Single UC claim whilst living with ex

Clouds88

Hello,

I have a question, so my husband has been suffering from mental health problems for a while and it’s caused issues in our relationship.

We have now decided it’s best to be just friends, and I want to try and still support him through his issues. I work and he doesn’t, can he put in a single clam for UC for him and the kids without me? We currently have a joint claim and I work.

Part of my reasons for resenting him atm, and without sounding harsh is that I’ve worked my !!! off to get to where I am in my job- I currently work part time and want to go full time at some point which will obviously increase my income and I feel stuck on benefits we get it just gets taken off so the harder I work the less we get and the more I have to support him financially as well as emotionally. My ex-husband can’t work, he’s tried, he has a breakdown, has been signed off by doctor for a month at least.

He is my only childcare and wants to be around the children still, if he left on his own he simply wouldn’t be able to afford private rent and a shared house wouldn’t be suitable with kids 3 nights a week. We have applied for housing support for him 1 bed place and he’s been put in group D so no hope of housing and his mum is not being helpful by not letting him stay in her spare room. So anyway, there is no way of him moving out for the foreseeable until he gets better and can get his own job.

So, the small room is now his bedroom with a double bed and I share the big room with my two girls, double bed for me and the little’un and my 9YO is on the top single bunk. I have bought a cheap sofa for the conservatory so we’ve also got two separate ‘living’ spaces. We don’t have a joint account.

Benefits side- I’m not sure he’ll be able to claim half of the rent and that’s fine if they award him 0 but just give him the basic amount for himself and the 2 kids. I’m not sure it will even be more than what we get atm but it just means it is his own claim, I won’t claim a thing and I can do as much OT as I want to (trying to save for a mortgage on my own) and have things separate.

Any thoughts? I would be more than happy for anyone official to come and look at the house and see what I’ve said above is correct.

TELLIT01

You should seek advice from Citizens Advice or any similar organisation in your area. In theory a couple who have separated but still live in the same property can make single person claims. For that it would need to be shown that you are living totally separate lives. You seem to have gone some of the way to doing that by setting up separate living and sleeping areas. Do you share meals on a regular basis? How are bills split? These are just a couple of the questions likely to be asked.

tboo

Clouds88 wrote: »

Hello,

I have a question, so my husband has been suffering from mental health problems for a while and it’s caused issues in our relationship.

We have now decided it’s best to be just friends, and I want to try and still support him through his issues. I work and he doesn’t, can he put in a single clam for UC for him and the kids without me? We currently have a joint claim and I work.

Part of my reasons for resenting him atm, and without sounding harsh is that I’ve worked my !!! off to get to where I am in my job- I currently work part time and want to go full time at some point which will obviously increase my income and I feel stuck on benefits we get it just gets taken off so the harder I work the less we get and the more I have to support him financially as well as emotionally. My ex-husband can’t work, he’s tried, he has a breakdown, has been signed off by doctor for a month at least.

He is my only childcare and wants to be around the children still, if he left on his own he simply wouldn’t be able to afford private rent and a shared house wouldn’t be suitable with kids 3 nights a week. We have applied for housing support for him 1 bed place and he’s been put in group D so no hope of housing and his mum is not being helpful by not letting him stay in her spare room. So anyway, there is no way of him moving out for the foreseeable until he gets better and can get his own job.

So, the small room is now his bedroom with a double bed and I share the big room with my two girls, double bed for me and the little’un and my 9YO is on the top single bunk. I have bought a cheap sofa for the conservatory so we’ve also got two separate ‘living’ spaces. We don’t have a joint account.

Benefits side- I’m not sure he’ll be able to claim half of the rent and that’s fine if they award him 0 but just give him the basic amount for himself and the 2 kids. I’m not sure it will even be more than what we get atm but it just means it is his own claim, I won’t claim a thing and I can do as much OT as I want to (trying to save for a mortgage on my own) and have things separate.

Any thoughts? I would be more than happy for anyone official to come and look at the house and see what I’ve said above is correct.

Does he get the child benefit payments then?

Clouds88

No he doesn’t I currently receive everything and then give him some money each month.

I think if they gave him the basic amount for himself and the children he’d get £50 more a
Month than we get now and I obviously wouldn’t claim. But if they ‘let’ us do separate claims because I had to keep the kids on mine then it would work out more money coming in, as id still get housing and me and 2 kids and he’d just get an allowance for him if that makes sense which is why it would be easier for him to have the kids on his so I can not claim anything.

I guess I’ll just have to ring them and see what they say.

CARRYONFILM12

Their default position will be that you are co-habiting and therefore not telling the truth.

It will be very difficult to convince them otherwise.

I wish you luck.

TELLIT01

CARRYONFILM12 wrote: »

Their default position will be that you are co-habiting and therefore not telling the truth.

It will be very difficult to convince them otherwise.

I wish you luck.

It will certainly be down to the OP and ex-partner to prove they are living entirely separately, but not impossible. It doesn't seem to be so common now, but after the financial crash it was far from uncommon for a couple to split but neither was able to afford a place of their own.

Caz3121

for tax credits it needed to be a joint claim if married or in a civil partnership - and not permanently or legally separated
Not sure if UC is the same.
have you considered going down the legal separation route?

calcotti

Caz3121 wrote: »

for tax credits it needed to be a joint claim if married or in a civil partnership - and not permanently or legally separated
Not sure if UC is the same.
have you considered going down the legal separation route?

For UC it's not - but obviously DWP have to be convinced that the couple are not living together as a married couple.

tboo

Clouds88 wrote: »

No he doesn’t I currently receive everything and then give him some money each month.

I think if they gave him the basic amount for himself and the children he’d get £50 more a
Month than we get now and I obviously wouldn’t claim. But if they ‘let’ us do separate claims because I had to keep the kids on mine then it would work out more money coming in, as id still get housing and me and 2 kids and he’d just get an allowance for him if that makes sense which is why it would be easier for him to have the kids on his so I can not claim anything.

I guess I’ll just have to ring them and see what they say.

You seem to wanting to give him the ChB so he will receive more money, will he then give you some back for your portion of rearing the children?


You stated you are resenting him, what if the living situation doesn't improve and he or you have to leave the property in the future.

If you take the children will he then swap the ChB back?


You need to seek benefit advice as instructed in post 2
The apparant 'what if' arrangements and going's on sound rather suspect

KatrinaWaves

You could MAYBE swing it as a single claim for him.

Him claiming for himself and the kids whilst living with an ex partner as her childcare is unlikely to happen...

FBaby

So you reste t him because he doesn't work and instead look after the children, and you are thinking about saying you are not together any longer so he can claim benefits meaning you don't have to support him.

I think it will take more than him moving to the spare room to convince that you are now fully separated. Will you stop shopping together, sharing holidays, cooking meals for each other? Will you tell you friends and family you've separated and more importantly, will you apply for a divorce?

Because ultimately, it will be easy for him to make a single claim, not so easy to cilomvince them thst he is single in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years if you are still under the same roof.