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Got money? Avoid child support by doing away with your income!

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Stowe Talks How To: Part 2

February 12, 2024

It may seem paradoxical, but you can save money by doing away with your income. How is this possible? Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of child support maintenance.

I’ve written here previously about the recent report from the single parent charity Gingerbread that looked into the issue of child maintenance avoidance. The report examined the experiences of five receiving parents whose former partners were allowed to pay minimal maintenance or avoided it altogether, as a result of the child support system failing to take their true financial circumstances into account. As I mentioned in that post, one of the five parents was the mother in the case Green v Adams, in which Mr Justice Mostyn commented upon the ‘extraordinary state of affairs’, whereby it was possible for the father to be required to pay child maintenance of only £7 a week, despite the fact that he was a multi-millionaire.

The reason for the father paying so little was that he was essentially living off his capital, with very little income. The maintenance amount was calculated by reference to his income, hence he paid so little.

As Mr Justice Mostyn explained, prior to recent amendments to the child support legislation it had been possible for the recipient of child support to seek an upwards variation of the maintenance, on the basis that the non-resident parent (NRP) had assets. The way this would work was that the assets would be treated as generating a notional income, which would be included in the maintenance calculation. The government chose to do away with this ‘assets ground’ of variation, when it brought in the current, 2012, child support scheme.

The Green v Adams case returned before Mr Justice Mostyn the other day, and he had a few more things to say about the removal of the assets ground of variation. He pointed out that the Gingerbread report records how when the mother in the case took the matter up with the relevant Minister, she was told that compared to under the Child Support Agency, the scope of income which could now be captured by a possible variation had been widened to include almost all sources of gross income identified in the self-assessment process, and that this would “make it harder for wealthier individuals, with income from other sources, to avoid their responsibilities by minimising the amount of child maintenance they pay.” This, as Mr Justice Mostyn pointed out, was a non-sequitur, because the assets ground of variation was focussed on people who arrange their affairs so that they do not have any income but who rather live on their capital.

The report goes on to say that when pressed the Minister gave a second reply which was that “[the child maintenance scheme] does not attempt to provide a unique, bespoke solution in respect of the care of each child whose parents live apart, as it would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to do so.”

This, as Mr Justice Mostyn said, is dispiriting. He went on:

“The scheme should surely strive to provide a just solution in all cases; for the few as well as the many. Justice surely should not be sacrificed on the altar of managerial efficiency. Ease of administration surely does not furnish an objectively reasonable justification for a process that allows a multi-millionaire father to get away with paying child support for his son of a mere £7 per week.

The assets ground of variation reposed on the statute-book, to my knowledge, quite unremarkably for over 10 years, and was in fact successfully deployed in this case …. To empower a factfinder to determine if arrangements have been made to place assets in non-income-producing structures would not, on any view, be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming; but even if it were relatively expensive and time-consuming, why as a matter of justice should the exercise not be carried out? If the ground is not reinstated then I foresee more cases seeking singular awards of capital, such as the one which I have determined, coming before the family court. And the family court taking an ever more expansive view of what does constitute singular expenditure.”

Quite.

As it stands, we have a situation whereby a wealthy NRP can substantially reduce their child support liability, or avoid it altogether, simply by arranging their finances so that they have little or no income.

Now, I’m not of course genuinely suggesting anyone do away with their income merely to avoid paying child support, no matter how aggrieved they are at the prospect of paying money to the other parent. Apart from anything else, if they have significant capital then the amount of income they will be able to generate from it will surely exceed the amount of any child support liability by a considerable margin. Doing away with that income will only therefore amount to cutting off your own nose to spite your face, as my mother used to say.

Still, the fact remains that the situation whereby a multi-millionaire can get away with paying little or no child support is quite absurd, and an insult to the child. As Mr Justice Mostyn suggests, it surely wouldn’t cost that much to bring back the assets ground of variation, and even if it did, we owe it to that child to do so.

Mr Justice Mostyn’s latest judgment in Green v Adams can be found here.

The blog team at Stowe is a group of writers based across our family law offices who share their advice on the wellbeing and emotional aspects of divorce or separation from personal experience. As well as pieces from our family law solicitors, guest contributors also regularly contribute to share their knowledge.

