WA Child Support Assessment Changed?

[SamanthaJay]

They did this to my partner. He is sole director of his own business. His ex was a director before they divorced. Instead of paying personal/domestic expenses from her own wage, she paid for her share through the business (no excuse but he had no idea of how the finances were run when they were together...he was happy the bills were paid).

So when it came to child support, she told them that he paid all personal expenses from the business and they bumped his income up by a huge amount compared to his taxable income. When he questioned it, they required him to provided 6 months worth of statements for every bank account/credit card statements in his and the company's name as well as documentation for every vehicle. It was almost like a tax audit.

He was accountable to them for every transaction. It took months of work for him during his personal time and office staff during work hours. In the end, he told CS he was giving up as the deadline was approaching (they first gave him 2 weeks but extended it) and CS were still asking for more info. They ended up reducing the amount by approx 5%.

One of the 2 kids have since come to live with him. CS reduced by 50% which is odd because she earns less than half of what he does (legit) and even less than what CS took their figures from. He is not questioning it though! The kid with him is nearly 18 but has been working for the past 18 months. When this kid was still with her, and the assessment took place, CS weren't interested that he was working and ignored his income. But when she pointed it out after the kid came to live with dad, CS wanted payslips from the kid!

So sounds like those running their own business get special treatment from CS. On the other hand, my ex is a sole trader and CS would not touch him because I had a FVIO against him. They told me I had to approach Centrelink and may be entitled to increased family payment.

 

[Hoang Trang]

ok - yo're not gonna like this.... You were working full time, when you had primary care of kids. BUT when your care got reduced you also reduced your work.... Surely, if you are no longer primary carer you would have more time to work? Not less.... So they have you on capacity to work.

So her son is the sole beneficiary of her business? But he is a school aged child? You don't work full time because you look after step-son? but he is a school aged child? So you're not exactly looking after him 24/7??? and why is a child the sole benefactor of a business

Ok the whole business / trusts stuff is a mystery to me. I'm a simple payg wage slave with zero ability to hide / scam etc etc....

But, frankly, I smell a rat... Maybe the increased your payments because there is evidence that you're trying to reduce your payments...

Yup - they area law onto themselves. But I wonder if it might be the case that when they find someone scamming they elevate payments well beyond what is fair just because they can and as a warning to you not to try and pull the wool over their eyes again...

I can understand the whole capability to work full time. I use to work early morning until lunch and my partner would be a home with my children and do the school drop offs. I'd come and she'd go to work and I'd have the kids for the rest of the day. But with her second business the work load is very demanding now so I care for the kids and still work in between school hours a few days a week.

Think what I meant to say regarding her business is that's it's a family trust between herself and her son. The whole trust thing is a mystery to me aswell.

Can their evidence be purely on speculation and " more likely then not "? That's bloody a scary thought

 

[Hoang Trang]

They did this to my partner. He is sole director of his own business. His ex was a director before they divorced. Instead of paying personal/domestic expenses from her own wage, she paid for her share through the business (no excuse but he had no idea of how the finances were run when they were together...he was happy the bills were paid). So when it came to child support, she told them that he paid all personal expenses from the business and they bumped his income up by a huge amount compared to his taxable income. When he questioned it, they required him to provided 6 months worth of statements for every bank account/credit card statements in his and the company's name as well as documentation for every vehicle. It was almost like a tax audit. He was accountable to them for every transaction. It took months of work for him during his personal time and office staff during work hours. In the end, he told CS he was giving up as the deadline was approaching (they first gave him 2 weeks but extended it) and CS were still asking for more info. They ended up reducing the amount by approx 5%.

One of the 2 kids have since come to live with him. CS reduced by 50% which is odd because she earns less than half of what he does (legit) and even less than what CS took their figures from. He is not questioning it though! The kid with him is nearly 18 but has been working for the past 18 months. When this kid was still with her, and the assessment took place, CS weren't interested that he was working and ignored his income. But when she pointed it out after the kid came to live with dad, CS wanted payslips from the kid!

So sounds like those running their own business get special treatment from CS. On the other hand, my ex is a sole trader and CS would not touch him because I had a FVIO against him. They told me I had to approach Centrelink and may be entitled to increased family payment.

Jesus Christ he was pulled through the ringer! How long did CS implement the increased assessment for? I was even tax audited last year and have nothing to hide. Seems indeed self-employed people get different treatment. CS even went on to say that a parent is able to conceal assets etc through trust accounts and companies which does not reflect their true income

 

[SamanthaJay]

He is still paying it but only for 1 child now as the other is with him 100% although assessed as being with his mother every 2nd weekend. This child will turn 18 soon so my partner is not prepared to involve CS for the sake of that.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Just be aware that child support doesn't necessarily stop at 18. The receiving parent can make application for it to continue past the 18th birthday in certain situations, such as the child continuing to live at home while studying.

