Compliance ...new baby!

bloolagoon

hips12 wrote: »

Thank you.
Separate current accounts, just a joint savings account.
Cannot see how they could be classed as living as a couple when he has his own bank account, rent account, bills etc and she pays me a set amount for food and utilities to help with the bills as she lives here.
It will all be in black and white on their bank statements.
He has a 1 bed flat, I bought them a set of bunk beds for the children ( my eldest grandson, and his potential step dads daughter ) so he has had to put his own bed in his lounge, so really no space to live as a family...would have been different if she had kept her house of course, then they could all be together when they are ready.
Also eldest grandson is at local school here.

Thanks
Hips

I personally don't see a LTAHAW but it depends on what evidence they have and it's their investigation. Our opinions are just opinions on limited information and guesswork. The only sleeping 2 nights is a myth. She'd best read the guides that the LA and HMRC use to determine their criteria.

bloolagoon

hips12 wrote: »

Thank you for your kind and sensible response.
Partner is on babies birth certificate, at his own address, would you suggest my daughter gets copies of his rent account and bank statements to prove that he lives in his own place, or will they be able to get that information themselves if they want it?
Just trying to pre-empt everything so my daughter doesn't get stressed as she is suffering from PND too.

Hips

If she's a worrier like me I'd get them all and only use if asked - remember this is guessing, you don't know why for certain, but yes I'd personally get all evidence and take it with me to produce if asked.

You also need to remember that there are many couples where 1 lives with parents that do claim fraudulently. you can understand why they need to ask questions.

Poppie68

hips12 wrote: »

Thank you.
Separate current accounts, just a joint savings account.
Cannot see how they could be classed as living as a couple when he has his own bank account, rent account, bills etc and she pays me a set amount for food and utilities to help with the bills as she lives here.
It will all be in black and white on their bank statements.
He has a 1 bed flat, I bought them a set of bunk beds for the children ( my eldest grandson, and his potential step dads daughter ) so he has had to put his own bed in his lounge, so really no space to live as a family...would have been different if she had kept her house of course, then they could all be together when they are ready.
Also eldest grandson is at local school here.

Thanks
Hips

A joint bank account will always flag up...

My husband works away from home I can go 3 to 4 weeks before just spending a weekend with him, your grandaugher sounds like she spends more time with her boyfriend than I do with my husband of 24 years.
The only thing in joint names is the mortgage, we have separate bank accounts, my name is on every single bill. He has a tenancy agreement in his name and utility bills etc for a property the other side of the country plus his car insurance is even is addressed to his rental because it's parked there more than it's parked here.....I am entitled to absolutely nothing means tested as we are still seen as living together..
Your granddaughter maybe fine but she also has to think about what's she's going to do if they deem them a couple for benefit reasons.

hips12

pmlindyloo wrote: »

It would be interesting to read Blondbubbles view of this as regarding the claim for tax credits.

Setting aside the point that it is not up to us to decide whether they are living as man and wife I do question the daughter and partner's relationship and whether it has been set up to take advantage of the benefit system.

They seem to have a stable relationship in that they spend every weekend together and some of the holidays and did set up a joint bank account together. OP's also talks of their intending to live together but not for a long time.

And this is where I think the daughter might need to be

Divorce is not expensive and if both parties agree can be fairly straightforward. Five years is a long time.

If they lived together now they may be entitled to help from benefits. Personally I do not see that the financial situation is a reason not to live together.

If the real reason is that they are unsure that their relationship is going to be permanent then fair enough. They are then, despite the child, more like boyfriend and girlfriend.

If the reason is that they can't live together is because the daughter would be unable to drive mum's car as the miles criteria would be breached as regards the mobility scheme and she would not be able to perform her the caring duties then they could move nearer or partner could move in with daughter in mother's house?

I am trying very hard not to be judgemental just alerting the OP to possible inaccuracies in the daughter's story which she may be thinking of telling.

Perhaps I am wrong and they will not be interested in anything other than the facts and evidence to support them.

No not judgemental at all, it is interesting to hear others opinions even if to us it all seems to be black and white.

My daughter moved in with me as my Carer as she wasn't sure that the relationship would last long term, so him moving in was never a consideration at that time.
There is a history in my family of Postnatal cardiomyopathy in pregnancies over the age of 30 and having found the birth of her first child traumatic, she decided she wasn't going to have any more children.
Then last year she discovered she was pregnant!!
Still under 30 she decided that it would be her last chance for any more children so decided to go ahead with the pregnancy despite needing counselling from the hospital because of her fears, throughout the pregnancy....it resulted in a heavy duty epidural and she found the whole thing pleasant as it turned out!!!!
With my help over the years she had managed to stay on top of her finances, and as her partner isn't good with money, moving in together is still not an option as she will not risk her children's security.
She is definitely not in it for the benefits, she wanted to work when her first child was old enough but it had to be between school hours/holidays..even the DWP said those jobs are like gold dust and suggested she become my carer as my health had deteriorated.
We have worked out using the Entitled To site that they would do pretty well if they moved in together due to working tax credits etc but she is not confident enough to make that move yet.
Her first consideration is to the children and making sure they have a roof over their head...her partner is frequently paying catch up with his rent!!!
I hope that clears things up a bit.

Thanks
Hips

hips12

Poppie68 wrote: »

A joint bank account will always flag up...

My husband works away from home I can go 3 to 4 weeks before just spending a weekend with him, your grandaugher sounds like she spends more time with her boyfriend than I do with my husband of 24 years.
The only thing in joint names is the mortgage, we have separate bank accounts, my name is on every single bill. He has a tenancy agreement in his name and utility bills etc for a property the other side of the country plus his car insurance is even is addressed to his rental because it's parked there more than it's parked here.....I am entitled to absolutely nothing means tested as we are still seen as living together..
Your granddaughter maybe fine but she also has to think about what's she's going to do if they deem them a couple for benefit reasons.

