Thousands of single parents missing out on child maintenance for their kids – are you owed cash?
There are 2.8 million parents raising their kids alone - and thousands are forced to foot the bill by themselves
THOUSANDS of single parents are missing out on child maintenance for their kids, even though it's a legal requirement.
More than a third of single mums have also fallen into debt after their exes left them to cough up all living expenses on their own, research shows.
Even worse, 11 per cent of mums have been forced to depend on food banks to feed their children for the same reason, according to law firm Slater and Gordon, which specialises in family law.
And a further 39 per cent have been forced to take out loans or gone into their overdrafts in order to make ends meet.
According to the most recent stats by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 2.8 million single parents in 2017, a majority of them single mums. Around the same time, 101,669 married couples split up.
Meanwhile, the cost of raising a child to 18, including childcare costs, is a massive £183,335, according to Child Poverty Action Group's latest report.
To be able to use it, you'll need to know how much your ex earns.
If your partner isn't willing to cooperate, you can speak to a government body called the who will make an assessment on their income - and backdate any missed payments.
The CMS will attempt to recover the money by deducting payments directly from your ex partner's earnings or bank accounts or by freezing assets.
Just keep in mind that applications to the CMS where it needs to collect money come with an upfront fee of £20 plus additional costs, such as collection fees each time you make or receive a payment.
If you're below the age of 19 or you're fleeing domestic violence and have reported it to the police or domestic violence organisations, you won't have to pay any fees.
Should your partner still refuse to cooperate, the CMS can then escalate it to court.
The only way someone can legally avoid payments is if they earn less than £7 a week, Ms Harvey said.
Earlier this year, a man was ordered to pay £20k in child support for 13-year-old "daughter" he never knew existed.
A dad owing £10,000 in child support was also caught by fraud officers after he used imposter to cheat DNA tests.
Meanwhile, "deadbeat dads" could have their passports taken away as government plans to crack down on absent parents.
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