Under 19, Estranged from Parents, Full Time Education - No support??

John38_2

moiramber wrote: »

My partner is in his 3rd year of uni and has received no financial support from his family this whole time. Because he was under 25 he isn't classed as an adult so is only this year getting a maintenance grant. I assumed this was correct?

He is classed as an adult because he is over 18, but because he is under 25 he is still a dependent student in terms of financial support for higher education.

The only exemptions for under 25s being able to claim 'independent status' is where they have been financially self supporting 3 years prior to the start of the course, have children of their own, or are legally estranged from their parents. There might be additional exceptions for those who are married or disabled.

Oldernotwiser

moiramber wrote: »

My partner is in his 3rd year of uni and has received no financial support from his family this whole time. Because he was under 25 he isn't classed as an adult so is only this year getting a maintenance grant. I assumed this was correct?

Receiving no financial support is not the same thing as being estranged.

Students are considered independent if they are over 25, have supported themselves for at least 3 years, are married or are responsible for a child. Unless they are classed as independent they are still assessed on their parents' income, although there is no requirement for the parents to top up the none means tested part of the loan and many don't.

jazzys

My friend will be in a simialr situation early next year.
she will be 18 years old and when her college course finishes in june she will be hoping to go to uni.
She will need to rent a home as both of her parents live in australia, is that the same as being estranged from them?

Anybody got any idea what benefits she will be entitled to, if any?

thanks
Jazzys

John38_2

jazzys wrote: »

My friend will be in a simialr situation early next year.
she will be 18 years old and when her college course finishes in june she will be hoping to go to uni.
She will need to rent a home as both of her parents live in australia, is that the same as being estranged from them?

Anybody got any idea what benefits she will be entitled to, if any?

thanks
Jazzys

Who is she living with now if her parents are in Autrailia?

If she's living on her own and is a full time student, she needs to apply for Income Support as soon as possible. If she's living with another relative (e.g. uncle or grandma), then that person is 'acting in place of parent(s)' and she therefore isn't estranged.

I'm curious as to how she is supporting herself financially though!

Without having received IS on the grounds of estrangement, the chance of claiming finance as an independent student are miniscule. Make sure she claims IS, even if it means reducing her hours in any part time employment she has.

Her parents leaving her and shipping off to Austrailia would probably fit the criteria for estrangement, even if they still provide financial support of some kind.

Oldernotwiser

I'm willing to be corrected on this but I believe that the rules for estrangement are rather stricter for HE than they are for FE. The estrangement is supposed to be permanent and this needs to be backed up by a letter from a professional person, such as a social worker or teacher. See http://www.direct.gov.uk/dr_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@educ/documents/digitalasset/dg_073069.pdf page 18. Many people nowadays have family who live abroad so that in no way indicates estrangement.

Jazzys: Regarding renting accommodation; this of course is what students normally do, so the fact that the parents live abroad is largely irrelevent. The student funding package will be based on her parents' income and will consist of a maintenance grant if they are on a low income, as well as the maintenance loan. Many students work part time, particularly if their parents don't make a financial contribution.
Students can only claim benefits if they are lone parents or disabled, although they are exempt from paying council tax.

Indie_Kid

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Many people nowadays have family who live abroad so that in no way indicates estrangement.

A hallmate of mine is convinced that parents living abroad = estrangement, and is convinced he's going to get full grant and loans next year.:rolleyes:

Taiko

They'll be wrong then.

Regulations for HE state no contact and needs involvement of strong independent people who know both parties (social services, police etc). Just living in Australia doesn't qualify, as Australia is not a war-torn country unless I'm missing something.

John38_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I'm willing to be corrected on this but I believe that the rules for estrangement are rather stricter for HE than they are for FE. The estrangement is supposed to be permanent and this needs to be backed up by a letter from a professional person, such as a social worker or teacher. See http://www.direct.gov.uk/dr_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@educ/documents/digitalasset/dg_073069.pdf page 18. Many people nowadays have family who live abroad so that in no way indicates estrangement.

Jazzys: Regarding renting accommodation; this of course is what students normally do, so the fact that the parents live abroad is largely irrelevent. The student funding package will be based on her parents' income and will consist of a maintenance grant if they are on a low income, as well as the maintenance loan. Many students work part time, particularly if their parents don't make a financial contribution.
Students can only claim benefits if they are lone parents or disabled, although they are exempt from paying council tax.

Partly right. Getting to Uni at 18 and then suddenly claiming you're estranged is very hard. Much harder than it would be to stay at College and claim Income Support on the grounds you're estranged (where they must take your word for it, unless they have evidence otherwise).

However, if you've been in reciept of Income Support prior to applying for Uni finance, on the grounds of estrangement (preferably for 6 months or more), then a letter from the DWP confirming you get Income Support through estrangement is perfectly acceptable as proof of estrangement for Student Finance England.

If you're at school/college and you tell the DWP that your parents have moved to Austrailia, leaving you alone and unsupported in this country, then I would highly doubt they'd reject your claim for IS. Even if they offered to take you, and the estranged student didn't want to move, then this is enough. It does not matter whether the young person doesn't want to live with their parents or vice versa, as long as there is an estrangement of some kind. It is still acceptable for the parent(s) to provide a degree of financial support for the young person, this does not mean there isnt an estrangement.

Therefore if you get Income Support prior to applying for Student Finance, you're almost guaranteed to get maximum grant/maximum loan etc etc.

Getting to Uni and then suddenly claiming you haven't seen your parents for years would raise a few eyebrows if you haven't claimed benefits in the past. In this instance, they'd want letters and proof from senior teachers, health care worker, social services etc, just to provide some corroboration.

Oldernotwiser

John38 wrote: »

Partly right. Getting to Uni at 18 and then suddenly claiming you're estranged is very hard. Much harder than it would be to stay at College and claim Income Support on the grounds you're estranged (where they must take your word for it, unless they have evidence otherwise).

However, if you've been in reciept of Income Support prior to applying for Uni finance, on the grounds of estrangement (preferably for 6 months or more), then a letter from the DWP confirming you get Income Support through estrangement is perfectly acceptable as proof of estrangement for Student Finance England..

You could be right, although it goes against the official information and also what Taiko (who works in this field) has advised.

I hope that it isn't true because it seems a loophole that could be easily exploited; if DWP require no proof of estrangement at FE level then it's hard to see that confirmation from them would be adequate as the more stringent proof required for HE.

I'm always ready to learn, so perhaps you could provide a link for this information.

Taiko

Wouldn't work.

Part of the application for finance asks about parents residency that has to be completed. A lot of students will fall down here, because they go and state where their parents are. That then shoots them down when the estrangement thing comes in, as the period must be at least 12 months.

There are other sections of the form where students will slip up. It's not intentional, but in fairness students aren't really a bright bunch.

We most certainly would not accept IS on it's own as evidence. If SFE are, then they shouldn't be. But nothing is surprising me with them at the moment, especially in light of today's guardian article, which is 100% accurate.