Will I get any Financial Support?

we3_2

Hi,

Just like to find out if I was to get a divorce with my husband, what sort of financial help can i get? We are currently living with his parents but have a house which is rented with quite a large mortgage on it. I want to move back in with our 2 children who is 7 and 4. We are both working together but I will be looking to find another job if we go through with this. It is very daunting for me as I have never had a job before (except working for my husband) and I dont want to drag my children through all this if I cannot provide for them. I dont want to move into our house and then a few months later have the hose repossessed. BTW, I dont think i will get any maintenance from him either as he is struggling as it is.

karenx

You will still get your child benefit and child tax credits, if you start working you may get working tax credits too. You can claim income support but that's only untill your youngest is 5 then you will have to claim jsa to start looking for a job. You may get some help towards the mortgage interest while claiming either of these 2 benefits but it will only be for half the interest as its a joint mortgage

Pollycat

karenx wrote: »

You may get some help towards the mortgage interest while claiming either of these 2 benefits but it will only be for half the interest as its a joint mortgage

Karen
I'm not convinced that is true.

This came up on another thread:

nannytone wrote: »

ypu will only get interest payments on your half of the mortgage, if it is in 2 names.

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Again, this is not true. As long as the OP can show that they have responsibility for paying the mortgage, they will be eligible for SMI on the whole amount. Refer to the Decision Makers Guide if unsure.

BigAunty

The Turn2us online benefit calculator will give you some idea of your benefit entitlements.

The Shelter website has a relationship breakdown section, plus information for homeowners struggling to pay the mortgage, such as the various govt schemes that are there to prevent repossession and perhaps basic info on how SMI operates.

The Direct Gov and CSA website will have info on his financial obligations towards his children.

You might like to consider the benefits of selling the property and renting a property if you cannot pay for it through employment or SMI just makes you stand still paddling away for years without ever paying down the mortgage.

The MSE website has a good budget planner which will help you determine affordability of the mortgage.

kingfisherblue

karenx wrote: »

You will still get your child benefit and child tax credits, if you start working you may get working tax credits too. You can claim income support but that's only untill your youngest is 5 then you will have to claim jsa to start looking for a job. You may get some help towards the mortgage interest while claiming either of these 2 benefits but it will only be for half the interest as its a joint mortgage

I get help towards the full amount of interest, as my ex hasn't paid anything towards the mortgage since the day he left - over seven years ago. However, I am also responsible for paying the remaining amount, including endowments and insurance.

we3_2

Thank you for your message and to everyone else too.

Can I ask whether you work or are you a full time mother? The situation I have is that I dont mind looking for a job but I dont think my salary will cover the mortgage plus the daily outgoings. My current mortgage is with BoS and it interest only. Do you think I can get some mortgage assistance? Where do I start?

Thank you for your help.

kingfisherblue

I am on Income Support as I care for my severely disabled child. I also claim carer's allowance, CTC, and council tax benefit.

I've no idea where to start with help for mortgage assistance, asi ti was sorted out several years ago when my ex left - I spent some time in the Job Centre, putting in a claim for IS, filling in forms for the CSA (as you had to then - I believe that this is no longer compulsory), etc.

Regarding maintenance, your husband may be struggling, but he does have a moral obligation to pay towards his children. For two children, this is 20% of his net pay. You can come to a private agreement for a lower amount and not involve the CSA if you wish. Any maintenance could help towards your housing situation, but I appreciate that you say he is struggling.

When children and property are involved, it is sometimes best to have a solicitor who specialises in family law. I had to, as my ex wouldn't discuss anything about the house apart from telling me I had to sell it and he would have the bulk of the money from it. As it happens, because the house has been adapated for our son, it won't be sold for a long while yet. I do have to continue paying the mortgage, pay for repairs, endowments and insurance, bnut it is worth budgeting for so that my children have a home - especially one that is suitable for my son's needs.

If you pop over to the Debtfree Wannabe board, there is a sticky where you can write a statement of affairs - this is a list of income and outgoings. You can then see what you have to live off, and whether you can afford to stay in the house. You don't have to be in debt to do this, nor do you have to post it online. It can be a personal record to help you sort your financial affairs.

BigAunty

we3 wrote: »

... The situation I have is that I dont mind looking for a job but I dont think my salary will cover the mortgage plus the daily outgoings. My current mortgage is with BoS and it interest only. Do you think I can get some mortgage assistance? Where do I start?

...

You will not get mortgage assistance if you are in employment - there is no govt top-up to pay down a mortgage for those in employment. The SMI scheme, for example, is for people on certain types of benefit and is also sometimes time limited (two years for those on JSA, for example).

See the Shelter website for details of the various types of schemes in place to prevent repossession. There is one scheme where a social housing landlord will buy the property and grant a tenancy to the current occupiers but I can't recall the criteria for this, if it is just for disabled householders or for those with dependents. Call them - they are experts in giving housing advice, including to home owners.

You need to disabuse yourself of the fantasy that you can own a property on a low income - this is a budgeting, not a state benefit issue and is largely between you, your husband and the mortgage provider to resolve.

Having a large mortgage on an interest only basis for the long term is a complete waste of time as you will simply be paddling. At some point the final repayment date looms and if you haven't got an investment vehicle or any meaningful way of paying the mortgage, then the lender will simply repossess at the end of the term and not grant an extension - we see this happen on the housing forum whereby owners have stuck their head in the sand and expected to have an interest only mortgage for their entire life without being able to pay it down - doesn't happen!

Download the budget planner and make a realistic budget of your full income (with and without employment) versus actual rather than fantasy expenses. Use this, and the advice from Shelter, to make a decision now to sell up rather than getting repossessed 5, 10, 15 years down the line.

By the sounds of it, your husband's business is not very successful. He, too, has to take a long hard look at it and determine whether it's better if he winds it down and takes up regular employment. For example, a person on the NMW will net around 12k per year so if he's not even achieving that in profit after a long period of being self employed, it's a no brainer to dissolve the company and get real employment so that he can contribute to the cost of his childrens upbringing.

we3_2

Thank you for all the helpful advice.