Can I decide what happens to child benefit?

Questioner

Good morning, After my divorce, my ex-partner insisted that I continue to save child support for my son, which we also did before the divorce. Because my son lives with me, I receive child benefit, and because I have been on sick leave for more than a year now and my salary is only 70% of what I earned, and the costs have risen enormously, I now need that money to be able to manage ourselves during this period. My ex-partner has also never increased the alimony in all those years, which I believe he is obliged to do at all times according to the indexation. We have been divorced for 9 years now, but he demands that I deposit the child benefit into my son's savings account, while I do not even have power over that account. Can he demand this of me, or do I decide in this case what happens to the child benefit? I would like to hear your response to this. Thank you very much. Yours sincerely,

Lawyer

If you are the parent receiving child benefit, this means that you also have the decision on how the money is spent. You are not obliged to deposit the child benefit into your son's savings account if you do not want to. If your ex-partner demands this, he has no legal basis for doing so. It is advisable to discuss with your ex-partner how the money can best be spent, so that you can find a solution that is acceptable to all parties. If you would like advice on your specific situation, you can contact the Divorce Shop on telephone number 0800 822 4433.