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Comments(36)

  1. Paul says:

    To be fair the guy is just playing within the rules which are in place.
    Just like multimillion businesses like google. Living within the rules but wide open to critacism.
    Then you have women making false accusations of DV. Making no attempt to reach a reasonable child support and calling csa. Just living within the rules.
    No critasism aimed their way.
    Another sickening double standard.
    50/50 parenting. Do away with CSA. Equal contact equal expendature. No middle men. What could be easier.

    • Natalie says:

      There are some families where 50/50 parenting simply can’t work. Take mine: my son and I live in Manchester and his dad lives in London. 200 miles between us.

    • Chris says:

      I know all about the false DV claims, justvto getvthe house etc and then claim you have no contact with your kids. Also gave false details I.e address and phone number to csa so they couldn’t get hold of you, now paying through a deduction of earnings plus 20% on top. The resident parent has all the power in their hands and cms wont listen or believe the non resident parent unless the resident parent confirms it. It’s a massive joke really

  2. Paul says:

    You could argue here that the true great modern crime is accountancy or creative accounting. What else is the perpose of accounting if it is not to minimise expendature ?
    Make sure those with wealth do not pay their fair share.
    If you want to get biblical we could call these the ‘pharasees’.
    To what extent is child support designed to stop children been in poverty ? To what extent is it designed to keep the kids at same level of wealth as the NRP ? An too what extent is this a social punishment designed to flog fathers who are nolonger their ?
    A flat rate £20 – £30 per week would acheive elivating the child out of poverty and let the man get on with his life. If the woman wants more then she should be sure to be amicable and negociate it.
    Persueing a 15-20% deduction would seriously harm most fathers or anyone to be honest. It will seriously damage anyones prospects.

    • J says:

      It is a complete joke – I pay my ex £700 PCM and she won’t give me more than 1 night per week/ every 6th full wknd. I have been informed that a judge would possibly reduce my access if I requested more access in the courts. #gooddadshavenorights

      • Jason says:

        J..
        Get yourself an application form and go through the family courts. Just fee for filing form . You won’t need a solicitor…
        I am not a legal expert – but Unless there are mitigating circumstances and strong reasons against – and you have parental responsibility ,this is not ‘fair’ access ; and I would be amazed if you didn’t easily get more time. I was seeing my son Thursday – Monday every other week after taking my ex to the family courts when she stopped me seeing him for no reason at all. It took about 15 weeks to get hearing , but the family courts are not like a high court – so don’t worry about lack of law or the like…
        I now have full custody of our son who is now 13.. again sorted in family courts..
        If you want any advice or help I can let you know how I went about it. Like I said – I am not a solicitor or any expert in law but I can pass on benefit of my experience..

  3. Andrew says:

    The judge is wrong to suggest that a formulaic system – such as we are cursed with – should cover every possible combination of circumstances. It would be too difficult to write and the law of diminishing returns would set in.

  4. BillyO says:

    If the system is so unfair that it leaves a NRP without enough to live on who can blame them for legally playing the system. Life in the UK has always been about that.
    Whether it be in business and legally limiting ones tax liabilities or playing the system to reduce support payments it’s all the same.

  5. Adam curtis says:

    The fundamental floor is the way CSA calculates rates based on over night stays. So unfair. You could have you child 7 days a week feed them house them entertain them but If they do not physically sleep in your home you do not receive any relief on that.

  6. Janey Scott says:

    Sadly also the mother of my grand children decided she no longer wanted to be married to the father of her children, she met a man on social media, from Jamaica and told my son she no longer wanted him in her home. She dictated when he could see his children and he gave her maintenance for his children, he and I bought them clothes and other items, he had them overnight at weekends. He paid her and I gave her money to help her out, she (his ex) then went to government website and complained that he had not paid her a penny for two years. They did not believe him that an arrangement was in place. An attachment of earnings was placed on his salary. He had an accident at work and was not able to work. His ex wife divorced my son and married her new boyfriend and brought him to the UK from Jamaica after one visit to his home there. She kept the house and all the furniture and threw out my sons possessions. His ex wife also told the children they had a new father and promptly had another baby with her new husband. She then told my son that his children did not want to see him. He has no money and now no job. If he finds a job with his damaged wrist he will have an attachment of earnings and subsequent debt to pay. He can not afford to get legal help. I am sure he is not alone and he can not afford to live, he would be on the streets if I was not able to support him. I understand that there are many young and middle aged men who are caught in this situation and every case needs to be assessed differently.

