JobSeekers Allowance if moved out of marital home / getting divorced?

JustMe2013

Hi all,
I'm posting this on behalf of a friend of mine...

She has just been denied (income-based) job seekers allowance, the reason given is that the equity in her house takes her savings well over the £16,000 threshold.

Her situation is that she is separated from her husband, and is currently going through a divorce. Because of this separation, she moved out of the marital home some time ago, & now rents a small flat.

Obviously, she is not actually benefitting from the fact that her ex-marital-home has equity in it (until it gets sold); her ex-partner still lives in it. So how can they possibly take this equity into account?! Does this sound right? This decision has left her with no income & no benefits whatsoever.

Any thoughts on whether this is correct or not?
Thanks in advance.

nannytone_2

is the marital home currently up for sale?

JustMe2013

nannytone wrote: »

is the marital home currently up for sale?

It *was* up for sale, for quite a long time. Then recently, the husband had said he would like to carry on living in the house & buy her share from her. However, that hasn't worked out (they haven't been able to agree on figures etc.), so now it is about to be put back on the market again.

Why? Does it make a difference if the house is up for sale or not?

pretzelnut

She needs to see a solicitor.

Most give a free hour.

When i was going through a divorse, my solicitor mentioned maintenance from my ex that he had to pay me until everything was sorted.

I never asked too much as i just wanted out, quickly. So I'm a bit thin on the details.

MidnightHour

Is the house up for sale?

MidnightHour

If assets are being liquidated it makes a world of difference.

von

Her share of the equity in the property would be disregarded for 26 weeks from the date she left the property.
After 26 weeks she has to be seen to be taking active steps to dispose of her share of the property.
If she puts it up for sale her share of the equity can be disregarded for 26 weeks from the date it is put on the market. After 26 weeks she needs to show that she is continuing to take active steps to dispose of the property e.g. by reducing the sale price and/or putting it up for sale with more than one estate agent.

As well as the above reasons, if the property is involved in the divorce settlement then providing the proceedings are ongoing her equity in the property can be disregarded until the divorce is settled.

JustMe2013

von wrote: »

Her share of the equity in the property would be disregarded for 26 weeks from the date she left the property.
After 26 weeks she has to be seen to be taking active steps to dispose of her share of the property.
If she puts it up for sale her share of the equity can be disregarded for 26 weeks from the date it is put on the market. After 26 weeks she needs to show that she is continuing to take active steps to dispose of the property e.g. by reducing the sale price and/or putting it up for sale with more than one estate agent.

As well as the above reasons, if the property is involved in the divorce settlement then providing the proceedings are ongoing her equity in the property can be disregarded until the divorce is settled.

Thanks for this information, it's very useful.