A complete Mess

radaas

just wondering if anyone can give me some advice as things are about to become a complete mess.

This past financial year I was a University student, I lived in university accomodation and had no earnings apart from the Student Loan.

I have a 3 year old son who lives with his mum, she is also in University.

During term time he goes to a registered Childcare provider costing £400 per month.

We are both back and over summertime i have him for 4-5 days and she has him for the remaining.

The problem that arises is that I would claim a childcare grant as my parents income is about 15k. (they claim no benefits, my dads odd, he's really against it)

Her parents earn over 30K.

however I have now graduated, my income fluctuates from 0 to £10 p/h full time work as i am temping.

Come september time he will go off with her, but even though her parents are using one of those debt consolidation services and her mum has filed for bankrupcy. my ex will not e able to claim to the same extent the childcare grant that i did, as they have said it doesnt matter what your financial situation is they still earn £xK.

She will soon have more responsibilities with him and become the main carer, probably need the nursery more as i wont be there to help out (i usually had grouped all my lessons in 4 days so i coud look after him for 1 day plus the wekkend, she did the same and lokked after him for a day and he was in nursery the other 3)

What we got last year
4K SLC loan me
3k SLC loan her
85% childcare paid by LEa through me
1.3K Parental learning allowance her
£40 a week CTC me.

Costs
1K tuition her (i didnt have to pay due to parental income)
£700 a month rent (its hard finding a place that would allow both a student and a parent)
£200 a month me
400 per month chilcare
and all other usual costs

She gets no support from her parents cause though they earn a tidy sum her dads idiotic behaviour has crippled them all financially.

With me becoming a non student, we lose the 85% childcare grant, lose the 4K loan, i no longer become the main carer so we lose £40 a weekCTC, Childacre cost go up (prob another 130-150 a month), but im living at home so save £200 a month rent.

im £1400 in overdraft but should hopefully clear by christmas, she finally let me see into her accounts and im horrifed to see that she is 2K (1.45% natwest student) over on one CC and 1K (19.9% barclaycard)over on another
she pays minimum payment 70odd ponds a month but 40odd pounds is eated by interest.

After finding this great site i have told her about tranfering the balance to the Post office for 6months at 0%( i dont think she will be able to get accepted on the 12month GE credit card one) saves her about £250 for the 6 months.

I spoke to an advisor with the tax office about claim working tax credits as i did when i was on 15.5K on placement (got £20 per week WTC) But she said i could claim as at that point i was waiting for my agency to find a job so not working the minimum hours.

Couldn't i still say i was the main carer so that the CTC would not be affected and that we will get the WTC.

And if the childcare grant offered to her is very low due to her high parents income i could maybe use the childcare element of the WTC.

Things are just a mess, and i think by XMas time everything is just going to implode.

If anyone has any advice, Please help me

(Sorry about the length i just wanted to be as concise a possible as we are only a few weeks away from term time starting, and i had no idea of her Credit card situation and of course expected i would get a cushy grad job and not be temping my !!! off to all comers)

bonnie_2

i thought everybody got the 10 a week child tax credit regardless. you can't get working tax credit till your'e 25.
i don't understand why your digging at her parents at your age you should be supporting yourself more anyway.
when i asked, the person with the child benifit gets the tax credit payments.
are you actually together or seperate, i don't really understand what your getting at.

Triker

"I spoke to an advisor with the tax office about claim working tax credits as i did when i was on 15.5K on placement (got £20 per week WTC) But she said i could claim as at that point i was waiting for my agency to find a job so not working the minimum hours.Couldn't i still say i was the main carer so that the CTC would not be affected and that we will get the WTC."Hi there, I don't think you can claim to be your son's main carer unless you are (were) married and either have parental responsibility through marriage or gained it afterwards through the Courts. Its easily done if you have your partners consent. I know through personal experience that you need to prove this re claiming costs or gaining benefits for children/childcare.Aside from that well done on completing your education, I know how much of a struggle it is with children, keep your chin up, it will get better.

radaas

I know when people generally talk about their ex's and such its usually a messy affair (had a read through some other aticles on the boards)

basically me and his mum are still close the year before last we lived together and i had just done a year placement and it was not a nice year at all, it also vapourized all the money i had earned.

