Things have all changed :-(

completemess

After the year from hell my husband (went br last month) has now left me - great guy eh!!! I'm absolutely devastated after 10 years he has walked out on me and our two children (my daughter is only 9 months old). I don't know how the hell i'm going to cope, I was only just keeping it together with losing the house and bankruptcy.

I have just signed my tenancy agreement (500 rent per month) on my own and have looked at what benefits I will qualify for and will be ok once br later this month. Mortgage company's solicitors have just sent a 7 day notice letter (they have been soooo slow!!!) but the thing that is really worrying me is I don't get housing benefit until this house has been taken?? I am correct in thinking that??? What if the court date is weeks and weeks away what on earth am I going to do? Any suggestions x

maxmycardagain

you should qualify for HB from day one of the claim normally, you should provide as much paperwork as possible about the old house, and OH having gone BR, the rat....

BTW

Im free......................

gratefulforhelp_2

You have very small children, so try "sure start"/speak to your health visitor. You may get some kind of one-off payment?
God bless you and the children. My husband did a flit when my daughter 3 months old. You will survive and feel better long term, I promise.

dalip

So sorry to hear that the [EMAIL="s@@tbag"]s@@tbag[/EMAIL] has gone and done a runner. Can not help with your question but just wanted to let you know we are here if you need us in any capacity whatsoever.

Are you really max .......:think:

skylight

Have you called Tax Credits?? Do that straight away. You get IS for yourself these days and the child element comes from CTC, so call them and let them know whats happened and that you have put in a claim for IS today. You can claim IS online http://www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice/ so do that now. It will email you a Gateway number if I remember correctly so you can do it now. Get yourself to the council tomorrow AM and pick up forms for housing (LHA) and council tax benefit. Fill in the forms. There ARE ways to deal with this (renting and having a home being repo'd) so don't worry too much. Despite the council may fob you off to start with - get advice from Shelter so you know your rights and what to say, but you will need the application in first as councils do not backdate benefits (usually).

Secondly - what debts has he left you with? Only he went BR I take it? You will be left with all joint debt - including the mortgage shortfall. Were you aware of that?? At least on IS you can get the court fees waived if you decide to go BR.

Lastly - CSA. If you are on IS, then you have to declare any monies he pays you, but an arangement or get the CSA to do it, is up to you.

Right. Thats finances out of the way. I can't help much on the emotional side except send you big hugs. Remember, the house being lost are only bricks. The BR is only money - but you have your kids and love is far, far more important.

gratefulforhelp_2

The CSA are a full-time job in themselves, but at least you will get the money eventually. Watch out, it costs you to call them. Good luck.

Merry_Gentry

I claimed HB once I moved into rented on my own (XHTB and I went BR on same day - long story but ended up having to leave the house we rented together and move with my three girls). In order to process my HB claim with the house not being repossessed yet I had to send them my BR form, the letter from the OR where I signed saying I had no interest in the house, a copy of the letter from the Building Society where I explained that i was handing back the keys and had no interest in the house anymore.

My Council were very confused by the whole BR, still have house but not living in it, but they were absolutely brilliant in how fast they moved. Plain and simple, because it was such an unusual case they wanted to cover their backs by having as much information as possible, but also make sure that I was ok.

My main problem now is that my HB has been cut because of the nil tax code imposed but that's a whole different story.

If you can get to your council offices with as much of your paperwork as possible (they need originals, not copies) things will (hopefully) go speedily for you.

It is hard doing it on your own, but you CAN do it, and the satisfaction I gained from a fantastic Christmas where I owed not a penny to anyone was absolutely amazing!! :grouphug:

Merry_Gentry

You can apply for the CSA online:

http://www.csa.gov.uk/en/setup/apply-online.asp

but be prepared - I originally applied back in August and have still not been assessed. If you can do a private arrangement with your husband that he will stick to, that would be for the best. There is an online calculator that tells you how much he would have to pay.

fiveyearplan

Hi completemess. Sorry to hear your news. You will want to get all your benefits sorted out ASAP so I would advise packing up a picnic and plan on spending the day at the council offices or CAB or any other agency that is there to help. You could also contact entitledto.com. I think that is where I was made aware how much CTC and WTC I was entitled to and there was a number to ring and the man on the other end of the phone confirmed and all was in place in a very short time - and they backdated it to the beginning of the tax year.

Merry_Gentry

https://www.entitledto.com

maxmycardagain

dalip wrote: »

Are you really max .......:think:

so long as the wife dont find out then yes...