Question:
My partner and her ex-husband divorced a few years ago with great
animosity. The matter went to court, but he eventually backed down and
arrangements were made for the children to reside with their mother in
the family home.
Despite continued tension, their father has had high access to the
children - every other weekend, one evening a week, and a good
proportion of holidays.
While a court order states he is to pay ~£120/child/month, he cut this
back to ~£40/child/month around a year ago without any consultation with
my partner or with courts. Grounds given were that he had become a
full-time student.
Answer:
Unfortunately, you're cross-posting this message, and one of the groups
you've included is *clearly* an innapropriate group for your stated
needs. The ass-p FAQ only comes out once a month, on the 1st, but it
clearly recommends volatile subjects such as CS be discussed in groups
more appropriate for that venue. Experience has shown, it causes nothing
but flame wars and hard feelings when discussed past sentence one in
this group. And, despite what many new people here may believe, we are
*not* here to fight.
Unless people from ass-p choose to communicate with you via email in
this matter, I'd say you'd be better served taking this to a group more
appropriate to the subject. Just be prepared for some *very* vitriolic
statements, wear your hard hat, and take everything with a grain of
salt.
By the by, I do believe we are ALL just about experts here on "how to
make ends meet on nothing" so if you need help in *that* area, by all
means proceed! Lololol :-)
I assume there is a legal arrangement that dictates his child support
obligations. Just document the sum he is deficient and go through the
court. I don't get the problem here.
Of course there is no assurance he will pay it, or that he won't use it as
an opportunity to re schedule his obligations through the court, though I
would love to sit in when he makes his case to the court that his kids can't
have child support right now so he can go to school. ..... I'd love to see
the judge's face when he gets that excuse.
Of course, this is your partner's problem, not really yours though I know
you wouldn't let the kids that live in your house go without while you could
provide for them. Perhaps the ex is counting on that. You might ask your
partner to think about what the temporary lack is worth, too. Look on the
long term. If he is going to need a respite for a year or so while he
finishes up school, is he interested in paying up, with interest, when he
is doing better financially? That might be a solution that is better for
them all in the long run. Make sure that if he agrees to any arrangements,
they are documented in front of witnesses, and on paper. In essence, you
would loan him the money he has not paid in child support while he is in
school, and he would pay you back out of future earnings.
it is too bad he didn't come up with this before he decided to go to
school, he is risking having you interrupt his progress and being forced to
comply by the court.
