Bankruptcy and Ex Wife's benefits

teepee3

Good morning all,

I have another (sorry) question that I need help with.

I have been advised by the CCCS to go bankrupt and I have been told by the local county court that I can get a hearing within a couple of weeks.

They have also told me that I need to formalise a monthly payment to my ex wife and children. Up to now I have just tried to give them money when they need it.

My concern is that my wife is trying to get her life back on track by going to university and that if I formalise an arrangement with her that her benefits/student loan will be affected.

Any idea's?

debtinfo

Basically this is a question about benefit fraud. This comes up a lot in bankruptcy where the OR will only accept a formal payment to the ex. This is because many people do not declare the money they are receiving and so hope to get a bigger assesment on their benefits. The only answer here is that you should have a formalised payment and any money you are giving to her should be declared when working out her payments

teepee3

To be fair to her my money has been inconsistent and since we have split up (due to my financial stupidity) I have never given her any money directly. It has always been me buying bits for the kids or taking them out. We argued about this a lot and it was one of the reasons she would nopt take me back and I realise that now. I want to formalise a payment to her but she thinks that after all this time if I do this, her benefits will be on the threshold and she will not be able to go to university. I think she needs to get her information right and I can only do what I can do. I would love to get back with my family but I have put them through so much and buried my head in the sand, knowing what is the right thing to do is so hard. If this means that she will no longer be able to afford to go to uni she will hate me.

immoral_angeluk

I would suggest doing a calculation on the CSA's website to ascertain your liability for child maintenance. You can then use this as your guideline amount and if you wish, go through the CSA or set up a standing order based on that figure. It is worth noting that for most benefits now child maintenance is now included as income.

DaisyChainMaker

Having recently been on benefits I can assure you that CSA/maintenance payments are no longer included in benefit assessments. Your ex will be allowed to keep any payments you make on top of her benefit payments and not lose a penny. So infact, your payments will mean that she is better off. Check the CSA or Government websites for confirmation.

skylight

Paying maintainence will not affect her benefits at all. It is now disregarded in things like income support/housing benefits etc, although she should still declare it.

You have to formalise the maintainence (Or ensure it is the same £ as the CSA rate and no more, specifically noted if coming out of your bank account) or the OR cannot allow the payments in your SOA and you will end up out of pocket.

Not BR related -BUT - Dont make a CSA arrangement AND pay her direct. Do one or the other. If she goes via the CSA then allow that to happen and do not pay a penny directly, as it could totally screw you in years to come.

cabbage

You can also look at http://www.cmoptions.org/en/calculator/calculator.asp for an estimate of what you should be paying or you could give them a ring.