Getting married but not living together afterwards

mikeywales_2

My fiancee and myself have been together ad a couple for around 8 years and been engaged for 2 years but we do not live together, she lives in a different part of the country, works and rents a property where she lives with her son, I on the other hand am registered disabled and live in sheltered housing which meets my disability needs perfectly and I recieved disability benefits for myself, this might sound strange but we would like to get married to show our further commitment to each other but don't want to live together on a permanent basis as we are both happy living alone and just seeing each other at weekends when she comes to stay with me because I cannot manage the stairs if i went to stay at her house for the weekend plus we both enjoy our independence during the week, could we get married and continue to live apart and not be dependent on each other finamcially or would she be legally obliged to support me even if we were not living together.

pmlindyloo

mikeywales wrote: »

My fiancee and myself have been together ad a couple for around 8 years and been engaged for 2 years but we do not live together, she lives in a different part of the country, works and rents a property where she lives with her son, I on the other hand am registered disabled and live in sheltered housing which meets my disability needs perfectly and I recieved disability benefits for myself, this might sound strange but we would like to get married to show our further commitment to each other but don't want to live together on a permanent basis as we are both happy living alone and just seeing each other at weekends when she comes to stay with me because I cannot manage the stairs if i went to stay at her house for the weekend plus we both enjoy our independence during the week, could we get married and continue to live apart and not be dependent on each other finamcially or would she be legally obliged to support me even if we were not living together.

This thread would be better in the tax credits and benefits forum.

Please copy and post there.

FBaby

How you live your married life is up to you but expecting tax payers to pay it isn't. They are some benefits you'll still be entitled to but other that you will have a fight in your hand to justify been married but not living as a married couple. Many couples only see each other at weekends but still support each other financially. That's what true commitment is all about.

maman

Whether you see each other daily or choose to live apart is personal choice. There are many weekly commuters in my area who live apart during the week usually to maintain a well paid job in the city.


Your post does sound like a covert way of asking whether you can marry and still claim the same benefits as you do now.

TBagpuss

My understanding is that most benefits asses you as a couple if you are living together 'as spouses' . It's perfectly possible for someone who is married to claim benefits as a single person, if that reflects how they are actually living, but most people who do so are separated.

If you get married and (in effect) immediately separate, then I would expect you to be looked at rather ore closely, as on the face if it, that 'smells' like a fraudulent claim, so you might well find that you were investigated to see whether you were claiming incorrectly.

Marriage does have legal implications so it may be sensible for the two of you to think about what you actually want from it.

If you simply want to show one another commitment then you might want to consider whether holding a ceremony which is meaningful to the two of you (but not legally binding) would met your needs.

FBaby

Saying that, remaining unmarried -especially engaged- does not mean the rules don't apply and you could still be deemed to be living as a couple and therefore claiming fraudulently as single people.

chesky

FBaby wrote: »

Saying that, remaining unmarried -especially engaged- does not mean the rules don't apply and you could still be deemed to be living as a couple and therefore claiming fraudulently as single people.

I think this would be difficult to prove. It's more usual to have people who are divorced or separated but for economic reasons still live under the same roof. In this case, the DWP or HMRC take into consideration if those involved have separate households - I.e. shop, cook independently of each other. Do their own washing up, laundry, have separate holidays etc. Sexual relations are included but only as a part of the whole. Since this couple, for the majority, would be included in this AND live under separate roofs, then them being engaged wouldn't enter the picture.

I suspect being married might change the picture though.

FBaby

Here's the guidance as previously shared. Being engaged could definitely be considered as LTAMC

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474014/dmgch11.pdf

JIL

FBaby wrote: »

Here's the guidance as previously shared. Being engaged could definitely be considered as LTAMC

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474014/dmgch11.pdf

This quoted guidance refers to a couple living in the same household which this couple are not.

At the moment they are clearly maintaining separate households. The big change will be if they marry. It will at that point not matter that they have separate households, when they marry there is a recognised partnership. A legal partnership. This could change the ops benefit entitlement.

pphillips

Yes - you could get married and continue to live apart and not be dependent on each other financially. However, if you were then to get divorced then a court could (in theory) order her to support you financially. As others have pointed out, getting married could potentially effect your benefits and it would be a good idea to get some advice from a CAB or welfare rights adviser before getting married.

FBaby

This quoted guidance refers to a couple living in the same household which this couple are not.

As the guidance clarifies, 'household' and 'home' are not the same thing. They could be consider to be LTAMC even if not married (especially when engaged for 2 years).