 

[SamanthaJay]

Just be aware that child support doesn't necessarily stop at 18. The receiving parent can make application for it to continue past the 18th birthday in certain situations, such as the child continuing to live at home while studying.

Yes Rob, we are aware of this. I have friends who are being paid CS for their over 18-year-old children who are at uni. I've had that argument on here before!

My partner's almost 18-year-old has been working fulltime since he was 16 1/2 years old. He is with my partner 100% now anyway so that is why CS was reassessed and halved (what my partner is paying to his ex.

 

[sammy01]

oh wow - so when 18 yr old who still lives with you finishes school, if he doesn't go to uni he will no longer be considered an adult and as such not reduce your child support liability for other kids. So the ex gets a child support increase?

 

[SamanthaJay]

oh wow - so when 18 yr old who still lives with you finishes school. If he doesn't go to uni he will no longer be considered an adult and as such not reduce your child support liability for other kids. So the ex gets a child support increase?

You've confused me Sammy.

 

[sammy01]

so when your partner's 'almost 18 yr' old son turns 18 and finishes school. And if he lives with you. Well he no longer is a child according to the CSA calculator.

So hypothetically.

1 - 19 yr old son who is a gym junky and can easily eat 2kg of food a day, leaves lights on, takes the car and never puts fuel in it etc... He is expensive and lives with you 100%. But is no longer part of a child support assessment.... because he is 19 and making $200 a week as an apprentice and gives you $50 a week board, which is roughly 1/4 of what it actually costs to have him living with you... But he does mow the lawn and put out the rubbish (sometimes)

2 - There is another child from the relationship but lives 100% with mum. This child is 15. Your partner pays the maximum child support because he doesn't see this child ever...

3 - So prior to eldest son turning 18 neither parent paid child support because they earn the same money and both have 100% care of one of the kids. But once 18 yr old gym junky is no longer part of the assessment, there is only one child, the 15 yr old. So dad has to pay maximum CS for that child
because the 19yr old is not part of the equation?

But the scenario where CS is collected beyond 18 and completion of year 12 / HSC I would totally take it to AAT.

 

[SamanthaJay]

I still don't know what you're on about Sammy. None of those situations apply to what I posted about.

If I can glean little bits out of it, yeah, you're right on one thing. It costs more to have him live with his father than what his father was paying in child support to his mother when he was living with his mother.

His mother was extremely angry at first that she was down 1/2 the amount of child support (it's assessed on close to double my partner's income due to what I wrote in previous posts) when the son went to live with his father. But she's recently disclosed that she's better off now because he was costing her more than that to have him live with her and that she'll never have him move back again.

Re your 1st scenario - any parent that lets a kid walk over them like that, then I consider that their problem.

My own 18yo (my youngest) is 6ft 5in and works 2 jobs, 1st job as a bricky's labourer, 2nd job in his dream role but only part time for now, saved and paid for his own car, pays 10% of his weekly earnings as board, mows the grass, does his own laundry, stacks the firewood and keeps it stacked near the front of the house and brings it in and vacuums the house once a week, gets up and does the dishes most nights, turns out lights, puts the bins out and brings them in, doesn't watch tv or play video/computer games, eats a good, wholesome diet, no crap, softdrinks, takeaways and costs much less to feed than my partner's 18yo who is 5ft 4in.

He has been bought up to be whiney about what he will or won't eat, doesn't drink water only soft drink and energy drinks, won't eat steak unless it's eye fillet, earns the same amount pw in his sedentary job as what my 18yo does in his 1st job, goes out drinking using his older brother's learner's permit, smokes, can turn lights and tv and other electrical appliances on but can't turn them off, puts one bin down average of once a month when his father uses it for bribery in return to taking him to football training, has used up all his sick/personal leave and annual leave, borrows money constantly off both his parents....

Like I implied above, if you let your kid act like a spoiled brat, then that's your problem. His father is sorry now he never stepped up and set boundaries in his kids' lives. It's much harder to do that with a 17yo than a young child and be consistent to begin with.

My partner does have the 12yo minimum of 3 nights per fn, 1/2 of all holidays and any other time the mother asks for a break/having a holiday etc. They are both on board with that and work it really well between them. Luckily for them, they are only 20 minutes drive away from each other and it's easy to do unlike many other unfortunate parents I read about on here. They are also lucky I'm around because my work is flexible and I can do a certain amount of running around after the 12yo such as school runs, picking up, dropping up if required.

I'm lucky enough to split my time between my home and my partner's and we live 5 minutes away from each other. Separate finances and the best thing, I can go home when his kids are kicking up a stink!