Child Support and Liability Orders
Child Support and Liability Orders
Few people would believe that it is possible under our system of justice in the UK for someone to say that you owe a sum of money, and then without any right of challenge for a court order to be made ordering that it be paid. No trial is allowed, you cannot be heard, and if you don't pay you are likely to be sent to prison or lose your home .Unbelievable but true. This happens not in some third world republic or under a tyrannical dictatorship but in the UK. It is the law and what happens with Child Maintenance and when with Council Tax arrears are claimed.If the CSA, Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission or whatever they may be called in the future decides that you owe money they will apply to a Magistrates Court for a Liability Order. It then matters little whether they have got their figures wrong, whether the basis of the calculation is incorrect or however unmerited their claim. If an application for a liability order is made it will almost always be granted. Incredibly the magistrates are not permitted to question whether the money is owed.If the CSA say there are arrears of maintenance a liability order in that amount will be made. Any explanations by who is usually the father will not be heard and even if made ignored. The reason is Section 33(4) of the Child Support Act 1991 which prevents the magistrates from questioning the assertion by the CSA.If they say there are arrears this will be accepted at face value.The Magistrates are bound by cases such as Farley and Bird v Secretary of State for DWP which have appeared before the High Court. These cases appear to say that the magistrates role is only to ensure that the maintenance has become payable and has not be paid. The cases have given rise to a presumption that the magistrates should proceed on the basis that the maintenance assessment was lawful and properly made. They see their role as simply checking that the assessment relates to the person brought before them.The injustice can be clear to see. The thrust of Family Law is to encourage parents to agree between themselves matters concerning their children. This includes the payment of maintenance. So what happens when maintenance is agreed, paid voluntarily by the father and there is then (as so often happens) a falling out.Take a father who has agreed maintenance with the mother at 400 pounds a month-more than the assessed amount. He pays the mother directly for five years and then they fall out. She contacts the CSA and on their books there are arrears of 25,000 pounds. They are obliged by their rules to accept what they are told by mother, that there have been no voluntary payments and will apply for a liability order. When the father appears before the magistrates they will not listen or even look at the evidence of the payments made. They make a liability order and that could be the first step to him losing his house under a charging order or being sent to prison even though he has always maintained his child.This is very much what happened to Mr Bird in the above case. He had agreed with his former wife that he would voluntarily pay part of her mortgage in lieu of child support. Although this was always paid the CSA applied for a liability order in respect of the amount not paid to them. On the Hearing of the application the magistrates decided that they had no choice other than to make the order. Subsequently the High Court held that whilst whether payment has been made is a question of fact they are obliged to make an order if they are satisfied that the payments have become payable by the liable person and have not be paid.They may not question the assessment. And that is the problem. It is a bad situation but it gets even worse. When further application is made to the court for enforcement of the liability order the failings in the system really come to the fore. That will be dealt with in the second part of this article. Skin Tightening After Childbirth As you can hire your children to help you save on taxes? Dermatology Toronto - Protect Your Child's Skin Virginia Mediation Lawyer For Divorce & Child Custody Cases In Virginia Virginia Collaborative Law Process In Divorce & Child Custody - Keeping Costs Low Northern Virginia Collaborative Law Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers What To Do If Your "Ex" Fails To Get Your Children Back On Time Kids Play Toys Overcoming Possibilities Of Childhood Obesity Breakthrough Study Links Childhood Diabetes to a Common Virus The Curious Craze of Calling Cards for Children A Pokey "Ex" Could End Up in The "Pokey" If They Refuse To Bring Your Kids Back On Time The V Reader Animated Book – Will It Help Your Kids' Reading Ability?