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Marriage, relationships & families

Discuss the MoneySaving implications of relationships and family life.

MoneySaving mums

A place for mums with kids of all ages to discuss parent MoneySaving matters.

970 discussions 13.7K comments Most recent: Removing long hair from carpet by elsien 9 August at 8:16PM
MoneySaving dads

A place for dads with kids of all ages to discuss parent MoneySaving matters.

367 discussions 4K comments Most recent: Increase in child custody from 40/60 to 50/50 by marcia_ 9 June at 1:46PM
Deaths, funerals & probate

Get MoneySaving help at the time of bereavement - discuss wills, inheritance tax, estate planning and more.

12.6K discussions 132.8K comments Most recent: Please help me understand my nan's will by NomadicBrit Today at 8:56PM
Pets & pet care

For MoneySaving questions about taking care of your cat, dog, parrot or other animal companion, including vet fees and pet insurance.

15.9K discussions 249.9K comments Most recent: Outrageous Vet charges by thriftytracey 9 August at 10:13AM

Do I have to instruct a divorce lawyer?
Hi, I have previously posted about wanting to leave my husband and I have come to terms with the fact that there is no way round it, I am definitely leaving him. I feel a huge ball of guilt when I think about it, but I feel a huge weight of sadness if I consider staying. It is going to be hard, but the only way I can see…
Pension offsetting divorce
Hello! I'm trying to negotiate a settlement for my divorce after almost 4 very painful years. I had a specialist pension report which gave an offset figure of 17k in my favour. The op is suggesting this is deducted from the equity of our house sale before we split the remaining proceeds. Surely that would be paying half…
Changing back to maiden name advice please
I want to change back to my maiden name. I have used a template from gov.uk and got it witnessed by two independent witnesses. I now want to start to change passport, driving licence, utilities, work details etc. Has anyone done this and know what is a good order to do it in? Have to go into the bank in order to do that…
Money Moral Dilemma: Should I replace my flatmate's fancy bowl - even though she told me not to?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... While putting away the dishes, I accidentally dropped a bowl belonging to my flatmate. She told me not to bother replacing it as we have loads of others, but the bowl I smashed was from an expensive ceramics brand, while our other bowls are normal cheap crockery. Yet I still…
1200 paid in instalments
I am selling an item and asking for 1200, the person interested is a stranger I met online (older lady pensioner + before becoming a pensioner didn’t work for about 12 years due to health related reasons so I don’t know if she receives PIP too) We spend the whole morning talking at mine and I know where she lives, not far…
Registration of a Power of Attorney when person to "notify" has died.
Wonder if any one can help. Mother in law did both types of LPA's in Summer of 2021 They are all signed, dated and witnessed but as she took a turn for the worse a few weeks later we didn't register them at the time as didn't think we'd need them . Anyway fast forward a year and a half and although she still has capacity,…
Private vs State School
Would you rather... Sell the house in the so-so catchment and move to an excellent one to send a child to a good public school (Edinburgh). Or move even further away from the city centre and use majority of the household's disposable income for private school fees.
House sale
After a divorce of 6 years of marriage, my x got awarded 500k. I now have to sell my house which is in my sole name and the x paid zero towards it. So I immediately put it on the market 100k above the price the estate agents agreed (1.8995) at the time of the divorce a year ago, as I have increased its value internally.…
Inheritance tax
I seem to recall reading somewhere that if I leave my main residence to my son he is able to claim up to £175000 against IHT as well as 2 x £325000 making a total of £825 000. Is that correct?
Living power of attorney
Hi My parents are elderly and wish me to be a living power of attorney to make visits to the bank on their behalf. The GOV.UK is not clear to me. Do I open an Gov. account on my parents behalf or do i create me own? How are the banks informed? Do I show some sort of letter?
What do your kids understand (and misunderstand) about money?
I'd like to know how much your kids (please mention age bracket) understand about money. Is there anything they definitely don't understand about money at this stage? And was there one particular moment that flicked the lightbulb on for them?
Solicitor / investigator not replying to emails
hi Please could anyone offer advice on my new gf's situation regarding the financial side of her divorce. She got divorced late year, decree nisi was Nov 2021. So all that she is waiting for is the financials to be divvied up. They had a shared house in France which the ex is getting , less £30K she has asked for as that…
My home
Can anyone help me please I have been married for 14 years we've been together 18 years. When we met I had my own home (council secured tenancy) when my father died 5 years ago I inherited his estate and had the money to purchase my home. Long story short our neighbours had been a nightmare for years and caused me alot of…
Pick Primary School based on Secondary?
SummaryDo we pick a further away Primary which guarantees a place at a better secondary with attached Sixth Form? Or do we think about the now, with the convenience of a Primary 30 seconds from home, as Secondary standards may change and they might end up at the better one in Y7 or Sixth Form anyway if we're lucky. Full…
How to move on
I wrote a while ago about a friendship I had with my now ex boss. I have tried to approach her to ask why she distanced herself from me but she says all is fine. However you know when something is not. Gone from 5 contacts a week to nothing. The last really meani gful one was where I'd offered her alot of support for a…
Real Dad Dead - Am I meant to be Sad?
Found out my read Dad died today, well he died in 09, i found out today. Its all a bit strange and Im not sure what i should feel. Im early 50s. My real Dad buggered off before i was born, and we've had no contact at all since. All these years Ive strongly felt why should i ever reach out, he was the one that left etc.…
Divorce - Advice with finances please
Hi all, thank you in advance for any help. I've long followed MSE and hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. Currently going through separation & divorce with the wife/soon to be ex-wife. We have two primary school aged children and are keen to keep things amicable which has worked for the most part. The only real…
Child support / Maintenance
Can CSA payments be negotiated - am about to get divorced and with a new mortgage, utility bills, council tax etc and CSA payments on top I will have about £150 a month to fed myself etc. Am also wanting to keep paying for the boy's clubs that they attend. I have 3 boys that will be living with their mum in the family…
Ex and Debt
Hi all, I’m hoping I’m posting this in the right place. Just before my ex ended it she asked if I could get a loan for her to pay her CC off this would be the 3rd time I had paid stuff off for her but being in Love I just extended the loan. 2 weeks later she ended it a few months later I found she had go a loan herself…
At Breaking Point - Help to decide on settlement, please!!
Good evening, I have been encouraging a divorce out of my ex husband since 2017. Finally we have had some mediation meetings to discuss how to split the value of the house. Long story short - on paper he is entitled to very 'little' of the value of the house - I won't go into details. but this is a fact and has been agreed…