  7. Michelle lawton says:

    The Maitenance system is a joke!
    My ex pays £32 per month for my 2 daughters. Used to pay £160. But when he abused them verbally and they stopped speaking to him he stopped paying. I contacted child maitenance. As he is on benefits £600 per month he only gets to pay £32. Although he didn’t declare he also gets a nhs payout every December of £60,000+ EVERY year due to an accident. Has a paid for house and enjoys expensive holidays every 3 months to the likes of. Dubai. Australia Florida. Just found out he is taking his new girlfriend to Cuba next month too. Infuriating as the pittance he pays doesn’t even pay for my girls to get to school and back on the bus for 2 days a week. £16 per week each for a 16 year old whilst he lives the life of Riley! He also has 2 other children whose mother he pays £180 per month too. But as he played the system with me and I done it legally we lost out

    • Mr T says:

      Give him contact and get on with your life instead of expecting to be ENTITLED to his money for what reason? If you cannot afford to support your children – give them to him let him financially provide for them.

      Instead of financially abusing your ex-partner because you can and you feel entitled to his money. Go get your own job and money? In the days of equality that seems fair and equal. Or am I being too selective in my opinion of the female entitlement?

      Unreal.

      • James says:

        Unreal? ever tried supporting a kid on one salary!! You are disgusting

      • A.N.G.R.Y says:

        This is an absolutely disgusting comment. A CHILD that two people have created are entitled to financial support from both of their legal guardians. The lady above is being financially abused by the father of her children as he is not paying for them. Contact or no contact, two people made the choice to have a child, two people share the financial responsibilities of said child. If it was the other way around, and a man who was looking after his children because the mother couldn’t/ didn’t want to, said man had to cut his working hours to facilitate school runs, nursery bills, clubs, supporting their children mentally, being dad and mum at the same time, being a chef morning noon and night, shopping for groceries, 100% of household duties with no help, would he expect the woman in the circumstance to provide what little financials she could to help out with at least something? Absolutely. There are mums out there working whatever hours they can, to get every penny they can for their children, then they don’t just clock out when their shift ends, being a parent is a 24/7 job. Then whilst you are doing everything you can for this child, who is not only your child, but someone else’s too, and that person pays you bare minimum but can afford to jet off here there and everywhere whilst your making ends meet for you and your child? Id be pissed too. Michelle, dont listen to Mr T, Keep going, keep your chin up and know you are doing right by your child.
        Mr T, I found out my ex partner was using heroin (I had no idea, although noticed weird behaviour) when my premature twins were 6 weeks old, he was earning £50k+ at the time, but when I kicked him out I had to go on benefits because I was then a single parent with a house, two children and on maternity leave. Should I have just ‘given him contact and got on with it’ because he had money?! No. I care about the safety of my children. Educate yourself before you put a mother down.

  8. wayne says:

    The system is just so unfair for both parties. The CMS and CSA before are constantly failing families and lives. I read recently that over 100 people (mainly fathers) have taken their own lives due to the way these government departments have caused so much misery and suffering. The whole separated parent issues are fuel by anger, hate and a need to cause pain and misery on the other parent, which is not what the system should be used as. The only way to be truly fair is for both parents to be means tested for affordability.

    • Matt says:

      I can believe they have taken there own lives, my ex wife decided to move from Kent to Northern Ireland which makes contact with my 2 children incredibly difficult and she doesn’t make it any easier either but expects me to pay a huge chunk of my wages to her whilst she lives with her new husband on benefits in there new house

      She left me with lots of debts which im now having to go through an IVA but the CMS dont give a dam about what i need to live on or what i need to pay as long as i pay her what they have decided and if i dont they will just take it directly from my wages and then charge me for the privilege

      Our eldest daughter lived with me up until she was 19 and all my ex wife had to pay me was £5 per week whilst i was paying her £150 per week how is this fair

      Im now living with a new partner who has two children and treat them like my own and all they give me is a reduction of £15 per week how is this fair

  9. Dave Fraser says:

    The only people that think the current arrangements are fair are some and I use the word some deliberately entitled women who decide that after all they want to be independent and free of a relationship and crusty narcissist judges.

    • C says:

      Completely agree. I was entrapped by a woman who lied about contraception and has BPD, and was consistently asking me about my income (I am a high earner) during our time dating (2 months). We broke up due to her erratic behavior, and then a month later she told me she was pregnant…her friend even contacted me to tell me she was never taking contraception in the first place! She has manipulated me almost daily since “discovering” she was pregnant for the last 7 months, and now that the child is born she has continued to threaten CMS, and now if about to put in a claim. She is a troubled vindictive individual and constantly plays games with me and I feel helpless. There is no way I can have any sort of relationship with her – she has stalked me, my family and friends before.

