Help for my little bro?

Lifeisbutadream

Query for my brother, who's wife is leaving him for someone else

They have a mortgage on a house which is in negative equity (£180K mortgage, house is worth £150K).

He takes home £1200 per month, she takes home £1450.

THeir 2 years old is in nursery - I think they pay £600 a month for that.

I have no idea what his options are - they are going to share custardy of their son, but she has told my brother that he will still have to pay maintenance - she wants to stay in the house and the house in in her name.

WHat are my brothers options at the moment? he needs some short term help I think to get him back on his feet, but I have no idea whether he will be able to claim any housing benefit if he were to get somewhere - also is she right about him still having to pay her maintenance if they share custardy?

ALso they live 50 miles from the family otherwise we would be able to give them a home..

mrsspendalot

Not sure about other benefits available to him, but yes he will still have to pay maintenance even if they share custody. Under CSA, he will be assessed at 15% of his net income, but will get a reduction of 1/7 for each night he has his son to sleepover. They could try and come to a private arrangement first though.

Jowo_2

The Shelter website has a relationship breakdown section that has basic information about rights and responsibilities regarding the home. It also has a link to divorce websites that give information about settlements, etc. They have a relationship breakdown checker.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/families_and_relationships/relationship_breakdown

How old is your brother?

RAS

Hi

Yes he still has to pay maintenance - 15% of his net income.

She is In doing that, she takes full respopnsibility for the mortgage and the nursery etc; that 15% is the total of his legal responsibility.

That will be reduced if he has the child for more than 52 nights per year.

If BRo over 25, or over 35?

Lifeisbutadream

mrsspendalot wrote: »

Not sure about other benefits available to him, but yes he will still have to pay maintenance even if they share custody. Under CSA, he will be assessed at 15% of his net income, but will get a reduction of 1/7 for each night he has his son to sleepover. They could try and come to a private arrangement first though.

How come she wont have to pay him anything? she earns more than him and they will each have him 50% of the time? how can that make sense?

(not shooting the messenger, I just dont get it?:o)

Lifeisbutadream

Jowo wrote: »

The Shelter website has a relationship breakdown section that has basic information about rights and responsibilities regarding the home. It also has a link to divorce websites that give information about settlements, etc. They have a relationship breakdown checker.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/families_and_relationships/relationship_breakdown

How old is your brother?

My brother is 32.

(I still think of him as 10 though:cool:)

Lifeisbutadream

RAS wrote: »

Hi

Yes he still has to pay maintenance - 15% of his net income.

She is In doing that, she takes full respopnsibility for the mortgage and the nursery etc; that 15% is the total of his legal responsibility.

That will be reduced if he has the child for more than 52 nights per year.

If BRo over 25, or over 35?

That makes more sense if she would be paying the nursery. He was thinking of it as he would pay half of the nursery. She would pay the mortgage as he has no stake in the house, he would be moving out and starting again.

mrsspendalot

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

How come she wont have to pay him anything? she earns more than him and they will each have him 50% of the time? how can that make sense?

(not shooting the messenger, I just dont get it?:o)

Because someone has to be classed as the parent with care, and someone is classed as the non-resident parent. The NRP is the one responsible for paying maintenance, regardless of the PWCs income. There are an odd amount of nights per week, so someone has to have the child 4 and someone has to have the child 3, therefore someone is always the one with most care.

mrsspendalot

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

That makes more sense if she would be paying the nursery. He was thinking of it as he would pay half of the nursery. She would pay the mortgage as he has no stake in the house, he would be moving out and starting again.

No, all he would have to pay is his 15% - she would be entitled to claim all the child benefit, child tax etc etc to help with the costs such as clothes, nursery etc.

Lifeisbutadream

mrsspendalot wrote: »

Because someone has to be classed as the parent with care, and someone is classed as the non-resident parent. The NRP is the one responsible for paying maintenance, regardless of the PWCs income. There are an odd amount of nights per week, so someone has to have the child 4 and someone has to have the child 3, therefore someone is always the one with most care.

They are planning on doing 3 then 4 each... so it would be the same.

mrsspendalot

Lifeisbutadream wrote: »

They are planning on doing 3 then 4 each... so it would be the same.

But over a year, which is how they work it, someone will have to do 183 and someone will have to do 182 .... so it will not work out evenly as there are an odd number of days per year. It's very complicated. I hear what you're saying, and it seems very unfair. If they cannot agree, then the CSA will look at who claims child benefit and child tax credits, and they will be classed as the parent with care. If they can come to a private agreement, it may avoid some trouble here, but the snag is with 50/50 shared care, the associated benefits for children don't work like that, and they are what is used to decide who is the parent with full time care.