TESTIMONIALS

 Andrea   I highly recommend Karen at Child Support Advocates for her professionalism, advice, and ‘down to earth’ manner in handling child support issues. Thank you 

Buzz   NZIRD have been “difficult” to deal with over the last few years. One conversation with Karen took a truckload of stress off me. She understood the issues, the technical problems, explained how the IRD “think” (apparently they do from time to time) and thought of a number of solutions that I would never have.   So happy 

Shara-Lee  Amazing and sound advice. Went above and beyond to help us out from wording documents to even just hearing us out when we needed someone to talk to about Child Support issues. Highly recommend this service. 

Rosie  Child Support Advocates have provided a professional prompt service to assist with my IRD admin review. I was liable to pay child support, now thanks to CSA my admin review has resulted in my liability being $0. Awesome service, definitely recommend to help any parent dealing with IRD. Stress now gone, happy mum, happy children 

Sarah  Karen has been AMAZING. After the 1st conversation with Karen it felt like I had known her years. Without Karen’s help we would of been homeless and on the streets with our children. 

Richard Understanding my rights in relation to child support liability and entitlement was a daunting task.  I didn't know where to start, what I could do or how to go about it.  I looked online for people who might be able to help and was presented with a list of expensive lawyers.  Then I found Karen who has worked at IRD and has both a legal and practical understanding of the area.

Karen was fantastic throughout.  She listened to me and understood where I was coming from.  She provided guidance in terms of my rights, what I could claim through an administrative review and helped me draft the documents for the review.  She answered my never ending list of questions and provided me with practical guidance on approaching a review.

I would recommend Karen's services to anyone in need of advice regarding child support liability or entitlement.  Her legal understanding of the area coupled with a practical understanding of what review officers are looking for was invaluable to me and I would not have been able to navigate the review process like I did without her help. 

Chris When all hope seemed lost for any kind of fair and reasonable outcome, Karen listened patiently through my extended conversations and explained clearly and concisely what I needed to know and do when dealing with the legislative maze that is the Child Support Act and all its amendments. The ongoing professional advice and tireless assistance has been invaluable and produced results I had long given up any hope of achieving. 
For anyone already in difficulty with Child Support issues, or those that simply want to avoid the potential pitfalls that can and all too often do arise, it is comforting and reassuring to know that a friendly ear and practical help is only a phone call away. Absolutely fantastic and can’t recommend highly enough! 

Mark One very satisfied customer.  Had tried to get some concessions on my own from IRD on a child support matter but with no luck, dealing with them had been a mixed bag & they don't tell you what you can do in any detail & one particular officer annoyed me to the point where I started looking online for anything helpful & found Karen. She has been thorough & helpful, listening to what I had to say & answering all my questions. Ended up with great results & would highly recommend her to anyone needing to deal with IRD or any other child support matters you may have.

Anna My child support has just been slashed by 60%. I asked Karen for help and I followed every step she told me religiously. It really pays to engage someone that knows the system. Simple things that I assumed I cannot do, proved to be doable and every detail counts. My initial assessment was ridiculous and based only on what my ex-husband decided to tell IRD. And that seems to be the case with everyone of us paying parents. It really sucks that I had to spend time and money to ask for fairness and equality but I am grateful for the help I received. It can be done. I can now take kids to the movies when they are with me. Yay!

Grant and Leigh My husband and myself used Karen Bevan from Child Support Advocate's to assist with an administrative review, Karen is highly experienced with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to child support. Karen worked very hard to put together a case for us which became a successful case, she was available whenever we needed assistance even if it was just a small question. If you want someone that is going to guide you and work for you at a very reasonable rate Karen is that person.

Greg Like many others I’d been frustrated with IRD, no matter whom I talked to, or how many times I rang and spoke with them I couldn’t get clear answers. Karen’s knowledge of IRD has been fantastic. Like many other paying parents I was stressed, after speaking with Karen, and her help this stress is now gone. Fully recommend Karen for advice and help with any issues or frustrations you are having with IRD.

Dave I approached Karen from Child Support Advocates after reading a number of peoples child support issues on-line which were similar to my circumstances. Karen stood out with her comments and other people on-line had recommended her on the posts I was reading. I approached Karen via CS Advocates and we had a chat about my circumstances to see whether she could add any value, which she could.

Karen helped me by writing my review and also searched and provided supporting documentation to go with it. We had numerous discussions and the whole time she answered all my questions, she really wanted to help me get the best result possible from my review. Prior to the review hearing she called to make sure I was prepared and just went over everything I needed to emphasis in the hearing with the review office, this was very useful. I had a positive result from review hearing and this would not have happened without Karen’s support and guidance as I would have struggled to put together what she did. Her experience in this field is invaluable and I would recommend her services to anyone.