      Can someone please help?? What can I do?

      • Kate Nestor says:

        Thanks for your query. I have passed it onto our Client Care Team who will put you in touch with one of our lawyers. Kind regards,

        • Stephen A says:

          I have a similar but more extreme case to this. My ex-girlfriend self-impregnated (we were not having sex) and is now pursuing me via the CMS.

  10. Anonymous (I trust nobody anymore) says:

    My girlfriend got pregnant when I was 15 (she 16) I really believe she was also having sex with someone else at the time. She said she was on the pill!
    We both wanted an abortion but she was scared of her family so went ahead with the pregnancy despite both of our wishes. I was honest from the start that I didn’t want to be a father and I wouldn’t be involved with her or the child and so she would be choosing to do it as a single parent. She said she wouldn’t chase me for money.
    She has chased me for contact and is now chasing me for money.
    It is so unfair that she gets to make all of the decisions and they are all forced on me. Where are my choices??
    I’m going to uni in sept and had hoped to work ad hoc to support my studies but a significant amount will be taken from me. Is there anything I can do? As my work will be adhoc how will CMS calculate what I have to pay?
    It’s all so unfair .. she chose not to take the pill properly (I didn’t know) .. she chose to bring the child into the world thereby becoming a mother (knowing we both didn’t want that) .. she gets to force fatherhood on me (knowing I didn’t want that) .. and now she gets to seriously impact my financial future for years to come – how is that fair?
    Emotionally and financially she gets all the choices!
    I now wonder what is the point in me trying to get a career when she will be taking so much of the money that I won’t be able to afford to do the things a good career should afford me to?
    Any advice would be great thanks.

    • Kate Nestor says:

      Hi, I have passed your details to our Client Care team who will put you in touch with a lawyer who can help you. Regards,

  11. Larry says:

    Hi. Recently got a letter for divorce from wife’s solicitors. She is claiming that I abused her which she did so as well last year as well and got a non molestation order without any evidence. I don’t know if to contest the divorce or not. We dont live together. We have a little kid together who I have not seen since we separated which is her doing. I am finding it hard to pay the bills as it is with my wages being low, just over 20k. The legal fees for the divorce will clean me out so she wont be able to get anything and how will I be able to pay child maintenance when my wages are so low? She has made a claim for me to pay her legal and court fees as well. What should I do?. She has no money.

    • Kate Nestor says:

      I have passed your details to our Client Care Team who will be able to put you in touch with a lawyer who can help. Regards,

      • Dave says:

        Well said my x moved with my daughter I didnt no where she was for 9 years she had her name changed and now after 23 years I have been given a 16000 suport order taking 140 a week from my bank even tho I am overdrawn and being charged by my bank.
        I explained I am part time because I look after my dad that is sick but they couldnt care less
        Wy should I pay for deliberate parent alienation.
        Now my daughter as 27 and has her own child.
        Christmas is just round the corner and not able to help them out because cms has helped themselves to my bank acount leaving me with nothing but bank charges b

      • Paul says:

        Can you have someone contact me? I am paying 300 a month 100 of which is in arrears which I am disputing but getting no where as I was unemployed most of the year but as the employer didnt give me my p45 I couldnt prove it on time. I was also assualted by my ex partner which caused the break up and have picture proof of it, i need advice on how to pursue this in court.

        To the people that think no contact and paying is acceptable you have no idea what a child needs in their upbringing.

        • Sally Shakespeare says:

          Hi Paul. Thank you for your query which I have passed on to our Client Care Team. Kind regards

  12. Anon says:

    If a NRP had been paying lots of Child Benefit to RP, despite having 50-50% equal custody (e.g. neither parent is principal parent), despite calculations being wrongly applied by the CMS, and this went on for years despite appeals to correctly apply them, then it went to tribunal, then higher tribunal, then a High Court Judge finally says that CMS calculations were wrong and not lawful, and the CMS said carry on paying for more months until we tell you to stop, then that person might want to play by these rules merely as damage limitation, as overpayments to RP are rarely recovered.

  13. Craig Thompson says:

    The whole CMS system is not fit for purpose. It promotes conflict between parents and encourages the Resident parent to deny innocent children time spent with their loving, caring non resident parent.

