My children’s father was self employed and therefore could get away with saying he earns less than £5 per week, which has resulted in 12 years of no maintenance for 3 children. My ex pays £7 per week for 2 children and yet even that amount varies (downwards), so have had 13.65 per month for a while. How do we start a petition? So by that rule if a parent stops paying anything they should have their access stopped yes? I feel this is a loop hole used my so many to avoid paying for their children and ‘claim’ to have the interests of their children at heart. I would be better if the system was either based on nett earnings (after tax deductions)and not as is or a fixed payment. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. Things that could affect the income, such as pension payments and other children to support are taken into account. Child maintenance is initially calculated based on declared earnings, and so self-employed non-resident parents have more control over how they present their income. A child doesn’t cost a thousand pound a month to keep a month in a home but on the same understanding a child doesn’t cost less than £20 pounds a week. Their incompetence is staggering, despite providing them with P45, P60, letter of resignation, Companies House registration details etc, they continued to pursue me based on an historic salary that I wasn’t earning. My ex wife openly won’t allow me to have the kids for more than 100 nights a year to keep me in the bracket she wants in terms of maintenance. By the time I handed in my resignation I was no longer permitted to contact my ex wife (Her choice, enforced by solicitor). When the non-residential parent cannot support his own family, no one cares ! I was unable to forewarn her that CM payments would be affected. It’s either income or it’s not. Loophole in CSA protocol means self-employed parents can get away without paying the right sum. and if so would you be willing to prove it? I was a doting father, doing everything I could to support my children and wife whilst we were together. To find out more, call us today on 020 3281 7887 or get in touch using the enquiry form below. This process is usually much faster and cheaper than taking your case to a tribunal and is effective in the vast majority of cases. Lets do this! £1000 sounds allot to have to contribute if you have the children 50% of the time. Monday June 26 2017, 12.01am, The Times. Surely if the non resident parent who is self employed and chooses what they put as there income for Tax purposes which in turn makes their child maintenence figures low. She worked 3 jobs to keep us fed and clothed. And why does a women get 80% of the care!!! No child has asked to be born and for whatever reason both parents should be made to face up to their responsibilities. Can we get a petition to force mps to discuss in parliment? Never ever missed a payment with the Csa and now cms , just had a letter from the cms as she has put in for a variation as I’m self employed and she wants more money ! No csa does not take into account court issues. Penalties for non payment are strong, CMS are all over non payers, irrespective of reason. Therefore if the mother receives that amount, she would get no relief for her council tax, where as someone receiving minimal amount due to avoidance (which is what this post is about) would get much more benefits to help with this. That income can be spent however the mother deems and to be honest, unless there are arreas, the amount is only maximum 18% of the fathers salary. Look hard enough, and a summary of the variation rules can be found deep within the official DWP website. many mothers will take that as an income for themselves. Family mediation involves both parents sitting down with a trained mediator who will help to find a mutually acceptable resolution. These cookies enable core website functionality, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences. Required fields are marked *. My point was, whoever has the majority care of the child, should get help from the absent father to help clothe, house and feed thier joint child. When the father is allowed to see his kids then pay I work to support myself and my 2 children yet their self employed father pays nothing and avoids CMS calls and letters. I don’t so why is it factored in to a CSA calculation now? So taxpayers like you and I pay for the child. It was then that I took the decision to set up a LTD company. The number of children the paying parent has to pay maintenance for is taken into account, including any other children living with them. Carly, I would totally work with you on putting together a petition for this! Income into the household that houses, keeps warm, feeds and clothes the child which the resident parent is ultimately responsible for. the way i look at it and im a very fair man by the way so let me put it across to you this way. knowing UK family justice structures , he will find a way out of payment leaving the children in relative poverty !! Child support is designed to allow a child to enjoy a standard of living that is approximate to what he or she would have enjoyed had the parents lived together. If you were still part of that household, your salary would be counted as the family’s income. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, on her ordination last weekend. It is becoming increasingly clear that investigation of such cases has very low priority within HMRC, nor has the DWP set up any arrangements to ensure this happens. I am now forced to pay much more than I should have. Exploitable loopholes: how the self-employed non-resident status can be a route to child maintenance evasion. This is happening to me currently. Which is fine as long as the reason for the split isn’t down to abuse. The new cases are then sent to Child Maintenance Services (CMS) and they are the ones who actually deal with the maintenance. August 17, 2017. This works fine when wages can be verified via an employer and PAYE returns. I would like to see the CMS putting ‘children’ first instead of accommodating self employed parents who are using ‘loopholes’ to avoid paying for their children. A lot of guys get 0% of the care because the mother stops contact due to a new life/guy and the mother gets her 20% of the old guys wage. Click here for a full list of Google Analytics cookies used on this site. In clear-cut cases of evasion, a self-employed non-resident parent can fail to declare all their income. To find out more about cookies and change your preferences, visit our, https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-close-the-loophole-for-the-self-employed-when-making-csa-payments?utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_signer_receipt&utm_campaign=triggered&share_context=signature_receipt&recruiter=550184939, Child maintenance and the self-employed ex – Three birds, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. Your family structure isn’t the only family structure out there. He also provides everything the children want / need when they are with him as the mom refuses to send any clothes with the children when they stay or go on holiday, Your email address will not be published. I would be willing to help. Thats how it was worked out for me. I’m supporting my son through the same process. If someone has a child or not you are still required to put a roof over your head. But if the mother wanted to buy or rent a house, it is not included as income and she would have housing struggles because of this. Parents will no longer be able to use a legal loophole to avoid paying child maintenance, under new laws to be brought in