Need URGENT benefit advice after a relationship breakdown

Person_one

audioblackout wrote: »

Why am I well off at at her expense?

Well, her entire 'job' was finding you work, so you say.

If she did this because you couldn't find work for yourself and genuinely needed her in order to bring in your higher earnings, then you were seriously exploiting the fact that she was your partner and willing to do this essential job for such a minuscule percentage of the funds your joint efforts brought in. This has now left her up the creek without a pension, savings etc despite having worked all these years and contributed greatly to your wealth/assets. Wealth and assets that would be shared if you'd been married.

Edited: I had missed the part where you said you would be sharing the house value 50/50, which is the right thing to do. I hope you'll do the same with any savings/other assets and continue to support her until she is in a better position and able to support herself.

Pixie5740

-taff wrote: »

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/startcalc.aspx?e2dwp=y

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/what-benefits-can-i-get/

The links taff has given will help your ex understand what she is entitled to.

Finding a landlord willing to take a tenant who claims housing benefit can be tough. Having a guarantor would help with this. Would you be able/willing to act has guarantor for her? How will she raise a deposit?

Is there any chance of your ex being able to grow her business? She was able to find work for you so is there no possibility she could find work for other people? If not on her own then perhaps she has some transferable skills that would be useful in a recruitment agency.

19lottie82

Person_one wrote: »

I think I'd be visiting a solicitor if I were her. I think she has a strong argument that she should have an interest in the value of the house, probably half.

audioblackout wrote: »

we have agreed it will be sold in 6 months and we will split any profit straight down the middle.

Hi Mark - To me, if she HAS to be out in 4 weeks, the obvious solution would be for you to help her find a 1 bed flat (within LHA allowance), and assuming she has no savings, cover her deposit and first months rent, plus possibly the second, depending on how long her benefits claim takes to get rolling. Is this an option?

It's my understanding that housing benefit can often take 6-8 weeks to process a first payment, so she may be quicker looking for a FT job. If I were her I would register with as many temp agencies as she can find....... does she have decent admin skills? In most major cities there is always a decent demand for admin staff. "Temp" roles can often be long term and can be a good foot in the door to a perm role.

Malthusian

OP said any profit would be split down the middle, not the value of the house.

If the house was bought 25 years ago then depending on where it was bought and whether it's in good shape that should still be a very good sum of money, albeit there will still be tens of thousands of pounds difference between the profit and the value. If on the other hand it was bought recently, and not in a desirable area, the profit may amount to relatively little - not enough to give someone security for very long. And if "profit" is deemed to be the difference between the sale price and the amount the OP has paid in including mortgage interest and fees, rather than the sale price and the original purchase price, it will be even less.

The OP has perhaps taken the view that as he paid the mortgage his fianc!e only deserves money from the "unearned" value, i.e. the part that represents increasing house prices. However this is to overlook the fact that some of the money he used to pay off the mortgage was money he had because he was able to get away with paying his fianc!e an uncommercial rate for her labour, as opposed to the rate someone who wasn't his partner would have demanded for the same work. (It seems a reasonably safe bet that she wouldn't have worked for £3,000 a year for anyone else.)

tea_lover

So is there any reason why she can't work and pay her own way?

Diary

The ex girlfriend has a job - her own business, and the OP said he'll employ her to maximise benefits or sack her business depending on what maximising benefits dictates. She may get some tax credits if he pays her the minimum wage as an employee.

Taking control of her finances like this and expecting DWP to believe you've split up is far fetched at best. Best thing is to pay her full time minimum wage at the least and enable her to find her own way - you said employing her is an optoon.

audioblackout

Trust me I'm reading everyone's opinions very closely. I think before this post, we were too focused on benefits as we hadn't though of any other options or any further than our noses. Of course I don't want her living on benefits or off the system. She deserves better than that. We were thinking it would be the best thing to do whilst she 'got on her feet'. But now I'm learning from a few of these posts that's a very short term way of looking at it all.

Right now I'm thinking I have a plan.

1) Enrol her on a course to give her a proper recognised qualification in Personal Training or Counselling (she's been wanting to do this for a while now). I've found one and she seems enthusiastic about it. This would mean she goes straight into a full time job at the end of March or at least has a good chance of getting work.

2) Pay for her rent and bond in a decent place until the end of March. Help her out with her bills and food.

3) Possibly employ her until March on the NMW.

I think this way, she gets back on her feet quickly, without having to rely on benefits. I think after having a certain standard of living for so many years this would be soul destroying and even though she might not see that now, I can see how easily this could make you sink. If she doesn't get the qualification, she at least has the option of benefits down the line but it really does need to be a last resort.

Someone posted about the profit etc on the house too. Just to clarify, she would be getting sales value - mortgage left / 2. It's a substantial amount, although it can't be sold straight away. It'll be on the market within 6 months though. I'm pretty sure you'd all agree that this is the correct and fair thing to do.

Anyway, if any of you have any advice on how to achieve a recognised qualification in Personal Training or Counselling within 8 weeks, hopefully as cheaply as possibly (or perhaps ways that I can spread the cost because I am by no means rich and don't have money lying around), that would really really help.

Thanks again everyone.

FBaby

What FT job do you/she think she'll be able to go straight on after a very short course? I can't figure out whether you are truly naive, or you know that she is and will gobble any suggestion.

There are no courses, that start in December, that will last 8 weeks and lead to qualifications in Counselling that will be considered highly valued and allow instant access to employment. Even a level 2 certificate would be expected to take about 24 weeks.

You made it clear that you won't talk about your personal circumstances, but I have to say that it is hard not to feel overly curious as to why someone would remain in good term with a very long term partner and yet be so eager to get rid of them so desperately.

audioblackout

At FBaby. I am trying to do research and come up with a plan, which is why I am here asking questions. That's not naïve, it's being clever, doing research and ensuring I do the correct thing for the future.

So for example there is a course such as this for Personal Training and you're guaranteed a job at the end of it.

http://ptqualifications4less.co.uk/courses/7-week-full-time-personal-trainer-course

It states that clearly on the course information.

Any other advice or help with this route would be appreciated.

LilElvis

Has she got any experience in either field, or are they just careers she thinks she would like?

My knowledge is limited but I believe that both these careers aren't always/usually full time, salaried positions and are more often self employed with all the fluctuations and uncertainties that come with it.

Why not get a job in a bar, retail or restaurant to get some steady money coming in and then undertake studies in her spare time?

Expecting someone to train and then get a full time job in that field sounds totally unrealistic given your time frame.