bereaved parent

mjhiggi

Hi all
My 23 year old daughter's fiance died just before xmas leaving her to bring up their 9 month old baby alone. She is currently unemployed and wishes to stay at home to bring up her baby. She now has no income except child benefits. Can anyone pleas help with what she is entitled to, and will it make a difference that they were not married?

Thanks in advance for any help
MJ

dmg24

She will need to claim IS, LHA and CTB (plus the CTC and CB she already gets).

dundeediva

By the sound of it she isn't getting Child Tax Credits. CB is totally different. Tell her to give them a call

Indie_Kid

She can also apply for the single person (25%) council tax discount.

dmg24

dundeediva wrote: »

By the sound of it she isn't getting Child Tax Credits. CB is totally different. Tell her to give them a call

The OP referred to child benefits (i.e. benefits related to having a child), not Child Benefit. I am well aware of the difference! :rolleyes:

karenx

She will need to stop her joint tax credits claim and start up a single one.
And put a claim in for income support which is about £64 per week

fabforty

In addition to financial advice and help with benefits, is your daughter receiving grief counselling or other forms of professional emotional advice and support? It's early days and she is probably still in shock - having a baby to take care of, will also numb the pain to a certain degree - but there will come a time when the reality of her loss (in fact, your whole family's loss) really hits home, when professional help will be invaluable.

mjhiggi

Thanks for all the replies, dmg24, excuse my ignorance, but what are; IS, LHA, and CTB? I'm assuming CTC is child tax credits, and CB is child benefit?

mjhiggi

Hi fab forty,
No she refuses grief counselling, but she has a lot of family support, not sure if thats enough but we can't force her. We're all struggling and trying to muddle through and help each other. It's very difficult, thanks for caring. x

AsknAnswer2

IS = Income Support

LHA = Local Housing allowance (if she private rents)

HB = housing benefit (if she lives in social housing)

CTB = Council Tax benefit.

All of the above benefits are dependent on her income. If she lived with her fiancee and begins to receive one of the benefits above, (or is she receives Child Tax Credit at a rate of more than £1095.00 for the tax year), and if she arranged the funeral (and is responsible for paying the bill) she can also claim a Funeral Payment from the Social Fund to help towards costs. She can claim this within 3 months from the date of the funeral.

fabforty

mjhiggi wrote: »

Hi fab forty,
No she refuses grief counselling, but she has a lot of family support, not sure if thats enough but we can't force her. We're all struggling and trying to muddle through and help each other. It's very difficult, thanks for caring. x

I can understand that. You can contact bereavement organisations yourself -Cruse Bereavement Care are excellent, but there are others - not just for help with your own grief, but also for advice on appropriate ways to help and support your daughter.