Our parental address's are pretty close so still see each other now and then.

This year just gone it was decided that it would be better for all 3 of us to live in 2 seperate houses as we would still be able to study, and still look after the little one and also take the arguments etc out of the equation.

This worked successfully until jan feb time when certain grants i thought i would be applicable for whic i was the previous year was declined even on appeals.

This meant i moved back in with them, as finance was really really bad.

I have always been classed as the main carer as holiday periods (4.5 months of the year he is mostly with me and it is generally split down the middle term time. (placement year she studied i looked after him.)

now it looks like i might not be by definition, so am very worried as Her parents income means she would be entitled to far less then me. This would subsequently mean me making a masive contribution (we have a good relationship wher if they need money for things they get it) but am not sure ihow i will be able to afford it as i also plan on doing my ACCA's and as im working through temping agency's Hays and Reed Im gonna have to pay all the college and exam fees myself, which seems to be a hell of a lot more then i expected.

When they were to head off to uni mid sept my plan was to take a 2nd job to maximise income as extra time worked would not mean lost time with my son, but from hearing from other friends who are doing their professional accounting exams it looks like any free time i get, i will be stuck in a book.

CIS

She can still receive CTC and Child Benefit, regardless of anything else, she'll get the maximum of around £45 p/w CTC + Child Benefit.

If she could get 16hrs of work, then she could claim working tax credits, the 25yrs of age rules doesn't apply to anyone with children.

radaas

If thats the case that could be a weight off my shoulders as i was worried that she would not get the maximum CTC, due to her parents income.
And i guess now the WTC falls into place as i will be earning the benefit and she can pick it up regardless of her parents income right?

(Its really weird these past few years, when we need to be classed as independents we are not, then with other things when we want to be classed as dependents we're not- and just seem to get a bum deal, like the government etc would rather have us both drop out of uni, one work a low paid job the other child care full time, we would be financially better off, what happened to rewarding the ones that make an effort?)

CIS

WTC/CTC are means tested only againt your own income (+ partners), parents income doesn't affect anything other than some students loans.

You would need to have WTC only in your own name,unless you can still justiy being called a couple, in which case you need a joint claim - otherwise (without working 16hrs) she can only claim CTC and you can only claim WTC if your over 25 and work over 30hrs per week.

radaas

Ahhh that cleasrs that up,
Thing is i read the hmrc wwebsite and their definition of what a partner is and i dont think it applies, and i had called a few weeks ago to renew my claim and said i was a single parent as you relaionship and living arrangements has changed over the year.
So i guess the best thing is to now call them back up and say i am part of a couple and misunderstood their definition - probably say how she is soon to go into uni i made a pre-emptive mistake.

radaas

I am not such as MSE virgin as i have been thrawling throught the site for the past while, so heres an update

I will be calling the tax man to tell them i am in a couple even though i am not in the way it is defined by them but am in the way of common sense.

I have applied for a 0% Post office BT CC, to transfer her
£950 @ 19.9% Visa APR
£1889 @ 1.456% monthly ( does this mean 17.472% APR)
I will be taking on the debt, it is really doubtful she will gain credit by herself.

I have applied for a 2nd Amex account for her to use so that it should control her spending a bit while earning us some cash back

we will see how it goes, expect Amex in tomo for her and notification from the Post office soon after that

missk_ensington

From this academic year you are automatically an independent student if you have a child.

Therefore your parents (or her parents) wouldn't even be conacted. This is an enormous relief for me as last year I was assessed under my Mums income, which was above threshold, this year my income is barely anything as Im a single parent only working 3 days a week!

radaas

missk_ensington wrote:

From this academic year you are automatically an independent student if you have a child.

IS this like a change in the ppolicy or because i am no longer a student?