Finances when splitting up

cepheus

My friend has been living with her X husband and 2 daughters (11 and 14) in a mortgaged house for financial reasons. Her X works, she doesn't but receives various benefits including DLA.

She has now has chosen to leave him and share with a friend due to the stress of illness but will lose all the benefits except DLA. Evidently if he had left her in the house with the children, the child support and benefits wouldn't have been enough to pay the mortgage.

So she has agreed with her X that he pays her a lump sum to make up for a potential share in the value of the house. I have no idea how much this is. However, I think this means she will then have savings which will be taken into account in the means test preventing certain benefits being paid.

I realise this is probably not enough to go on but I think the general problem is once you have part ownership of a house or savings you lose certain entitlements. If they had rented it would have been easier.

Are there any obvious options she has missed?

dmg24

What other benefits does she currently receive?

Caz3121

tha majority of benefits go with the children so if she has the children she would get child benefit, tax credits etc but if she moves out alone she will be classed as a single person... are the children moving with her or staying with their father?

cepheus

She is planning to live without the children and leave them with him, so I guess that's why she loses everything.

Not sure about other benefits at present, I guess everything that is standard for a co-habiting couple with children.