Are my calculations roughly right?

Wishfairy2010

My 16 year old son has told me he wants to move in with his best friend (various reasons I don't want to go into) and effectively have his mum foster him.

I am self employed and earning nothing yet, single parent of 3.

I just looked at the tax credit calculator and it looks like I will loose £45 a week as well as £20 child benefit.

We are on the breadline as it is and this will make a huge difference - we'd have to give up the car, kids clubs and many other little bits that make life easier in a small, isolated village.

I can't help but think the request from his friends parents is money related but my son is convinced it is the best thing for him - closer to college in Sep, less isolated, near his girlfriend, not having to share a bedroom and lots of other stupid reasons only a 16 year old could think were important.

Marisco

Wishfairy2010 wrote: »

I can't help but think the request from his friends parents is money related but my son is convinced it is the best thing for him - closer to college in Sep, less isolated, near his girlfriend, not having to share a bedroom and lots of other stupid reasons only a 16 year old could think were important.

Has the request come from his mates' parents, or from your son? It might be an idea to have a talk with him, but TBH I don't think it would be very constructive to call his reasons stupid!!! I see nothing stupid in his reasons at all. If I've got this wrong, apologies, but it seems to be more about you losing 65 quid, than what is best for your son!!

allen35

You wont lose £20 Child Benefit but £13.70 as your next oldest will be awarded the £20.

If you work out how much it costs to clothe, feed and pocket money, bus fares etc i don't think you'll see that much of a difference.

Not forgetting electricity and gas, i recall 16 yr old teenagers don't turn anything off and spend at least 30 minutes in the shower.

You'll probably be better off.


The parents who are taking him in don't have to foster him, nooooo.

They will be caring for him as he is still a minor, just means you give up CB and CTC, make sure you inform relevant dep'ts (HMRC) of when he moves out to avoid an overpayment

nannytone_2

you say you think the friends parents want him for the money..........seems youre thinking in the same way!

Wishfairy2010

Yes £65 is a lot to loose from our income but loosing my son makes me feel like a failure. We were so close until he started with a different crowd (who all seem nice enough teenagers) and spent more and more time away from home.

The final straw came when I wouldn't let his 15 year old girlfriend stay i his room - with his 9 year old brother! - but this mates mum will let them stay at her house. It's a bit of a open house and always full of teenagers. I'm not one to judge but the mother's boyfriend is 18 and 2 years younger than her son... her life and her business but not when my son wants to become part of her family!

I should say she has another son that is also 16 which is how my boy met her.

nannytone_2

inform the friends mother that the girlfriend is underage and that you will inform the authorities if you even suspect that she is staying over in the same room!

allen35

I wouldn't be letting my 16 yr old (child) son live under those conditions.

Mrs Robinson and Waterloo Road come to mind.............


Put your foot down and Tell him NO!

This sounds like it's heading for disaster a 15 yr old girl......

Marisco

This is why it's always better to put the full facts in the original post. It stops people jumping to conclusions, and saves a lot of grief!!:o TBH your OP made it sound as if you were more concerned by the loss of money than your son, subsequent posts have proved otherwise;)

sardine

allen35 wrote: »

You wont lose £20 Child Benefit but £13.70 as your next oldest will be awarded the £20.

If you work out how much it costs to clothe, feed and pocket money, bus fares etc i don't think you'll see that much of a difference.

Not forgetting electricity and gas, i recall 16 yr old teenagers don't turn anything off and spend at least 30 minutes in the shower.

You'll probably be better off.


The parents who are taking him in don't have to foster him, nooooo.

They will be caring for him as he is still a minor, just means you give up CB and CTC, make sure you inform relevant dep'ts (HMRC) of when he moves out to avoid an overpayment

Oh this reminds me of my two daughters. When one of them moved out when she was 18 into her own rented place, we found that we were so much better off financially. Then the second daughter thought about it and moved in with her.

Best thing that ever happened!! We sold our 4 bed property and bought a much smaller 3 bed - put money in the bank and found that our spendable income had nearly doubled overnight!!!
Then one of them found out that fending for herself WAS expensive, but as we had moved by then, we told her that there isn't a bedroom available so she had to get on with life just like we did!

Moral of the story, move into a smaller house to reduce your expenses and so that they CAN'T come back home.

sassysar

I wouldn't be quick to let CB or TC know he has moved out.(not sure on the rules for this?) He may be back within the fortnight. Will someone really take him in for free and house and feed him. Let her know it is against your wishes and by no means suggest she may have his payments.
And last but not least do anything to persuade him to stay home without lovering your standards on the important things. Maybe a chat saying how much you love him and will miss him is all it would take along with a few small compromises.

sardine

sassysar wrote: »

I wouldn't be quick to let CB or TC know he has moved out.(not sure on the rules for this?) He may be back within the fortnight. Will someone really take him in for free and house and feed him. Let her know it is against your wishes and by no means suggest she may have his payments.
And last but not least do anything to persuade him to stay home without lovering your standards on the important things. Maybe a chat saying how much you love him and will miss him is all it would take along with a few small compromises.

I may be wrong on this, but don't you have to notify the tax credits people of any material change that could affect your benefit within 1 month?

Also, as regards child benefit, you also have to notify them if the child moves out as from that time onwards you are not the person responsible for his upbringing. You can't carry on claiming for a child that doesn't live there anymore.

The friends mother, after he has moved in, has every right to claim child benefit if that is where he is living and they are maintaining him.
With that comes tax credit, she has every right to make a claim for him whether you like it or not.