How are gfs benefits affected if she came to live with me?

zzzLazyDaisy

Iamdave wrote: »

A mate of mine is currently in the situation where he bought a house about the same time as me, his gd moved in and they now split up and the house he saved for and has paid for is being divided off him. .

Your mate needs to get legal advice.

If a couple is not married and the house is in your sole name, the only way she could acquire a share of the house is if

1 you put the house into joint names,or
2 she pays mortgage payments with a paper trail - ie directly from her bank account to the lender, or
3 if she pays for some significant structural addition to the fabric of the house which increases the value, such as an extension.

Even then, in scenarios 2 & 3 she would only gain a share in proportion to the funds she had put in.

NOTE this assumes that you live in England or Wales - the laws on property and relationships are different in Scotland.

I would do away with the rent book, and come to an agreement about what contribution she is going to make to the general household budget (like normal couples do). Paying bills will not give her an interest in your house, and it may be useful to put one of the bills in her name eg the water bill, as sometimes a utility bill is required for identification. Also she could contribute towards the food shopping for example.

Good luck, I wish you well.... and I for one do not see anything unusual or strange in you wanting to protect your investment in your house, this early in the relationship.

Anny_2

Love in 2012 -

"I love you so much baby and want you to move in with me. I want you to be near me always and share the rest of my life with you. You will?. It is everything I dreamed of. Here's your rent book"

Who said romance was dead?

shop-to-drop

Be really careful not to get her pregnant if you both want to keep your financial independence from one another and you want to be sure of keeping your home to yourself.

Having a child together would change everything and rightly so. So you know what to do, don't just rely on the girl taking care of that side of things. She has already been 'caught out' once by the sound of it as surely she didn't choose to have a child with someone who pays nothing to support it.

princessdon

You can protect your assets cheaply with a visit to a solicitor and a deed drawn up.

Re her indendence - she can work

All means tested benefits will stop when she moves in (including tax credits)

Iamdave

the main issue was more to do with whether her child benefits would be affected as I am not the childs father is it the expected convention that i take on the financial role for the child too? (not that that is an issue either as I already spend a significant amount on the child) and that she claims the or doesn't claim the right benefits when she does move in as she's had a hostory of mis-information when it comes to benefits advice.

The child's father is a student currently doing a masters (or some thing else firther on from a degree). Seems like he's doing it more to avoid getting a job than for any further advancement in his future career. (he has a history of medical mental issues and or lazyness)

As for me looking to protect my asset in the house by either having the girlfriend give me money in an official compacity (i.e. rent) i don't see why so many people take issue with that? Its the culture that has developed these day whereas a person (man or woman) who has contributed to all or most of the financials to an asset gets done over in the event of a split.

There are no guarantees in life bar death and taxes things may change when we live together these things do actually happen, and thats not me saying it will happen just that it can happen. I'm actually looking forward to having them live with me, the little one especially as i'll get more playtime with them

the G/F does plan to work more hours when she moves in as I can look after the baby with her increased hours.

zzzLazyDaisy

Iamdave wrote: »

the main issue was more to do with whether her child benefits would be affected as I am not the childs father is it the expected convention that i take on the financial role for the child too? .

To the extent that all means tested benefits will be assessed on your joint income, then the answer to your question is yes.

However, she will be working and she will get child benefit. She will no longer have sole responsibility for the cost of keeping a roof over the child's head - rent, utility bills etc, so she should be able to buy clothes and child related items out of her own earnings. In theory the absent father remains financially responsible for supporting his child, notwithstanding the fact that the mother is in a new relationship with you - but as you see, it doesn't always work that way.

Basically, when she moves in, you three become a family unit, and are assessed as such.

notanewuser

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

To the extent that all means tested benefits will be assessed on your joint income, then the answer to your question is yes.

However, she will be working and she will get child benefit, and a reduced amount of child tax credit. She will no longer have sole responsibility for the cost of keeping a roof over the child's head - rent, utility bills etc, so she should be able to buy clothes and child related items out of her own earnings. In theory the absent father remains financially responsible for supporting his child, notwithstanding the fact that the mother is in a new relationship with you - but as you see, it doesn't always work that way.

Basically, when she moves in, you three become a family unit, and are assessed as such.

She won't receive tax credits for 1 child when her partner earns £40k!!!

zzzLazyDaisy

notanewuser wrote: »

She won't receive tax credits for 1 child when her partner earns £40k!!!

Yes you are right, sorry I misread the OP, and have amended my post

Iamdave

thanks for your help guys, i wouldn't be asking the gf for much anyway. I was always taught 1 weeks wages for mortgage/rent and 1 weeks wages for bills then 2 weeks wages for you which is what i live too.

So i'll only ask of the g/f a weeks wages, when the little one grows up he will be taught the value of a £ as it will stand him in gd stead for the future


as for his father, even if he was working he'd be unlikely to tell us (he lives a few hundred miles away so its not as if we could find out through the grape vine). out of interest is there a way to find out if he is working/has worked without asking him (as he would deny doing so)?

gingergee

There is a way yes, get the CSA involved. They can trace him via inland revenue. Not sure if they will do this for curiosity reasons but they do if you don't have enough info on the absent parent. Surely him doing a masters degree means at some point he should get a decent job somewhere along the line? Patience is a virtue, one day, when he does have that great job, a nice little % will be paid to your partner. (That is if you choose that route etc).