Divorced parents. Uni costs 22 September 2021 at 4:02PM in Student MoneySaving 1 reply 83 views

Louise1977

Hi. I have been divorced from my ex-husband for 5 years. It is not an amicable relationship. We share custody of our 2 children (15yr old and 14yr old) 50/50. 

I have just moved in with my new partner. My ex-husband earns a decent salary. I earn £25k. My partner’s income obviously makes our household look healthy. My partner and I share household expenses - but keep our finances very separate (he also has 2 sons). 

I’m concerned that any financial help/grants/bursaries in contributing to my children’s uni fees are thwarted by my now ‘household income’ as I would not expect my partner to support my children in their uni fees!   My ex-husband will pay half - but no way he would increase his share. What should I plan to save (or more likely expect to borrow) to allow my children to go to university. 
For the purposes of the calculation, highly likely to be starting in 2025 and 2027. Not in London 3 year course. 

Thank you in advance. 🙂

silvercar

Under the current rules, the government takes into account the income of everyone in the household when calculating loan amounts and access to other help. So you may not expect your partner to support your children, but the government includes his income in their calculations. 

The only way around it would be if the children had their father's address as their main residence. Then the calculation would be based on the income of his household. You say he has a decent income, so by the sound of it there are two households supporting the children, both with decent incomes.