    The contact of children to both their parents is a basic human right, as defined by the United Nations. The exchange of monies between parents is not, and should not take precident over contact, which sadly the current system promotes.

    Harsh penalties are doled out by the CMS for non payments ( sometimes unavoidable, or unintentional, but the same process is not used against parents whom frequently, and willingly break child contact order.

    Stop this injustice now, redefine the controls and methodology of the CMS, and empower the courts again.

    Default 50/50 shared parenting is the way to go.

    • Keith Clayton says:

      As much as I am aware that there as many awful women as men, women win hands down, and as a man you have no rights. My partner was having an affair and left in 2015 with my 3 children, I voluntarily paid £700.00 a month until 2017 when I was made redundant, since Dec 2017 when she got the couldn’t care lass maintenance society involved she has destroyed my life in every way. I have not seen two of my children for over five years, she has ruined my career, I am selling the house that I have paid the mortgage to for 5.5 years and of course she is entitled to half, whilst I become homeless. When my eldest turned 20 she booted him out as she couldn’t claim for him anymore. And she gets to continue to persecute me through the couldn’t care lass maintenance society until the children that are poisoned against me are 20. She accused me of forcing myself on her which was an unfounded lie, and the police have sent women police officers to her house on numerous occasions because of her abhorrent behaviour. She came to the house with our then 15 year old son and kicked my car and screamed foul mouth absurdities, a neighbour called the Social services and she said she was angry so that was okay. If a man had carried on in the way she has they would have been arrested. And that’s the tip of the ice berg. If I have learnt anything as a man you no have no rights, the damage that gets inflicted on the children doesn’t even get looked at. The only winners are the solicitors and of course the women. She is even trying to go after my army pension and I hadn’t even met her when I left, how women of this ilk can do they damage that they do is beyond me, and they get the full backing of the couldn’t care less maintenance society and the law. This type of behaviour should be looked in schools to make people/boys aware just what women like this can do to destroy their lives. And I don’t hate her, in many ways she is ill, hate is low vibrational and anyone who carries that around justified or unjustified will only damage themselves. Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

  14. Tony F says:

    I obtained a Contact order in Court, every other weekend (Fri, Sat & Sun) and 2 days in the week, effectively 7 days out of 14, I obtained the Contact order in October 2020. Prior to this I paid a fee for Mediation in Feb 2020, however the resident parent ignored the mediation request, therefore i was authorised to make an application to family court after mediation failed. Once i submitted the contact order to CMS in October 26th 2020, they have ignored the order, despite me persistently contacting them asking for another payment plan in regards to the order, therefore after 2 months of submitting complaints and demanding a new payment plan i decided to make reduced payments based on the order and the CMS calculator. In January 2021 the contact order was reviewed and the Judge would not make another order, due to my Son being 16 years old and he stays when he wants, usually 2 – 3 nights per week. However the NRP continued to harass the CMS with misinformation stating he only stay 1 night per week. At present the CMS have demanded I pay the full amount I was paying before the order was in place in October 2020. Not taking into consideration the Contact Order in place from October to January. I have submitted complaints every few weeks, however I’ve received no feedback from these complaints. Every time I call the CMS am promised it will be looked into, and the contact order should of been considered. I have also complained to the Independent case examiner who informed me they wont act on my complaint until I’ve gone through the CMS complaints process! Although my complaints to CMS are being ignored! What exactly am I supposed to do in this situation… Its an absolute incompetent department of DWP

  15. Rebecca says:

    This is ridiculous! Universal credits take into consideration savings and reduce payments- if you have large savings then you are forced to spend it. Why should child maintenance be different or harder to achieve? Also if you are paying 7 pounds then you should be forced to show evidence that you have sought work to improve you situations- again as I have to do being on universal credit/

  16. Tony says:

    I have been paying my ex wife for over 10 years for my son. After leaving school this year he decided to move in with me and my partner. I’ve paid her thousands over the years. I agreed £200 a month from her but after a fairly large bust up I contacted the CMS they did a calculation and that came back at £750 a month and then she wasn’t seeing him claiming she was having him twice a week it went up to £1016 her salary was around £130k a year. After two payments one for £200 and one for £1016 I was notified that she is no longer in employment and not working because of ill health. She lives in a £750k house drives a RR velar and her partner is retired in his mid 50s. Is there anything that can be done to adjust a calculation on savings because that’s what she must be living on ?

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