Need Benefit Advice Please, What help can i get?

Tulip09

In 2 weeks i am due to move house to a little village 500 ish miles away in the country the rent is £800 pm, Bond & months rent, contract fee, has been paid already. My husband who had wanted to move has now told me that he does not want to go and he wants to seperate as he has met someone else here. I have no idea how i will pay for it at all, or how i will survive tbh.

I am in receipt of lower DLA about £140 per month which is being re- evaluted currently, and get child benefit for 2 kids & tax credit of £96 per week based from husbands earnings. Husband has decided once i move out with the kids that he will keep our current flat up so he can have joint custody of the kids and he will take half the child benefit and child credit.

I know i will be able to get some help towards my rent/ council tax but not the full amount and they wont let me apply in advance of moving, and that i will need to get my own bank account etc. I dont have any savings at all and quite a few debts but my husband said he will let me know how much to pay for joint debts. I seriously have no clue about money/ benefits/ debts etc but i know will have to start doing something soon. I am unable to work or drive so working outside of my home is an impossibility at present unless i become self employed at home.

I am thinking that for myself, 12,10 & 17 year old -

child tax at £43 per week
child benefit at £33 per week
Disability/Mobility at £ 35 ish a week
Housing benefit towards a 4 bedroom house ???

Is there other help that i can apply for that anyone knows about please. Thanks for any help you can give me



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only_mee

Try putting your figures in to this http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
Good luck for the future, you're husband stinks imho.

Jowo_2

Did he sign the new tenancy agreement (joint tenancy)? Are you on the current tenancy agreement (joint tenancy)? Because you will have to consider changes to them to reflect who is living where. Having a name on a tenancy agreement makes a person jointly and severally liable for the rent and any damage.

It is also possible that the landlord/agent will not consent to the transfer into sole names if you or your ex cannot demonstrate sufficient income to pay for them. Shelter can advise you on your best options. Also, some landlords will not accept tenants that claim LHA (benefit claimants). You would have got the new tenancy on the strength of his earnings - do you have a guarantor that you can offer if the landlord demands one for a future tenancy renewal?

Now he's claimed the current property for himself and is demanding half of the child related benefit income, what child support is he proposing to pay? I believe a spouse is expected to pay a percentage of his salary according to the number of dependent children. Can he manage this and support a large rental property on his own?


It's fairly common for the parent that has the children live with them as their primary address (i.e. live there the majority of the time and go to school there) to have the child related benefits, or at least a bulk of them. He's assumed joint custody = joint receipt of benefits whereas some other posters may argue its about where they live the majority of the time and who buys the bulk of their food/clothes, etc.

See a solictor to understand your rights and your ex's obligations.

Go the LHA direct website to work out the maximum LHA that is payable to a household of your new size at that new postcode. The rate will depend on how many bedrooms you are entitled to, and the childrens ages and sex will be a factor. Once you've found that, put all your details as a single parent into the Entitled To (turn 2 us) benefit calculator).

Go to the Debt Free wanabee board and post a statement of accounts (they will be able to show you how to do this). They will come up with a strategy for how to deal with them so the repayments are manageable or advise how to get them written off. What kind of debts are we talking about?

Would it be your preference to remain in your current property and ask your husband to leave?

Tulip09

Thank you for the reply & advice. I will start looking up all the information you have given me asap. I am on the current tenancy agreement and solely on the new one just now as husband has been to busy to sign the paperwork just now and they said he can do it all when he moves in. He hasnt mentioned child support at all. He works 4 nights on and 4 off and said he will have to use his wages to travel to collect the children weekly and bring them back. So i dont imagine he would be able to pay any at all. The debts that are solely in my name is a credit card that we have both used which is £1800 and i know that he has a car loan & bank loan which is in joint names. I really havent had much to do with bill paying or bank accounts for many years and have been housebound so havent needed cash as such. He has taken responsibility for all that sort of stuff. Thanks again for your advice

Tulip09

Thank you for your response & website details. This will all help me alot

dmg24

Do you really want to move? I assume you do not know anybody where you are moving to?

RAS

Where are the children going to attend school? As you husband can only have them to stay when they are not in school.

Jowo_2

What was the bank loan for? Is your name on any household bills accounts or joint cards? You should ensure your husband doesn't have any further access to that credit card in your sole name. The Debt Free wanabee board is the best place to systematically work through your liabilities and come up with a plan for them.

At the moment, it looks like you are paying towards a car that you will not use and then being hit again twice for this, since your husband has indicated he expects not to pay any child support because of the travel expenses he incurs! Nice guy.

There is a child support board on this forum. You will have to consider the CSA if you can't reach an agreement with your husband. The solicitor will also help you - suggest you get legal advice asap.

if you do the maths on the new place and can afford it and want to move there, then make sure you get yourself off the tenancy agreement at the previous address so you do not become liable for any of this rent arrears. when does the fixed term end or is it a periodic tenancy agreement? surely notice was given to the landlord to end this tenancy agreement ahead of your new move? or perhaps your husband didn't bother because he was tricking you to move elsewhere? otherwise consider if you want to remain in the property and get your husband to leave it - the solicitor will advise.

Tulip09

dmg24 wrote: »

Do you really want to move? I assume you do not know anybody where you are moving to?

My mother lives about 15 miles away from the new house but the house is in the country 15 miles from the nearest shop which is the downside. I want to move closer to her as she is also ill just now however feel that i will be totally cut off. My eldest child is learning to drive so hopefully that will make things a bit easier on us.

Jowo_2

Tulip09 wrote: »

My mother lives about 15 miles away from the new house but the house is in the country 15 miles from the nearest shop which is the downside. I want to move closer to her as she is also ill just now however feel that i will be totally cut off. My eldest child is learning to drive so hopefully that will make things a bit easier on us.

How do you propose to help her if you are largely bedbound yourself?

When you seek legal advice, find out the position on the ownership of the car and see if you allowed to sell it to repay the loan or can take it with you to the new property.

Currently it looks like you are jointly lumbered with debts, have the potential to be responsible for the rent on your husband's place, your husband is expecting to keep half the child benefits while not paying anything towards you or the children, and to keep the car!

This is why you need a solicitor at the earliest opportunity so she can tell you his obligations rather than him dictating terms to you that disadvantage your household.

Tulip09

I dont think i will be able to afford the new place on my own at all, but will look into it further. I have really let my husband deal with everything and dont know alot of your questions in detail really. I think the bank loan was to clear lawyers fees that he needed once and we had a fire and lost everything so got one to replace some essential stuff we needed. My husband says he will be fair with me though, and i have no idea about what notice our current landlord needed but they must know we were moving as we had to pay for reference checks from them for the new house. Thanks for all the advice, there is so much i dont know and will have to try and work it all out soon.