Helping Children By Injuring Two Families

MayorBob.

Posted to Legal on Fri Jun 29, 2007 at 07:26:22 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Child support maintenance is a monthly stipend, usually ordered by a court, which a non-custodial parent must pay to a custodial parent.  In the United Kingdom the Child Support Agency (CSA) determines the monthly amount and administers the transfer of money from non-custodial to custodial parents.  Just as in the US, if you get behind in your child support, you can end up going to jail.  This Michael Cox from Hythe in Hampshire found out as he was sentenced to serve out a 42 day jail sentence because he owes a bunch in back child support.  But, Michael Cox isn't just another deadbeat dad; he's also a campaigner for reformation of child support laws and, according to his fellow advocates, being punished as much for his political beliefs as he is for the arrearage in child support.

Cox is the chief barrister for Fathers-4-Justice (F4J), the child support reform activist organization.  In his capacity he has been in the public eye throughout F4J's serious efforts to reform the law as well as some whimsical attempts to create some publicity.  According to F4J's founder, Matt O'Connor, said the reason Cox is going to jail is because he acted on "this very noble principle of standing against the CSA."  He also said this shows "how the CSA persecutes good fathers."  Of course, in the middle of all this nobody is denying the CSA's contention that the amount of arrearage owed by Cox amounts to (UK)£45,000 accumulated over 12 years of nonpayment.

The key point for Cox is that the amount is what the CSA says he owes; he figures it differently.  He has maintained custody of his children exactly half the time since he and his ex-wife, Lesley Peach, split.  This means he has housed, clothed, fed, and cared for his children all the time they spent with him.  He says the system is "oppressive, unjust and discriminatory" toward men because his ex-wife isn't being required to pony up an equivalent amount by the CSA.  His ex-wife agrees with him and asked the magistrate's court which sentenced Cox not to send him to jail.  She said she would be forced to give up her job to tend to the children full time if Cox were in jail.

There is a way the custodial parent can attempt to opt out of the child support system, but the final call on whether to let the non-custodial parent off the hook is entirely CSA's.  Apparently, either the CSA didn't accept Ms. Peach's reasons for doing without child support or the CSA was never asked.  Either way, the CSA won't comment on the case.  Neither will the agency comment on a constant drumbeat of mismanagement and attempts to publicly shame deadbeat dads.  No need to put Cox's name on the CSA's website for delinquent parents, he'll be in jail and his name is notorious throughout the UK.  According to his current wife, Beth Cox, the only thing the CSA accomplished was to injure two families:

"It just defies all logic and sense. The sentence has impoverished two families on both sides - both him and his ex-wife - and the taxpayer will now spend £40,000 jailing him."