within months. your interesting comment on self employed CMS payments. Hi, I am on the same boat, ex dodging maintenace whilst living a life beyond his means. Why shouldn’t his children see some financial support from thier dad if he is working? It is disgraceful that in this day and age some parents are avoiding their responsibility and living luxurious lifestyles while their children are suffering. Some cookies are essential, whilst others help us improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. Such maintenance is initially based on a non-resident parent’s declared earnings. When parents split up, the family court often has to help determine child custody issues. What I’m I supposed to pay when I don’t know what I’m going to make. The CMS finds out the parent’s gross annual income from HMRC. It seems from the replies on here from non-resident parents (NRP) (90% of the time the father) that they are happy to pay their fair share of contributing to the costs of raising their child(ren). At the end of the day he has cheated his own children out of basics they really needed. And then so would the child/Ren as they are in her care. It’s a shame because both parents should want the best for their children especially in learning the lessons of how to treat and respect people. I’ve come across your response – do you realise that child maintenance is to contribute for the cost of living where they reside the majority of the time? This situation has continued for 2yrs during which time I’ve been threatened repeatedly by CMS. All other deductions cease while the fraud penalty or sanction is being applied, so no child maintenance deductions will be taken. It paints a pretty damning picture of just how easy it is for some paying parents, particularly the self-employed and those who support themselves with assets rather than income, to avoid paying child maintenance… please share and support. So, unless challenged, a company owner paying themselves a minimum wage but having a high dividend income, will have their child maintenance liabilities calculated solely on the minimum wage. Download and Calculate your Maintenance Our Maintenance and Support Calculator. Funny that eah! My DH pays out £420 a month and the mother is working and receiving full tax credits. For more details see our Privacy Policy. If it’s income, like you say, then it should be regarded as income for tax credit purposes. Instead, the CMS simply rely on income data they get from HMRC. off me based on calculation of 1 child, me earning £33k a year in a previous tax year. If you have a support order made on or after June 1, 2006, in Kelowna Provincial (Family) Court, the Child Support Recalculation Service (CSRS) automatically recalculates the child support amounts every year.. To do this, CSRS applies the child support guidelines to the updated income information.. To see this happen in a civilised country is appalling. Firstly, you can contact the Child Maintenance Service and ask them to re-examine their decision about the level of maintenance payments. It’s childish, bitter and unfair on his, yes HIS children. Until the system puts the child’s welfare first, it will continue to get worse. Even so, this means there are around 100,000 children potentially affected in the CSA alone. Meanwhile the mother gets family allowance and possibly child tax credits etc etc… In other words the guy who gets left or does the leaving generally gets shafted by the mother who seems to be happy with her new guy but then can’t quite let go of the old guys and desperately wants to destroy him for years and years. After the government said it would close a legal loophole that allowed "a small minority" to avoid making child maintenance payments, we … So far my liability has been assessed by a salary figure provided by HMRC and everything … what should happen is no money should go anywhere. Why would you want your children to have less? Cms should paid like pay per view It cripples the other parent, I should know. This petition is very important and needs starting. The system is broke. I’m also surprised that tribunal, court of appeal and high court all found the same finding. Your maintenance is your contribution towards to Cost of raising your children. Kiki, the resident parent can’t have it both ways. Both Shameful. Surely a fairer system would be a set amount added onto a Nrp individuals tax code and and deducted at source with the RP income being likewise with inclusion to benefits capping ? Child maintenance is generally unrelated to the actual cost of maintaining a child’s home and looking after them. The government could say that – with self-employed non-resident parents making up around 7.7 per cent of the CSA caseload – they represent only a small minority of cases within a ‘broad brush’ system that works for the majority. Its very simple if you have children together and things don’t work out then those children are 50/50 so give up half your wages or half your time. This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD.Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. Mother has been unemployed for years and simply sees the child as her meal ticket. It’s disgusting that this can happen when it leaves the children with less school trips, days out, new trainers etc. And even though there are ways through which such declarations can be challenged, these are neither made obvious to single parents nor exercised often. This expertise means we can help you resolve your child maintenance issues quickly, cost-effectively and with the minimum possible conflict and stress. The Loopholes That Allow Child Marriage Are Listed In A State-By-State Rundown : Goats and Soda A new report provides a state-by-state catalog of laws regarding child marriage. Wanna help me? The whole system is a joke. We use cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. He earns 60k a year but fiddles the self employed income to make it look like he earns minimum wage … leaving a payment of £8 per child per week. Least your trying to make an effort ! Mothers can earn fortunes yet they are entitled to big monthly payments, how fair is this? I’m a single father with 2 children and have had nothing but trouble with csa northern Ireland. Google Analytics cookies help us to understand your experience of the website and do not store any personal data. Gingerbread argues that the children of self-employed parents deserve equal treatment to the children of employed parents. Most NRP want to contribute to the upbringing of their children; but the way the payments are calculated stinks and it is little wonder that people are going self employed in order to pay a fair amount. If you believe your ex-partner is not paying the correct amount of child maintenance, there are various ways to tackle this. It is income when it comes to things like council tax. For me it is simple: I make sure my children live the same lifestyle with me as they do their father, The system is completely wrong,the best thing is to write to your Local MP protesting your disgust or HMCTS requesting a tribunal as a tribunal can overrule the CMS,personally I think the child maintenance service are uncaring, unsupportive civil servants who everytime you speak to one give you a different perspective on the way on what you need to do and how it’s run,it’s frustrating even as a paying parent that the CMS are not accountable for there actions. Mothers who refuse children access to their father, Mothers who spend CMS on holidays,nails,clothes, alcohol,tobacco etc, Mothers who use payments as a “pay per view” sky tv method. 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