Child Maintenance
11 answers /
Last post: 24/02/2024 at 12:10 pm
So 20 odd years ago my brother and then partner had a child… paid child maintenance;
Then got approached after separating by his ex partner who wanted her husband to adopt his child, she said that if he paid X Ammount of money that she wouldn’t persue child maintenance and agreed a settlement.
Even had paper work to prove this..
14 years ago he was contacted by child maintenance team and letters and text messages after topping and throwing end result is paper work not legal!!! Been to citizens advice!!! A staggering £60,000 owed after all years… Child is probably earning more money than him now… he is disabled, unable to work, Child is now adult at least 28years old.. Apperantly the DWP had contacted the mother to see if wanted old case re-opened??????
How can we help my brother… DWP text every week at 8:00am to let him know money is coming out of his bank account…. He has mental health issues and is a wreck😥😥🥴
This must be so stressful.
But surely rather than ask strangers on the internet, shouldn't you be going to Citizens Advice for proper help?
We're not lawyers.
This is crazy, my ex owes £28,000 and they don’t seem to be doing anything to collect regular maintenance let alone the arrears, I can’t believe they are doing this to your brother, was the adoption legally followed through after any paperwork signed? I’d suggest going to see a family law solicitor, depending where you are they offer free 30 min legal advice and hopefully would be more helpful than cab, I’d also suggest contacting his local mp (mines been good so far) he should definitely fight this
My ex wife had a letter drawn up from her solicitor saying no maintenance would be required. But when this was presented to the child maintenance services it was classed as invalid as it hadn't been before a judge and rubber stamped. So they wanted all the back pay which is ridiculous when I spoke to my ex wife she just laughed and said she knew it wasn't valid. she just wanted me to get hit with back and current payments.
This must be so stressful.
But surely rather than ask strangers on the internet, shouldn't you be going to Citizens Advice for proper help?
We're not lawyers.
We have already been to citizens advice;
I appreciate that you are not lawyers, was seeking other alternatives or other persons that have perhaps know of someone that have been in this predicament and to hear what they have done etc..😥
This is crazy, my ex owes £28,000 and they don’t seem to be doing anything to collect regular maintenance let alone the arrears, I can’t believe they are doing this to your brother, was the adoption legally followed through after any paperwork signed? I’d suggest going to see a family law solicitor, depending where you are they offer free 30 min legal advice and hopefully would be more helpful than cab, I’d also suggest contacting his local mp (mines been good so far) he should definitely fight this
Thank you for your considerate reply: I believe that this could be the next step for help. I appreciate your time and recommendations..🥰
My ex wife had a letter drawn up from her solicitor saying no maintenance would be required. But when this was presented to the child maintenance services it was classed as invalid as it hadn't been before a judge and rubber stamped. So they wanted all the back pay which is ridiculous when I spoke to my ex wife she just laughed and said she knew it wasn't valid. she just wanted me to get hit with back and current payments.
Omg why do they do this… 🤬🤬
How are you coping, are you paying the back pay?
perhaps some of the advice or replies may be of some interest to you also.
Good luck.🥰
Could you try and find a solicitor that deals with CMS and get some advice. They usually don’t charge anything until they do some work so you could get some advice free.
Why on earth would the ex do that !
I receive arrears payments from my ex but it’s like 29 a month, surely there is a limit how much they can take from benefits.
I help run a group on CMS on facebook helping people in similar situations to your brother.
First question has to be. Did the adoption go through legally?
Second question would be, are the arrears amount correct if he did owe the money.
I would recommend getting a SAR from dwp cms which you can get the form off the governments webpage and have a look through that first.
Any money that he does hold in the bank account they will take, so be wary about leaving anything in there or they will leave him with nothing.
They can take a maximum amount of 40% of his net earnings. Although they work out the owed amount on his gross.
If you need any other help. Reach out and I can try and help you further.
Hi Pauline,
They can't take what he hasn't got, it's all about the government putting money back in their pot.
Seek free legal advice of a s9licitor who specialises in it.
Disgusting, poor love, they just think they can do what they want.
The law changed recently to take in to consideration unearned income and arreas go back to the moment of separation, meaning if your brother ever had savings, bonds, investments (of any kind including rental properties)
Meaning that the arreas will have built and built.
I know he's your brother and I don't want to sound horrible, but is he being brutally honest with his financials with you? My ex had a bill much higher than this and ignored it and said he owed nothing but wasn't able to disprove their findings and has no cjouce but to pay-it's all decided by HMRC who know everything about our money and financial history.