That is AWFUL.
You have my sympathies.
I agree the system isn't fair on a lot of people, and they are right to check up on my daughters situation, we just wanted advice on what to expect really.
I have just written in response to another poster, that they would be fine financially if they lived together, but she isn't confident enough in him to go down that road yet...he frequently plays catch up with his rent, and borrows from Peter to pay Paul ..and she doesn't want that worry hanging over her with 2 children.
I realise that some people see it as wrong to have continued with the pregnancy, but that was her decision to make.

Thanks
Hips

pmlindyloo

hips12 wrote: »

No not judgemental at all, it is interesting to hear others opinions even if to us it all seems to be black and white.

My daughter moved in with me as my Carer as she wasn't sure that the relationship would last long term, so him moving in was never a consideration at that time.
There is a history in my family of Postnatal cardiomyopathy in pregnancies over the age of 30 and having found the birth of her first child traumatic, she decided she wasn't going to have any more children.
Then last year she discovered she was pregnant!!
Still under 30 she decided that it would be her last chance for any more children so decided to go ahead with the pregnancy despite needing counselling from the hospital because of her fears, throughout the pregnancy....it resulted in a heavy duty epidural and she found the whole thing pleasant as it turned out!!!!
With my help over the years she had managed to stay on top of her finances, and as her partner isn't good with money, moving in together is still not an option as she will not risk her children's security.
She is definitely not in it for the benefits, she wanted to work when her first child was old enough but it had to be between school hours/holidays..even the DWP said those jobs are like gold dust and suggested she become my carer as my health had deteriorated.
We have worked out using the Entitled To site that they would do pretty well if they moved in together due to working tax credits etc but she is not confident enough to make that move yet.
Her first consideration is to the children and making sure they have a roof over their head...her partner is frequently paying catch up with his rent!!!
I hope that clears things up a bit.

Thanks
Hips

Understood That makes it clearer.

It might be sensible for your daughter to refer to the man in question as the father of her child rather than her partner.

Hope it all works out well.

hips12

bloolagoon wrote: »

If she's a worrier like me I'd get them all and only use if asked - remember this is guessing, you don't know why for certain, but yes I'd personally get all evidence and take it with me to produce if asked.

You also need to remember that there are many couples where 1 lives with parents that do claim fraudulently. you can understand why they need to ask questions.

Thank you.
I have suggested that she has them to hand.

Yes I can understand the living with parents thing can cause a problem, but there is myself, my son, my daughter, and my 2 grandchildren under one roof...no room for another one even if he shared her room, as my bedroom is now an alcove in the lounge so I would get no privacy at all with another person here...they would have to spend all their time in her bedroom like teenagers lol

Hips

bloolagoon

hips12 wrote: »

That is AWFUL.
You have my sympathies.
I agree the system isn't fair on a lot of people, and they are right to check up on my daughters situation, we just wanted advice on what to expect really.
I have just written in response to another poster, that they would be fine financially if they lived together, but she isn't confident enough in him to go down that road yet...he frequently plays catch up with his rent, and borrows from Peter to pay Paul ..and she doesn't want that worry hanging over her with 2 children.
I realise that some people see it as wrong to have continued with the pregnancy, but that was her decision to make.

Thanks
Hips

I don't think anyone is questioning her decision to have your grandchild, it's more that a single or joint claim isn't as black and white as you may think.

For example a few years ago we moved from London to Durham in the north east of England. My husband moved first and for months he lived here alone and me and the children in London. We would not be single even though I saw him only twice in several months. His car, bank account, work etc all to his northern address.

Similarly there are situations where married couples live in the same house yet are classed as single for benefits.

There was a poster on here who was forced to live with her ex for years as house was in both names and neither could afford to move. Her ex and his new partner in the same house. They were single and did nothing as a couple, never spoke to each other, he lived with his new partner in their jointly owned house.

So it's not Bills, paying rent, bank accounts it's whether they believe it meets their criteria.

hips12

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Understood That makes it clearer.

It might be sensible for your daughter to refer to the man in question as the father of her child rather than her partner.

Hope it all works out well.

Thank you so much.
I think if she explains it as I have here they will see that everything is above board.
They have been together for 3 years and have a baby so I use the word partner rather than boyfriend, but yes that is what he is, and the father of her child.
I guess just as I refer to his wife as his ex-wife even though by law she is still his wife!!!!
I think he is hoping that her partner will want to marry her thus paying for the divorce, as he cannot scrape together the money to pay for it himself....hence no money in the savings account either lol.

Hips

hips12

bloolagoon wrote: »

I don't think anyone is questioning her decision to have your grandchild, it's more that a single or joint claim isn't as black and white as you may think.

For example a few years ago we moved from London to Durham in the north east of England. My husband moved first and for months he lived here alone and me and the children in London. We would not be single even though I saw him only twice in several months. His car, bank account, work etc all to his northern address.

Similarly there are situations where married couples live in the same house yet are classed as single for benefits.

There was a poster on here who was forced to live with her ex for years as house was in both names and neither could afford to move. Her ex and his new partner in the same house. They were single and did nothing as a couple, never spoke to each other, he lived with his new partner in their jointly owned house.

So it's not Bills, paying rent, bank accounts it's whether they believe it meets their criteria.

I see.
It's a bit of a minefield then isn't it.
All down to interpretation I guess.

Thanks
Hips