divorce-joint mortgage-2 kids?

Booty1664

Hello all, this is my first post, I am looking for some help reference my current situation. My wife and I are getting a divorce after a few years of suffering each other. It seems amicable right now, however the problem is this. We have a joint mortgage and 2 young children. I pay for everything. The deposit on the house, mortgage, all bills, including her phone bill and I give her housekeeping every month for the family. When we get divorced because it's a joint mortgage, would my wife who will live in the house until the kids move out be entitled to any housing benefit until she can start work again. Our eldest is 2. I just don't think I will be able to afford the mortgage and CSA....

welshmoneylover

Booty1664 wrote: »

Hello all, this is my first post, I am looking for some help reference my current situation. My wife and I are getting a divorce after a few years of suffering each other. It seems amicable right now, however the problem is this. We have a joint mortgage and 2 young children. I pay for everything. The deposit on the house, mortgage, all bills, including her phone bill and I give her housekeeping every month for the family. When we get divorced because it's a joint mortgage, would my wife who will live in the house until the kids move out be entitled to any housing benefit until she can start work again. Our eldest is 2. I just don't think I will be able to afford the mortgage and CSA....

No she won't get any housing benefit for the house and quite rightly so.

Why do you think the tax payer should pay for a roof over your childrens' heads?

That is your responsibility to do so.

kingfisherblue

Housing benefit is only for rented accommodation, so your wife won't be entitled to that if she remains in the family home.

Is your wife working? You should be paying half each, but from your post it sounds as though she doen't work. She will be able to claim Income Support, but I don't know if she can claim SMI, which helps with mortgage interest after a qualifying period.

Depending on the amount of the mortgage, could she pay her half from the IS and CSA? Could you afford half the mortgage payment, plus CSA, plus your own living costs? Remember your wife will be responsible for all bills including her own phone bill, utilities, groceries, etc, which she will have to pay for from her benefits.

Your wife will be able to claim IS, child tax credits, child benefit (which I assume she already receives), council tax benefit, if she does not work, but she will have to start looking for work once the youngest is five.

Booty1664

welshmoneylover wrote: »

No she won't get any housing benefit for the house and quite rightly so.

Why do you think the tax payer should pay for a roof over your childrens' heads?

That is your responsibility to do so.

Fair comment, you're absolutely right.

I will be paying the mortgage, it is still my investment, will she get any council tax relief is what I should have said?

kingfisherblue

Booty1664 wrote: »

Fair comment, you're absolutely right.

I will be paying the mortgage, it is still my investment, will she get any council tax relief is what I should have said?

Be aware that your wife may possibly have a claim on the house - it is not just yours, even thoguh your wife may not have contributed financially. Presumably she has been looking after your children, so she is deemed to have contributed in that way.

If you feel that it is your investment, and have not considered your wife to have any part of it, you are likely to be in for a shock, as several years down the line, she may be able to claim a percentage of it (and the longer she lives there, the higher the percentage is likely to be). If you do not want this, you might want to consider selling the house, but I feel that it would be best to take legal advice.

If you cannot afford the mortgage, CSA, and own living expenses, you might have to sell anyway.

Booty1664

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Housing benefit is only for rented accommodation, so your wife won't be entitled to that if she remains in the family home.

Is your wife working? You should be paying half each, but from your post it sounds as though she doen't work. She will be able to claim Income Support, but I don't know if she can claim SMI, which helps with mortgage interest after a qualifying period.

Depending on the amount of the mortgage, could she pay her half from the IS and CSA? Could you afford half the mortgage payment, plus CSA, plus your own living costs? Remember your wife will be responsible for all bills including her own phone bill, utilities, groceries, etc, which she will have to pay for from her benefits.

Your wife will be able to claim IS, child tax credits, child benefit (which I assume she already receives), council tax benefit, if she does not work, but she will have to start looking for work once the youngest is five.

Thanks for the quick reply. My wife receives child benefit for the boys already. I didn't know she would be entitled to anything else, I'm guessing that would only be once the decree is absolute.

I am willing to pay the full cost of the mortgage because I want my children to have a nice home to live in, my only concern is whether CSA will take this into account.

pmlindyloo

If your children are under school age then your wife will be able to claim Income Support, Support for Mortgage Interest, Child Tax Credits and Council Tax Benefit.

Support for Mortgage Interest only pays the interest on the mortgage at a certain interest rate (can't remember the rate - you can google for it)

This means that there will be a shortfall in your mortgage payments.

How you go about making this up will be a discussion you will have to have with your wife and your mortgage lender.

Since you have an amicable relationship you could use a mediation service to help you draw up an agreement between you and your wife about all aspects of ending your relationship. This can then be made legally binding using a solicitor. This often works out much cheaper than using a solicitor.

Alternatively you can use a solicitor.

You can google to find out about mediation services in your area or pop into CAB for details.

PS Your wife can claim these benefits once you move out of the house.
You do not have to go through CSA - you can make private arrangements with your wife. If you choose this route make sure it is put in writing and you get receipts for all payments.

kingfisherblue

The CSA do not take into account anything that you pay out. At the moment, with two children, you should pay 20% of your net pay, but as pmlindyloo says, you can have a private arrangement and do not have to use the CSA. I believe that the CSA are going to charge for their services at some point, but I don't know when this is likely to happen.

Your wife can claim benefits as soon as you separate.

Booty1664

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Ah bless, I'm so pleased you want a nice home for your children but why should I as a tax payer fund your wife and kids lifestyle?

Thanks for your comments. Single and round?

paddedjohn

Although you want to keep the roof over your kids head by paying the mortgage have you thought it through properly? Can you afford the mortgage, maintainance and still be able to live elsewhere with all the costs this entails? Even if you can what about if you want/need to sell in the future, redundancy etc.

welshmoneylover

Booty1664 wrote: »

Thanks for your comments. Single and round?

You still haven't answered my question, why should I as a taxpayer pay for your children?