child benefit help

moodycow2

Hi all
Bit of advice if you can
I have a shared care arrangement in place which I was over joyed to get as my ex wanting sole custody but I have seemed to have got shafted a bit with the care arrangements.
We have two children and I have applied for the CB book for my son. even though I feed them equally and buy clothes toys etc furnished my new house for them, when I applied for the CB I was told that we both qualify for CB but as she has more overnights than I do 10-4 in a two week period they will not split the CB. I do all the collections / drop-offs and had to leave work so I could see my kids in the summer hols because the ex is in work for 1pm and so I have to collect them at 12 noon for all the holidays Mon, Tues and Fridays.
At the moment I get £73.00 to pay my bills and feed them, clothe them and pay for any after school activity as my ex wont pay towards any of them (my ex says what I do in my time with the children I should pay for with no help)
I have my children
Monday from school until Tuesday night, Friday from school until Saturday night
so that's 4 evening meals, 2 breakfasts for me and 3 evening meals and 5 breakfasts for my ex
I have asked for more contact but my ex wont give me any so I cant get the overnight ratio up and in the summer holidays I feed them their lunch on my contact days as they get free school dinners at the moment when in school.
How does the government expect me to live on a very low wage and provide for my children and my ex works the minimum hours and claims working tax credits, I have asked my ex to split the CB and got the answer No and the CB have said No
I am appealing the decision but don't hold out much chance
Any advice would be welcoming
Thanks

nannytone_2

only 1 parent can claim CB for a child ( though it is possible for you to claim for 1 child each).
they NEVER 'split' the payments between parents.
your only option is to ask your ex if she will let you claim for 1 of the kids.
where the children live is worked out using how many nights a week the children sleep in which property.
clearly the sleep at theor mothers more than double the amount they sleep at yours and so, her receiving the child benefit is correct.
if you cant afford to pay for the after school activities then withdraw your childrn from them.
it does seem like you are allowing your ex to make all the rules though.
tell her you cant come out of work early to collect them during the holidays as you need to earn money too.
let her arrange, and pay for childcare.... it may make her a little more sympathetic to your situation

FBaby

At the moment I get £73.00 to pay my bills and feed them, clothe them and pay for any after school activity as my ex wont pay towards any of them (my ex says what I do in my time with the children I should pay for with no help)

Stop chothing them and stop the activities.

Monday from school until Tuesday night, Friday from school until Saturday night
so that's 4 evening meals, 2 breakfasts for me and 3 evening meals and 5 breakfasts for my ex

Bring them back to their mum before dinner on Tuesday and Saturday nights.

Would you be able to claim tax credits if you claimed for one child and does your ex gets much tax credits for both of them? Do you contribute maintenance payment as per CSA recommendation?

If you can't increase the benefits you can claim for them, then you need to reduce your outgoings, so as said again, stop buying clothes, paying for activities etc...

Spendless

moodycow2 wrote: »

I have asked for more contact but my ex wont give me any so I cant get the overnight ratio up and in the summer holidays I feed them their lunch on my contact days as they get free school dinners at the moment when in school.
How does the government expect me to live on a very low wage and provide for my children and my ex works the minimum hours and claims working tax credits, I have asked my ex to split the CB and got the answer No and the CB have said No
I am appealing the decision but don't hold out much chance
Any advice would be welcoming
Thanks

How? Usually claiming working tax credits means you can't claim free school dinners. You say in another thread the kids are 8 and 11 so it isn't because free meals has just been introduced in England for KS1 kids.

I'm unsure if you are or aren't working from your other thread, but you need to work full-time and if that means that your work hours dictate you can't do the pick ups/drop offs then their Mum needs to sort out and pay for childcare, she will get help with this due to the benefits she can claim. The reason she is allowed in the system to work part-time and top up her income is because they recognise she needs flexibility due to having kids. It is therefore up to her to sort (in my eyes) not put such restrictions on you that you can't work any hours an employer requires whlist she reaps the benefits of working part-time.

Incidentally how did you imagine it all working out logistically and financially when you went for shared care?