Is her ex supposed to pay maintence

Bootsalebargains

I'm after advice for a friend so i'll start at the begining.
She owned her own home but sold it when she met her partner and moved into his, the money from the sale was spent on everyday things. She had a child by him (child now 10) so gave up work and he supported them then she got pregnant again and he left her while she was pregnant (child now 4).
She lives in his house and he pays the mortgage, she works 10 hours a week and get IS, CTC, CB, CTB.
He says he doesn't have to pay her any maintence because he pays the mortgage but when the mortgage is paid off it's his house at the end of it as her name isn't on it. He doesn't pay a single penny for the kids, if he takes them out she has to give him money to get them some food out or he refuses to take them.
Is he correct not paying anything.

melly1980

Bootsalebargains wrote: »

I'm after advice for a friend so i'll start at the begining.
She owned her own home but sold it when she met her partner and moved into his, the money from the sale was spent on everyday things. She had a child by him (child now 10) so gave up work and he supported them then she got pregnant again and he left her while she was pregnant (child now 4).
She lives in his house and he pays the mortgage, she works 10 hours a week and get IS, CTC, CB, CTB.
He says he doesn't have to pay her any maintence because he pays the mortgage but when the mortgage is paid off it's his house at the end of it as her name isn't on it. He doesn't pay a single penny for the kids, if he takes them out she has to give him money to get them some food out or he refuses to take them.
Is he correct not paying anything.

so she is getting a free house paid for by him? Does that not count as paying for something? If he didnt pay for it then she would have to pay rent, I'd say its highly likely that she is getting a very good deal.

elvis86

melly1980 wrote: »

so she is getting a free house paid for by him? Does that not count as paying for something? If he didnt pay for it then she would have to pay rent, I'd say its highly likely that she is getting a very good deal.

I agree that him relieving her of any rent/housing costs does constitute a considerable contribution, but this:

bootsalebargains wrote: »

if he takes them out she has to give him money to get them some food out or he refuses to take them.

is out of order. If the ex was this petty, I would advise your friend to get her own place to live, pursue him officially for maintenance etc, and prevent him having a hold over you. Saying that, she may well end up worse off so she would have to make an informed decision.

karenx

Also if she rocks the boat with him he could quite easily tell her to leave the house, seeing as its his and he pays it.
If I were her I would move out, rent own place then claim maintenance from him

BigAunty

She should see a solicitor about her legal rights to occupy the property should the ex want it back and see if it is feasible for her to get an order whereby she can occupy it until the youngest turns 18, for example, which is a fairly typical settlement, though I don't know if this depends on marriage or not.

There is a CSA/child support forum on MSE. For parents who dispute child maintenance, I believe the CSA expects the non-resident parent to pay a certain percentage of their net wage, depending on how many children, shared or non-shared custody.

When her youngest reaches 5 (7 at the moment, but soon to change), she'll be turfed off Income support and put onto JSA.

Bootsalebargains

I've tried telling her she needs to move out, she would get HB until she find a job with more hours, the council have said if she leaves she's made herself homeless so he needs to give her notice to leave but he won't because then he's have to pay the mortgage anyway and maintainence too.
Her other problem is when she is out or even in the house he's letting himself in with his key, she comes back from work and he's sitting in her living room watching tv and eating her food. I've said I'd change the locks but she says she can't as it's his house.
She is on anti depressants and the arguments are getting so bad the eldest is wetting the bed, I was speaking to her the other day when he turned up and she didn't hang the hone up, I could hear him yelling at her, how useless she is and if she struggling with kids she should put them in care cos he never wanted them in the 1st place

melly1980

BigAunty wrote: »

She should see a solicitor about her legal rights to occupy the property should the ex want it back and see if it is feasible for her to get an order whereby she can occupy it until the youngest turns 18, for example, which is a fairly typical settlement, though I don't know if this depends on marriage or not.

There is a CSA/child support forum on MSE. For parents who dispute child maintenance, I believe the CSA expects the non-resident parent to pay a certain percentage of their net wage, depending on how many children, shared or non-shared custody.

When her youngest reaches 5 (7 at the moment, but soon to change), she'll be turfed off Income support and put onto JSA.

so you want her to steal his house? His house that he pays for and provides a roof over his childs head. The same house that is his and he cant live in? Not happy with that so she should try to steal it from him.

The simple solution to that if I was ever in this situation would be simply to stop working, bankrupt myself and have her turfed onto the street.
He is providing a house that is saving her at least on average 400 quid per month, possibly more while maintaining the standard of living for hi8s children. He should be being commended )(bar the petty incident that someone has pointed out to me) not critisised or stole from.

melly1980

she might want to rememebr with the current set up she has a free house that is essentially non-declarable as income leaving her free to claim a range of benefits. If she goes down the $h1thouse thief route it could well (and I hope it would) bite her well and truely on the @r$e.

agrinnall

I would say it's not just his house, while they were living together she paid living expenses while he paid the mortgage, which in my view gives her the right to a proportion of the value of the property when it is sold. I think she needs proper legal advice and follow that up with a legal agreement on occupancy of the property and division once it's sold.

clearingout

she can claim maintenance through the CSA. The fact he pays the mortgage means nothing to them in this context - it would only 'count' as maintenance if he were paying the mortgage on a property he had no interest in. That would then probably shift him into giving her notice and she could rent somewhere....what she would need to be careful of is him paying maintenance, not paying the mortgage and the house getting repossessed from under her.

BigAunty

Actually, an owner has the right to take up occupation, as far as I know. If she's not paying rent, then she's not a tenant so doesn't enjoy the right to quiet enjoyment as he's not her landlord. She should get legal advice on her right to occupy the property (or not) and work out whether or not his paying the mortgage represents a better deal than the percentage of his net wage that he'd be obliged to pay if she takes her case to the CSA.

She should ask a solicitor if she's got a good case for demonstrating that she has a financial interest in the house - the case law always seems a bit confusing to me when it comes to co-habitation rather than marriage. It might be the case, she should do something constructive like get expert legal advice, that she may secure the right to live in the property for the next 10 years anyway. Generally, in a ruling like this, the parent is expected to give the property back to the person who has paid the mortgage! Nothing controversial about a non-resident parent helping to fund a roof over their childrens head until they are considered independent, then retaining ownership of something they have paid for in full!!!

As indicated previously, when her child reaches school age (or 7 depending on the planned change), she will be expected to seek employment. If she wants to increase her income, she should ask the Job Centre for a 'better off' calculation to determine if/how she would be better off by working more hours.

She can look at the Shelter website to understand her rights, his obligations. They have a relationship breakdown section.