Grrr Child Support - a boohoo

[C~Q]

Ok let me start by saying I know I am very lucky with the amount of child support I am entitled to and I know a lot of people get a stupidly low amount of money and thats a grr in itself.

I just got off the phone to the CSA and they confirmed for me that the child support DH has to pay me does get capped and he is paying the max amount now so that next year even though he'll be earning **** loads more he doesn't have to pay us an extra cent! At the moment what he has to pay us is less than 10% of what he is earning and next year it will be even lower.

WTF??? So he could earn a million bucks (he won't!) and still only have to pay $27K. How does that seem fair??? Why would they do that I just don't understand why they would cap it?

He is earning a lot of money because I stayed home to supprt him as he worked his way up to his current position. I listened to his crap about all his staff and gave him advice and did everything at home by myself so that he could concentrate on his career. And I get less than 10% in return.

Please don't think I am a selfish cow for wanting more but I feel like I have given up so much to support him, including leaving all my family and friends in the UK to move here and now he gets to sit back in his high rise apartment in the City with brand new everything while I have to struggle with 3 kids. I feel like he's taking the ****. I can barely afford to stay in this house and he has gone and rented a 2 bedroom apartment for exactly the same money as this 4 bedroom house I feel like he's saying "you can't afford a family home but I can afford to pay the same thing for something better but smaller!!!" I mean WTF

Feel a bit better now, thanks for litening

[~clover~]

That does seem a bit unfair.

[briggsy's girl]

i'm not sure exactly what your situation is, but you do have the option of applying (via legal aide i think) for spousal support based on his income because of what it was at when you were together. i'd be calling the family relationships advice line and getting a bit of help with it. might mean you get no more for the kids, but may be entitled to something for you kwim?

[C~Q]

BG a few people have mentioned spousal support to me but no one seems to know much about it. I asked the lady at the CSA and she put me on to the Family relationships advice people and they didn't know much about it either!

I think I have to see a Lawyer but they're so expensive

[briggsy's girl]

contact legal aid - given you're on PPS, you're on a low income, you should be able to get cheap assistance or atleast enough advice to work out whether it's worth pursuing

[Arimeh]

CQ - yup you'd definitely qualify for spousal maintenance.

Go get legal aid...

And don't worry - when you go for property orders in the court - you'll probably get a lot of his super too

good luck!

[C~Q]

Thanks, i'll get on to legal aid. We don't own our house so I don't think we need to go to court for anything - maybe the spousal maintenance?

Would the SM affect what I get from CL? I'm on the basic FTB already and PP with no rent assis.

Thanks guys I keep forgetting to ask all these things when I actually talk to someone at CL!