CSA Experts - come and talk to me about bonuses & inheritance

[PostBellumBugsy]

Sadly not mine but ex-H's.

Brief summary: divorced 8 years ago. He is well off but very tight, would not settle via mediation, so had to take him to court. We have a court agreement on maintenance, which is of course 8 years out of date.

His salary has risen significantly & he receives an annual bonus (I have proof - best not to ask how, as it isn't an honourable tale). He has also received a sizeable inheritance in the last 12 months. DS & DD have not benefited in any way from this improvement to his financial situation. He hardly sees them - his choice. However, I don't want to look back & think that they missed out financially because I was scared of him.

I'm thinking of going to the CSA, but I'm a bit nervous about it. I hinted at this to ex-H and he had a complete fit and said he'd fight me every step of the way. [sigh]

So, please can you tell me how the CSA do what they do.
Do they just phone up and ask what ex-H earns?
Do they seek proof?
Do they take bonuses & inheritance into consideration?

If ex-H does "fight me all the way" - is it me he is fighting or the CSA?

Thank you

[betterthanever]

OP - they do ask for proof of earnings and bonus payments do count but hard to proof - you can send in what you have unless it will get you arrested or it is a breach of data protection etc. Inheritance - no - this is not taken into account as far as I am aware - it is his money he can do as he wishes with it.
He will probably fight you all the way - but he will only in theory have to speak to the CSA about things - but if you are in contact with each other then I am sure he will bring it up - you don't have to talk about it to him.
You have to ask yourself if it is worth the distress to you and possibly DC? I know some people don't have a problem with arguing and I am not saying it is right that he is not contributing as much as you think he should - but I would think about it in the fully rounded context of your life and ultimately what will make you and DC most happy. Is it worth the fight? The CSA will take a while to look into it.

[PostBellumBugsy]

That's where I come unstuck BTE, because I just feel exhausted thinking about how stressful it will be. However, I think he is underpaying by minimum £2.5k per annum, which would really help with the DCs increasingly expensive lives!

[kittycat68]

if he has assetts over £65,000 inheritance is taken into account OP.
You can send in any information you wish. As long as you have not broken any laws on how you got information! Facebook is a wonderfull tool for the RP.
No its not you he will be fighting but the CSA judgement, but he wont see it like that!!!
I further point is that it can take many years and time and effort especially if he fights every decision the csa make so be advised!

[purpleroses]

Probably best to read the small print of your court order first - my DP has one that says that if his ex goes to the CSA she must pay whatever she gets back to him. It was intended to stop her getting paid twice over. So if yours is similar you'd need to go to court to get the court order overturned, not just apply to the CSA.
Court orders might take inheritance into account though I'm certain the CSA does not. It should include a bonus though - that's just part of his annual salary even if it changes year to year.

[perfectstorm]

The CSA takes money and assets over £65k into account, excluding the main home the NRP occupies, and any assets related to their business. www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@benefits/documents/digitalasset/dg_198849.pdf

So depending on how much money he inherited and what sort of savings he has, yes, it could affect payments.