Can he do it

A question about : Can he do it

Good afternoon,

My partners ex has declared himself to be only earning Ј160 per week, he pays the mortgage of Ј500 per month on the ex marital home and also has a mortgage on another property.

It has come back saying that due to him paying the mortgage on the ex marital home he only has to pay Ј6 per week for both children.

He earns well over Ј2500 a month but this has not been declared as he has his own business, I do not live in the house I rent myself.

HMRC say they cannot do anything about it, nor will he hand over his finances to my partners solicitor.

Can he do this as he is paying the mortgage ? or should he still be paying 205 of his earnings for his two children.

Many thanks

Best answers:

• Who has he declared it to? The CSA or your partner?
• He says he has declared it to the CSA, but none of his finances have been declared from the past year of his business. Thanks
• The CSA will make an assessment based on the information available to them. They can go directly to the HMRC for wage information. If he he not declaring all his earnings then your partner (or anyone!) can report him for tax evasion but you will need evidence to make it credible.
  If your partner is living in the house with the children and her ex is paying the mortgage then that can be seen as in leiu of CM.
• Well he could stop paying the full mortgage and pay the full amount of csa, would your partner be better off this way?
  Of course, that wouldn't benefit him as this would mean risking your partner not paying the mortgage and him getting into trouble. In the end, he doesn't have to pay the full mortgage, only his half and even then, depending on circumstances, he could take your partner to court for an order of sale.
  I think your partner has some cheek to expect him to pay full csa maintenance and the full mortgage on the property she gets for herself, but maybe there is more to it than you've shared.
• it would be more common for him to pay full maintenance and her to be responsible for 100% of the mortgage however since he is self employed and from the info in your post it may be less than the current value of mortgage + Ј6 per week
• FBaby she is not wanting full CSA payments just enough to help with the children, the strange thing is he has declared Ј147.20 to the CSA as his gross income per week. He pays Ј500 on one mortgage and Ј400 on another so straight away his accountant is fiddling as is he, with Ј5000 allowances thrown in per year.
  The solicitor has informed her previously that he cannot remove her from the house as they have two children and this would not stand in a court of law to eject her from the house.
  Thanks
• If he has his own Ltd company, the numbers that you have given would make more sense. If so he is not self employed he is an employee of his own company, so the income of the company is not what he earns. A business of any kind has a lot of overheads so don't confuse what clients pay him with what he pays himself as a wage. There may be director dividends involved to top up his income but your ex should think carefully before fighting him over this. She may get a bit more money via CSA but she could lose more than she gains because he can't be forced to pay the mortgage and if its not paid the house will eventually be repossessed and everyone will lose out.
• There are 2 things here that you (or your partner) need to think about. Firstly as FBaby mentioned He cant be forced to pay for the mortgage and pay the CSA. CSA judgments override anything agreed by court so he could simply stop paying the mortgage and that would be the end of it. As you have mentioned his maths doesnt really add up though and that brings me on to the next point.
  You say 'self employed', perhaps you actually mean he trades through a limited company. This sounds more likely from what you have said.
  CSA have no legal right to any financial information besides his legal income (as an employee of the company) and any dividends he takes. They should be able to get this from HMRC. I am not sure about the dividend bit though as if he is under the higher rate band then he wont be liable for any personal income tax on the dividends he takes. BUT there is no way they can get information regarding detailed company accounts, shareholder details etc so if he does trade via a limited company give up now. In fact i am pretty sure you couldnt even get a court order for that sort of information and nosing around yourself could get you into a lot of trouble.
  In short i think you are probably getting a pretty good deal at the moment. Not good as in morally good but good as in what you could realistically expect to get if you rock the boat.
• So he pays over Ј500 a month for the benefit of his children (because obviously I'm sure he doesn't care much to support his ex especially since she has a new partner who should be doing so), that is 1/5th of his net income which is probably very similar to what he would have to pay in child maintenance if your claim about his income is correct. How much is your partner contributing towards her children?
  I think unfortunately it is her who has issues with expectations. As for the court not ordering the sale of the house, I would be very careful depending on your relationship. If her ex could make a claim that you have been in a committed relationship for some time a court could very well decided that it is now your responsibility to support your partner and her children.