Child Maintenance

Jypo1

Hi just hoping someone from a legal back round may be able to give there opinion on my situation.

I am separated from the mother of my child(were not married) and from the very first day of separation i payed maintenance voluntarily. She then brought a maintenance order against me after i had sought an access order with the court.

For over 2 years she has repeatedly ignored the access order and i have gone weeks without seeing our child. i brought summons against her and each time a new order was agreed to suit her. i bent over backwards to see the child less access etc. now she continues to ignore the order and access is in infrequent. Our child is scheduled to see a child psychologist as this has all affected her and she has become withdrawn.

In an attempt to get access i have reduced maintenance payments and give my ex partner money for the days i get access. Now i know this will eventually go to court but the court does nothing to protect our childs rights to see her father.

Will a judge come down hard on me for breaking a maintenance order in these circumstances ?

Thanks for having a look . . . .

James Jones

Jypo1 wrote: »

Will a judge come down hard on me for breaking a maintenance order in these circumstances ?

YES

barman linen

jypo1

They will not like this....in advance of the hearing you should restore payments so that you can say in court that you are now complying with the court order. The arrears are another issue. If you stand in front of the judge and blatantly disregard HIS order ( not hers ) then you will not be well treated.

It is not fair - absolutely not fair - bit it is what it is.

Go back to the order and keep fighting for your access ( terrible phrase )

Make an offer to pay off the arrears and you will be in a better position with the judge.

Best of luck

Jypo1

yes i think thats good advice thanks, i will make an offer to pay off the arrears. i am in compliance now aswell with the order.

Munstermad

Hiya, as a someone who has attended court, taken the stand infont of the Judge re:arrears.. if I were you I'd defo comply with order as in my experience if you don't Judge tends to be much harsher, as that is what happened to my ex..

Best of luck..

Just wondering if anyone knows the situation where someone is paying maintenance for 19 year old attending plc which is due to finish end of May 2012, but he has applied for a 2nd year of course. And other courses, 1 of which he is bound to get.
Ex has applied to vary maint order as he wants to stop payment for 19 year old from end of May?? I know hes bound to provide for children till their 23 while in full-time education, but does that include summer holidays and breaks between courses, transfers etc.. ta..

Jypo1

Im no legal expert but id imagine once your son is a registered student you should be covered between courses and summer. Id say he would litereraly have to end his association with the college in writing or take up full time permenant work to lose student status . . . . . .

By the way was your arrears summons heard in open court or backroom ?

Munstermad

Jypo1
Thanks, hopefully that is the case for us.
Where I'm living in family law cases are heard the court is cleared and those involved are called in on a case by case basis, only the parties and their solrs are allowed in court with the judge and clerk.
We had to swear in and take the stand and answer questions, pretty nerve racking if I'm honest.
Am in again myself this week, a variation order this time, not looking forward to it but has to be done.

Jypo1

Sure is , iv had all mine in the chambers so far.

The hole legal system for family law is a disgrace. Where i am they work from a list, state agencies HSE, social workers get seen first. Ordinary people must wait and are not told when they will be seen. Can be there all day and then adjourned. Judge sometimes go for lunch and so do the solicitors and dont tell anyone which would be handy so we could get sorted for food too. The way people are treated is horrible, the social class system is alive and well.

Anyway im ranting, good luck in court . . .

Munstermad

Thanks......Is the same where I am, family law is an arse... The court is old damp freezing with no waiting area and a loo you can only access thorugh the back of the court room... Mental!!!
And don't get me started on the complete waste of time and resources.. FFS!!
Sorry I'm ranting now...:)

Best of luck to you too!
S

Procrastastudy

Munstermad wrote: »

Thanks......Is the same where I am, family law is an arse... The court is old damp freezing with no waiting area and a loo you can only access thorugh the back of the court room... Mental!!!
And don't get me started on the complete waste of time and resources.. FFS!!
Sorry I'm ranting now...:)

Best of luck to you too!
S

Yes... well a more draconian appraoch could be taken or we could just make sure people were ready before they had kids!

Munstermad

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Yes... well a more draconian appraoch could be taken or we could just make sure people were ready before they had kids!

Think the system is draconian enough already don't you?, Imagine if society decided when people were ready to have children then the world would be a hollow empty place.. :eek:

Procrastastudy

China - 1 Child policy - 20% world population.

US - Draconian policies regarding child maitanance - only industrialised country to have a +ve birth rate.

Plus I wouldn;t be paying my tax so people can have kids.

Munstermad

Chinas 1 child policy is not the cause of their population problem nor the solution. The policy has been on the whole unsuccessful not to mention the cause of an awful lot of pain and misery..
So much for society imposing regulation on procreation...


And I agree, in what I think you saying re the U.S. , in that maybe we should take something from the US's approach to their "dead beat dad" policies..

This however is no consilation to the thousands of lone parents (mums mostly) for whatever reason are living in a constant state of anxiety and insecurity and often poverty.


"Plus I wouldn;t be paying my tax so people can have kids."

Does that mean that you are not paying taxes at the moment??


TBH the tax system is there to support its society and society supports the system through taxes.........i.e. hospitals, schools, infrastructure, cradle to graveyadda yadda yadda!!!.
So ergo paying taxes pays for children. No getting away from that.