Help needed please

steveward205

Hi,
I am in a very difficult situation & need some help

I am a recently divorced dad of three kids 9,13 & 15.
My ex wife has suffered a brain aneurysm on 1st nov 2010 & her prognosis is not good at all.
I am living in the family home looking after the children, my ex was not working & claimed tax credits & child benefit (don't know what else)
I have been in touch with the tax credit people & child benefit to get them changed into my name last week, as she is fading fast.

What else am i entitled to, i work 39 hrs a week grossing £1165.00
If the worst scenario does happen could i be entitled to any other benefits, i am getting desperate, money is tight.
House is mortgaged
work 39 hrs
Hope somebody can help

no-oneknowsme

No benefit advice for you im afraid but just wanted to say how sorry i am for your present situation.

Your kids are going to need you in the near future .

Again , so sorry .

Tehya

I'm very sorry to read your post; it must be a very difficult time for you all.

I know you have mentioned tax credits but if that is just regarding the child tax credits you should be able to claim working tax credits too. Because you work more than 30 hours you get a little extra too. Unfortunately if the family home is owned by your ex wife you won't get any help with the mortgage. If the house is rented from the council or HA you may get a small amount of housing benefit if it's a private rental you can try to claim LHA (local housing allowance). You may be entitled to a council tax benefit/reduction too.

Has your ex wife claimed any illness or disability benefits as these could really help in your position and can lead to many other types of benefits i.e. health costs etc.

My advice would be to ring the benefit enquiry line (it's for disabled people and their carers and it's run by the DWP call on 0800 882 200 the website has more information and is part of the directgov site http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/DG_10011165) the staff there are really good and managed to tell me exactly when and what to claim when my husband became seriously ill in 2009 and again when things changed earlier this year they also told me about other benefits like housing and child benefits.

I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along soon. And please don't be afraid to come back and ask further questions.

lynzpower

I dont have any constructive advice for you, but your post touches me. You are in my thoughts x

Indie_Kid

Tehya wrote: »

I know you have mentioned tax credits but if that is just regarding the child tax credits you should be able to claim working tax credits too. Because you work more than 30 hours you get a little extra too.

The OP said they earn £1165 per week. Their income would be too high for WTC - cut off is around £18k.

no-oneknowsme

sh1305 wrote: »

The OP said they earn £1165 per week. Their income would be too high for WTC - cut off is around £18k.

Do you think maybe the OP has posted the wrong amount of earnings ?

If he earns £1165 per week then that would be £29 per hour as he says he works 39 hours per week

Not saying thats not possible but im thinking maybe the £1165 is per month ?

If it is then his YEARLY earnings are going to be in or around £15k per year and so he would be entitled to wtc.

steveward205

sorry my mistake, gross £1165 per month
thanks

Tehya

sh1305 wrote: »

The OP said they earn £1165 per week. Their income would be too high for WTC - cut off is around £18k.

On £1165 a week I doubt he'd be coming here to ask for benefit advice as he'd be on almost 5k a month so I read it as an mistake and he's now confirmed the amount is monthly.