Trouble with WINZ

Hi. I experienced the same situation with my eldest daughter's father. I went and saw a solicitor when she was a couple of months old. I don't remember being required to pay him though. He wrote the letter. Yes my DPB was still cut. But it did get WINZ and IRD off my back regarding who her father was.

She was nearly 6 when he got in contact and I started the paternity proceedings. Aparantly paternity applications have to be filed with the court before the child's 6th birthday. So we only just scraped in there.

I sent my exs custody papers to his mum using substituted service.

Depends chick, if you want to get them of your back the easiest way is to file the papers against him. I'm pretty sure just you telling them his full name and anything else you know (like a DOB or his parents address) is enough, they get of your back and they take on the task of tracking him down.

If you want to keep him of the birth certificate, it might be worth paying $200 now and having it over and done with rather then it coming up againt and again and again.

A friend of mine told Winz she had no idea who her babies father was - apparently they looked at her sideways every time she goes in but worth it for her i guess. Just flat out said she didnt know!

I had a major problem with this too. I got onto the benefit DPB fine, I had to have a birth certificate and it was Births Deaths and Marriages who were my main problem. I had to jump a few hoops there but eventually I got a birth cert without the dads name on as he had gone from his last address and no one was talking about where, he would not respond to any emails. I am currently going thru a lawyer with legal aid (what are the reasons for not granting you legal aid????), they did a substituted service on his parents in ashburton for me as he has a new american partner and is over there a lot. WINZ were cutting my benefit for a time, but as soon as I went to a lawyer and they gave them a letter to say they were proceeding with paternity and court, WINZ had to reinstate the money they cut which was about $20-$28 a week from memory (and you will need it, trust me, just even homebrand bulk nappies for the week). So, I still got the dpb but i had to go to a lawyer straight away to apply for dpb, about 6 months later i chickened out and stopped paternity proceedings and winz cut my benefit, then about feb this year i decided to go for it again, its still ongoing and winz have reinstated the money. All legal aid funded tho.

Heya same scenario here for me, my son's father took off to Aus when I was a few months along in my pregnancy ...he made sure he cut ties with all mutual friends and covered his tracks so none of us could locate him. All I knew is that he was somewhere in Melbourne.

I too received the letter stating that my benefit would be deducted by such an amount in set periods if I didn't provide reasonable evidence stating the name of baby's father or having him on birth cert etc, I just went and got a 'Statutory Declaration' from a local Solicitor ...paid about $150 (back in 2007) and they stopped cutting my benefit after a few lots of $6, but when I did turn up at WINZ with this Stat Dec I'd paid for to shut them up, they said how it wasn't necessary and it didn't make a difference. He's still not on the birth cert 4.5 years later and I happened to bump into him at the supermarket 2 weeks ago and had some choice things to say after he'd disappeared off the face of the planet since I was preg

WINZ eventually tire with the threats to cut this and that, it's not fair that these fools can run off and not take responsibility, and we get somewhat punished for their actions (in this respect).

Just to clarify what others have said, WINZ do not "keep" cutting the benefit. After you've been on it three months, they deduct $22 per week. After another three months, they deduct a further $6 per week. However after that there are no further deductions.

Me personally, I just take the cut rather than trying to argue it because I don't want the father involved and I don't want anything from him. But the stupid thing about the situation is, he's in the UK so even if he were named on the birth certificate, they couldn't force him to pay child support.

Hi ladies! My babies Dad is on all the information regarding maternity notes and I know who he is an there is no doubt that he is Dad, but he told me to get a paternity test (Im 30 weeks along) and is now facing jail time for an offence. I cant go into more details but just wondering if anyone knows if I can possibly keep his name off the birth certificate or atleast stop him from having contact with my baby boy as he grows up? If hes in jail I dont see what standing he has against me

he has no rights if he is not on the birth cert. its only if you go for paternity with a lawyer he will be given some rights and that depends on his character. you can wait a year and go for paternity if you want, my son is nearly 3 and my court hearing for paternity is on thurs. the father only just saw a lawyer last week to try put off the hearing as he knows he will have to pay child support, also back dated as i am now working full time. if you dont want him involved dont put him on the birth cert. you can go thru that later if you want. seems like best interest not to? its up to him to go thru a lawyer to prove he is the dad if he reallyw ants to, but still that may not give him many rights being a crim.

Work and Income pay the Family Tax Credit via the benefit on behalf of IRD.
Copy and paste the following into your address bar and this hopefully will help you.

www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and-procedures/income_support/main_benefits/domestic_purposes_benefit_-_sole_parents/domestic_purposes_benefit_-_sole_parents-146.htm