 7 years with 2 daughters now coming upto 19 and 20, was paying child and spousal maintenance under the terms of a Consent Order until I opted out and opened a case against myself with the CMS last March. I'm hoping to pick up tips in dealing with the CMS in particular. In terms of what I may be able to help other members with - CMS and the Self-Employed (I'm a Company Director), baseless Diversion of Income and Notional Asset claims, controlling and coercive ex-Partners and parenting teenage daughters!

 

[Oneofmany]

Hi @JonR good to see ya. I may well need to pick your brain around CMS and being self employed at some point!

 

[JonR]

Hi @JonR good to see ya. I may well need to pick your brain around CMS and being self employed at some point!

Thanks and be happy to help, just fire away when you're good and ready. Can't promise I know all the answers as everyone's situation is different but I've got some good real-life experience.

 

[Ash]

You shouldn't be paying CMS any more unless both kids are still in education.

 

[JonR]

I'm no longer paying for my eldest who is now at Uni but still for my youngest who's coming up to 19 and in College

 

[Ash]

Not long then! It's just till 20

 

[JonR]

Not long then! It's just till 20

She's set to leave in July to go backpacking round Australia so I'm hoping it'll be September, then it'll just be the arrears but I'll spread those out over a longer schedule as I've done with my closed case. I have to hope the ex will inform Child Benefit or I risk being on the hook until March 2026. If not I'll report for Child Benefit Fraud as I did when her sister left College last year.

 

[Ash]

Ah arrears to pay off sounds like a nightmare.

 

[JonR]

Ah arrears to pay off sounds like a nightmare.

All cases have them, even if all payments are met and paid on time, it's down to the time between case opening and the date of the 1st payment against the schedule. My closed case has around £2400 which I'm settling at £45 per month so not too bad. This will reset at review time next month so I'll have to phone in again to get another extension.

 

[Ash]

Mine didn't.

 

[JonR]

Interesting. When I closed my case leaving the arrears, I phoned in and got the schedule extended. My ex opened a new case for my youngest and when the schedule was produced, the computer reset the schedule on the closed case so I had to phone in again. I'll see what happens in a few weeks' time....

 

[Ash]

I guess every situation is different. I had an informal family arrangement for years, and made sure it was slightly over what my CMS assessment would be. When things got nasty and she wanted more and threatened to go to the CMS, I opened my own case with the CMS to get an assessment, which was much less than I was paying. I did continue to pay the agreed amount which was more than the CMS assessment and it just shut her up!

Sometimes it does help to go to the CMS yourself first. What I was told was they would contact my ex and if she agreed to a case being opened they would do an assessment, but if she didn't agree then I didn't have to pay her anything! ie she wasn't asking for child maintenance.

At first she said no she didn't want a case opening (probably realising the assessment would be less than I was paying), then changed her mind when she realised I wouldn't have to pay her anything - lol.

 

[JonR]

I guess every situation is different. I had an informal family arrangement for years, and made sure it was slightly over what my CMS assessment would be. When things got nasty and she wanted more and threatened to go to the CMS, I opened my own case with the CMS to get an assessment, which was much less than I was paying. I did continue to pay the agreed amount which was more than the CMS assessment and it just shut her up!

Sometimes it does help to go to the CMS yourself first. What I was told was they would contact my ex and if she agreed to a case being opened they would do an assessment, but if she didn't agree then I didn't have to pay her anything! ie she wasn't asking for child maintenance.

At first she said no she didn't want a case opening (probably realising the assessment would be less than I was paying), then changed her mind when she realised I wouldn't have to pay her anything - lol.

Similar situation to me. I initially paid my ex child maintenance and spousal maintenance under the terms of a consent order following Divorce. This went on month in month out for about 6 years until I was laid off from my job and set up on my own. I'm in my late 50's so couldn't face the whole jobsearch thing. I was earning about 60% less than before but when I asked for a reduction in the £1600 I'd been paying her she set her solicitor on me to remind me of my legal obligations. I saw my own Solicitor who recommended I opt out and open a case against myself with the CMS. Apart from initially using my old income for the schedule it's worked well though my ex has made muliple claims of diverted income, unearned income and notional income. What really gets me is why its not means tested. My ex has a bigger house in a nicer area, no mortgage, earns more and gets child benefit. My daughters have both worked since they were 16 and buy everything apart from the food in their mouths, that's when they're actually at their mum's which isn't often. It seems a very biased service.

 

[Ash]

What really gets me is why its not means tested.

YES! And this is the crux of the matter. I have been saying this for years! Of course it should be means tested! Why should a man on a fairly low income, or even an average income, be paying Child Maintenance to an ex wife who is a multi millionaire! As an example. Or who earns much more than him. The whole thing is a FIASCO!