Gary My ex had been emboldened by a pandering NZ family court system and punitive IRD rigidity for years. Despite her being in full-time employment, owning businesses and having more than one property to her name, I just couldn't break the shackles of debilitating child support assessments. My wife happened upon a facebook site with other Dad's (and their wives) offering all-too similar stories of an uncaring system. She saw a glimmer of hope in the form of peoples testimonials that had used Karen to guide them through an Administrative Review process. Although I had been the subject of several, I had never been optimistic enough to apply for one myself. Hiring Karen was the best thing I ever did. Karen was excellent and made things easy. She got our details and got a feel for the facts via an informal telephone conversation. Once we were in the swing of things, there was no going back. Karen guided us all the way and once she showed us the first draft of our application, I immediately felt confident we were going to win. The end result is that I've had two wins from two reviews. Financially I'm paying in the thousands less than what was originally assessed by IRD's useless system.

Julia I found Karen via a support group on Facebook for parents paying child support. One of the best investments I have made is to use her services. I have had 2 successful ground 8 administrative reviews thanks to Karen. She is calm, knowledgeable and proactive. Her advice is sound and balanced, and she also has a fantastic dry sense of humour which helps break the stress when you need it. If you listen to her advice, do what she says and leave emotion out of it, you can succeed. I can't thank Karen enough for getting me to this point. She has taken a huge load off me and I will continue to use her services in future and recommend her to those in the same predicament. 

Jo Karen made this an easy stress-free process, taking care of my review application, talking me through the process with confidence and empathy. I had a lot going on at the time so it was really nice to be able to give this to someone else to take care of. The review application she prepared for me was successful and I'm really pleased with the outcome. My self-employed ex is now liable for the right amount of child support.

Chris   If you’re on the fence about using Karen’s services, climb off and take that first step to see if she can help you. With her vast experience, amazing calmness (that fantastic sense of humour, and the ability to calm even the most worrisome of people) and thorough knowledge of the system, she turned our situation around to a fairer result I could not have achieved by myself (due to lack of knowledge around the intricacies of IRD) and set us up for success in future reviews, should they be required. Thank you Karen, and we look forward to working with you again, and also recommending you to anyone we know in similar circumstances. If you’re ever in town, that offer of a wine still stands. 

Naomi Thanks to Karen’s guidance and expertise, I achieved an excellent result with my Administrative Review. Karen’s legal background plus her in-depth understanding of the inner workings of IRD is invaluable. My case was very complex, but Karen was able to condense my large dossier of legal documents into a winning application. I couldn’t have achieved this result without her and I would highly recommend her services. Karen has a lot of integrity and you can tell she genuinely cares about achieving a positive outcome.

Casey I cannot thank Karen enough for her assistance throughout a very stressful period.  In what appeared to me as a very clear error on IRD’s behalf, I went through the complaints system at IRD with no success. 

I contacted Karen to see if I had any options available and was immediately impressed with her extensive knowledge of the Child Support system and legislation.  She gave us clear instruction and advice on a way forward, this lifted the ongoing stress I had experienced prior to speaking with her.  The option she suggested I take is likely an unknown one to the average person and not something I would ever have known about.

Without Karen’s help I would not have achieved the successful outcome.  Her great sense of humour and practical approach was a welcome relief after having dealt with so many people at IRD that lacked both.  I could not recommend Karen more highly – if you are stuck and think there isn’t a way forward, it’s just likely you haven’t spoken to Karen yet!

Wayne and Bernadine My husband and I decided to go with Karen after having so much trouble with Child Support in both Australia and New Zealand. Karen has been amazing throughout our ordeal, she has been there every step of the way helping us with advice, mediation and applications.

Through all this Karen has worked hard to help resolve my case with a successful outcome, with her wealth of knowledge and experience I would highly recommend Karen and Child Support Advocates to anyone. Thank you Karen

Carol Karen’s services and support have been invaluable in helping me achieve a fair and reasonable assessment with IRD. Karen’s knowledge is extensive, and she is understanding and supportive of all the dynamics that come with child support and administrative reviews. The end result far outweighed any costs, and the support and knowledge I had through the process were invaluable. I’d happily recommend Karen and her services to anyone.

Lisa I came to Karen feeling so stressed after 3 years of battling with the IRD and a hostile ex-partner. I was overwhelmed by the system and seemed to have no power when trying to object to a very unfair assessment. From the first phone call Karen was really easy to talk to, she understood the situation immediately, gave me straightforward advice and laid out my options. She knew all the ins and outs of preparing a successful, factual, non-emotive admin review and it resulted in a really positive result for me. I am so relieved with the outcome but also that she gave me the confidence to take a legitimate stand against what was not right.