# How much maintenence for 4 kids



## Secman71 (21 Jun 2011)

Hi,
my wife and I are about to seperate.I work full time and take home €600 per week.She doesnt work and is staying in the house we rent.I am trying to find somewhere to live,not easy with no savings.I was wondering how much maintenance I will have to pay


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## alaskaonline (22 Jun 2011)

There is a finance spreadsheet on this forum, trying to find the thread later on. It will help you get a "bigger" picture of your income and outgoings. Based on that you should more easily see what amount of money is left to actually pay x amount of maintenance. Same goes for your wife. Does she work?


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## Secman71 (22 Jun 2011)

My wife doesnt work at all.I have always been the sole provider.


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## alexandra123 (22 Jun 2011)

Is it not normally around 50 euro per week per child - if you are brought to court ? It really depends on what your wife needs to make the shortfall of her having to take care of the kids on her sole income.


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## niceoneted (22 Jun 2011)

Your wife I am sure will apply and get OPFP. With her renting the house she may also be entitled to rent allowance. One of the other posters better up on SW payments may be able to clarify this. 
I would look at your other outgoings then see what is left before luxuries and then work out an amt per child.


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## Yorrick (23 Jun 2011)

Yesterday, 09:37 AM 
Secman71 
Posts: 11 



My wife doesnt work at all.I have always been the sole provider. 


I'm sure your wife would live to read that comment. Why not show it to her ? Then ring the domestic violence help line


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## Secman71 (24 Jun 2011)

Thanks a million Yorrick,just what I needed right now.Smart comments.Way to go.Hope you feel big.Thanks to everyone else for your replies.


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## eastbono (24 Jun 2011)

Tbh the least you should give as maintenance per child is €50. Not being smart but they are your children and they need to eat and need to be clothed and need to have school books etc.  If you give €150 for the children that leaves you with €450 which is a lot for one person to live off of. I know you will have to pay rent but your ex I presume will be applying for OPF and also rent allowance which the tax payer pays for.


Oops why did I presume you had 3 children.  How many children do you have?


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## Mommah (24 Jun 2011)

Secman71 said:


> Thanks a million Yorrick,just what I needed right now.Smart comments.Way to go.Hope you feel big.Thanks to everyone else for your replies.


 
Hi Secman

I am sorry for what you are going thru.
But if you really read what Yorrick said it might actually be helpful for your case.
Your statement soes suggest that you are fairly clueless about the demands of staying at home looking after 4 kids. Ref.. "My Wife doesn't work at all" If you engage in this sort of language during your negotiations it will not help your case. At.all.

If for example your wife were to disappear and you had to care for your 4 kids and earn a crust you would find that €200 per week would be a tiny drop in the ocean of what your wife's "work" actually costs to replace.

I hope you and your ex can come to an amicable and reasonable solution for yourselves and for your kids.

But a good starting point is to value what your wife has been doing for the family.


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## niceoneted (25 Jun 2011)

Mommah,

I would just like to say I think, that is one of the best put posts for a long time on this forum. 
Secman71 while I can empathise with you I think, what mommah says is spot on. 
Sometimes we cannot see the wood from the trees, so we need a little outside perspective.


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## Secman71 (25 Jun 2011)

Firstly let me say I have and lways will value what my wife does at home.She is absouletly brilliant and has always looked after and cared for me and our 4 children.I appologise for my comment.In a really bad place right now and just looking for some guidence.This maintenance thing sickens me to be honest.Its like putting a price on your children.They could have every penny I ever earn.


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## mammyof2 (25 Jun 2011)

Secman, I am very sorry to hear about your seperation - it must be an extremely difficult time for all the family.

I don't have any specific advice re maintainance but have you cheked out the Single Parents Board on rollercoaster.ie? There are posters there who give excellent advice not only on calculating maintenance but more widely on how to mediate an amicable settlement on these things and how to best work through a co-parenting relationship with an ex when there are hurt feelings on all sides. You'll also get a very good steer on exact entitlements for single parents etc, so will be aware of what other financial supports, outside your own contributions, that your wife will have available to her. Discussions on Rollercoaster can sometimes get a little prickly but there are normally enough factual posters to keep things on the straight and narrow.

I hope that things go ok for you and for your children.


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## Mommah (25 Jun 2011)

Secman

This is a really really difficult time and you can and will get through it.
You will both be worse off in the medium term than you were before and that combined with the bereavement part of separation will make it a really tough few years for you. But things really do get better.
Give you kids what you can and have enough to have some basics for yourself.
Be a good father and a good reliable ex husband...even if you wife behaves badly. That is the best gift you can give your kids.


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## Secman71 (25 Jun 2011)

Thamks so much for your kind words Mommah.Thats the nicest thing ive been told since this all started


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