Income Support

ninacasino2003

Hi

I left my husband last year with my children (2) and have been claiming income support as a single parent. We moved out the marital home and live in a private rented house.

I claim LHA, CTC, CB, CTB and IS.

My husband remained in the marital home and now wants to sell the house and move in with his new partner.

As part of the divorce proceedings I am entitled to 50% of the profits from the house sale (after costs) and this looks to be about 70K.

I understand that this will need to be declared and will effect my entitlement to means tested benefits.

What I want to know is, is there anyway to ring fence this money?

I want to use the 70K, to buy a house, my parents will also "gift" me 40K when the time is right to buy a house outright. (you can get 2 bedroom town houses for 100K-110K near me).

Any advice? Thanks

Caz3121

They will ignore the equity from a same for 26 weeks if it is earmarked for buying another property, after this period your IS, LHA and CTB will stop and you will need to use the money.

just to add, how long have you been claiming as the 26 weeks normally starts from your claim time as it can obviously take a while for a property to sell so although you have equity you cannot actually spend it....are the benefits people aware that you part own a property?

clearingout

Just posted on your thread on the CSA forum! I purchased a house, in part with my settlement and in part with money from my mum. I went onto Income Support just afterwards and had to provide the completion statement and they also asked for bank statements and receipts for any 'large purchases'. I hadn't made any purchases other than normal expenditure, clearly shown in my bank statements and my solicitor gave me a letter which said my mum had provided funds to top up my money for the house purchase. Income Support was then granted without any trouble.

ninacasino2003

Hi Caz

The house is not for sale at the moment, I expected it to be on the market this week, but the ex is changing the agreement we had so it might be weeks/months yet. I am told that its only a issue (and needs to be declared) when I get the money. We have not crossed that yet.

I have claiming IS for just over a year. I declared my share of the property at the time (and the adviser) but they stated as they house is planned to be sold, but not yet due to divorce, I need to inform them when the house is sold.

Hi clearing out

Thats good to know thanks.

karenx

You should not be recieving housing benefit if you are owner of another property and its not for sale. Does housing benefit know you have another house?
Income support may work differently as its nothing to do with housing and you can claim this whether you rent or have a mortgage

ninacasino2003

karenx wrote: »

You should not be recieving housing benefit if you are owner of another property and its not for sale. Does housing benefit know you have another house?
Income support may work differently as its nothing to do with housing and you can claim this whether you rent or have a mortgage

Hi, I don't claim Housing benefit, I claim LHA.

sunnyone

ninacasino2003 wrote: »

Hi, I don't claim Housing benefit, I claim LHA.

LHA and HB are basically the same thing, HB refers to a socialally rent home and LHA to a privately rent home, the rules are the same for both benefits.

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

karenx wrote: »

You should not be recieving housing benefit if you are owner of another property and its not for sale. Does housing benefit know you have another house?
Income support may work differently as its nothing to do with housing and you can claim this whether you rent or have a mortgage

My ex husband kicked, punched and abused me every day for nearly 20 years. I fled to a refuge and then managed to get a private rental with housing benefit. I jointly owned the marital home that i fled and my ex remained in.

Many many women find themselves in the same situation. You are eligible for housing benefit if you own another home, it all depends on your circumstances.

It worries me when people post comments like yours because I feel that women believe they have no choice but to stay in dangerous and abusive relationships due to not be eligible for HB if they already own a property. Not True.

Oldernotwiser

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow wrote: »

My ex husband kicked, punched and abused me every day for nearly 20 years. I fled to a refuge and then managed to get a private rental with housing benefit. I jointly owned the marital home that i fled and my ex remained in.

Many many women find themselves in the same situation. You are eligible for housing benefit if you own another home, it all depends on your circumstances.

It worries me when people post comments like yours because I feel that women believe they have no choice but to stay in dangerous and abusive relationships due to not be eligible for HB if they already own a property. Not True.

That doesn't seem relevant to the OP's situation.

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow

you have no idea with the OP's situation is so how do you know whether it's relevant or not?

I am worried about other vulnerable women reading this and believing they have to stay in abusive relationships just because their name is on the mortgage and they mistakenly think that this fact excludes them from being eligible for housing benefit. It doesn't. Neither does the house have to be for sale.

Oldernotwiser

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow wrote: »

you have no idea with the OP's situation is so how do you know whether it's relevant or not?
.

Then why assume that it's a DV situation when it probably isn't.

Are you trying to persuade women to claim DV when that isn't the case?