Child's DLA counted as income in Divorce

TBagpuss

You have to declare it, but the factors that the Judge has to consider are the needs of any childrne so for practical purposes it will be disregarded / offset against the costs of caring for the  child. 

Sousal maintnace is pretty rare these days and, unlike child support, would (I believe, check on turn2us or entitledto) affect your UC. It's more usual for the capital split to be adjusted to take account of differences in needs and earning capacity , so it may well be that you are best off seeking a higher pension shsare and/or higher share of capital assets rather than spousal maintenace, but your solicitor will be ableto advise you. 

poppy12345

TBagpuss said:

Sousal maintnace is pretty rare these days and, unlike child support, would (I believe, check on turn2us or entitledto) affect your UC.

Typo, that should read "Spousal Maintenance" and yes it would impact UC and be reduced £1 for £1. https://www.174familylaw.co.uk/spousal-maintenance-universal-credit-careful-what-you-wish-for/

tightauldgit

Divorcedwith3 said:

I am of course going to disclose it but I do think it’s unreasonable to base a divorce settlement on this. 

This money is not guaranteed and is subject to review every 2 yrs.  

I am a full time carer (I get £302 a month for this which if you base on the calculation that you need to care for a person for min 35 hrs a week then for 35 hrs of work it’s £2 an hr). I am not classifying looking after my child as something I should be paid for but I’m doing this I am prevented from seeking other work which also means I’m not getting benefit of employer pension scheme. 

Meanwhile he is off earning lots of money,  building up a pension and not caring for his children. 

Your settlement won't be based on this, it's just one of many things to be considered. But at the end of the day it's money you receive so it's a fact of the current situation. 

Divorces have to be based in the current situation and not what may or may not happen in the future. That's just the way it is. 

The reality is that you earning a few hundred quid on benefits is not going to have a significant impact on the split of assets. Courts no doubt see these situations on a daily basis and know how hard it is for people in your situation and will take that into account. 

As I said previously, the good news is that child maintenance is completely unaffected by anything you earn so if he's off earning lots of money then your kids will benefit from that. 

CurlySue2017

Divorcedwith3 said:

I am getting divorced and have two children who are disabled and receive DLA and this also increases my Universal Credit Award.  Their dad who doesn't see them by his choice has said that the children's DLA is 'income' for me (it goes into my bank so it will show up on Form E and i am to be honest and declare i get it).

He has a very good income and a big pension pot and lives with girlfriend who pays half his household bills.   I had to give up my job to look after the kids and receive Universal Credit and Carers Allowance.  I cant see me being able to go back to work anytime soon and even if i did the childcare costs (even with UC help) are still massive. I'm obviously as well not paying into my pension anymore.  

Case is going to go to court (due to other reasons) and im wondering in reality does a judge look at the amount received in children's DLA and take it into account.  Given its for my child (although in my name) and i'm an appointee and it could be taken away at anytime surely it cant be considered 'income' for me.
  He is arguing that marital assets and any potential spousal support are reduced (DLA and increased UC make it look like i have more money). 

This is irrelevant.  Look at it from the other side just for a second. 

If you were to get into a relationship with someone rich and didn't need extra money, would you then allow the father of your children not to pay child support because your new partner has money?  Or would you want him to contriibute anyway?

Divorcedwith3

CurleySue 
I don’t understand your point- long day and not enough caffeine. 

Can you explain 
thanks 

Divorcedwith3

Just seen the bold. It is relevant when he is claiming he has no disposable income. His bills are effectively cut by 50% because there are two people paying them so his rent will be halved etc. whereas I’m paying the full amount myself while supporting his 3 children. 

I don’t mind that he is with her but he can’t claim he is paying all the bills for a second household because he isn’t - two adults with good incomes are paying one set of bills. He failed to mention she was living with him on his first disclosure and gave the figures as if he were paying all the bills himself.

CurlySue2017

Divorcedwith3 said:

Just seen the bold. It is relevant when he is claiming he has no disposable income. His bills are effectively cut by 50% because there are two people paying them so his rent will be halved etc. - how do you know this?  I assume he doesn't discuss his financial arrangements with you anymore?

whereas I’m paying the full amount myself while supporting his 3 children - They are both your children, not "his" children

I don’t mind that he is with her um ok, you can't really "mind", it's nothing to do with you

but he can’t claim he is paying all the bills for a second household because he isn’t - two adults with good incomes are paying one set of bills - again, how do you know this?

He failed to mention she was living with him on his first disclosure Because it's none of your business

and gave the figures as if he were paying all the bills himself. Maybe he is?

When you make a claim via CMS (which I assume you will - you should!) his other relationship will be completely irrelevant.  The only things that will be considered are his incomings and outgoings, not the other person that lives with him.  The only exception to this is if he has another child with that person - then his liability to you would reduce.

Divorcedwith3

Respectfully you are wrong - his disposable income is relevant. If he is saying for example, he pays £1000 a month out on bills then this reduces his disposable income. If there is a second adult in the house it is assumed that they pay half the bills. 

So in the above example he would be considered to be paying £500 and therefore would have an extra £500 a month disposable income. 

For relevance sake, this is a man that earns £800 a week (according to figures supplied to CMS by HMRC) and who informed CMS of her children living there so his contribution to his own would reduce. She brings in a good wage on top of this amount and is also receiving child maintenance. Meanwhile I’m paying all the bills myself.

I do not consider the children his - he has chosen not to have contact with them. 

He also has reduced the CMS he pays and is now trying to claim their DLA money should be counted as my income. 

None of these actions are in the best interests of his children. 

A father is someone who spends time with their children and who supports them - not just financially but emotionally.  He doesn’t get the job title if he doesn’t do the job. 

Divorcedwith3

Even if he is paying the bills himself it’s irrelevant- their is a second adult in the house that is working and it is assumed that they contribute to bills. 

I know that he is saying he pays the bills because it was in his first discovery- he is claiming he pays all the rent, the electricity, all the household costs and failed to mention she was living there. 

On a form E it actually asks if you intend to cohabitate because if you do if has an effect on your figures. 

marcia_

CurlySue2017 said:

Divorcedwith3 said:

Just seen the bold. It is relevant when he is claiming he has no disposable income. His bills are effectively cut by 50% because there are two people paying them so his rent will be halved etc. - how do you know this?  I assume he doesn't discuss his financial arrangements with you anymore?

whereas I’m paying the full amount myself while supporting his 3 children - They are both your children, not "his" children

I don’t mind that he is with her um ok, you can't really "mind", it's nothing to do with you

but he can’t claim he is paying all the bills for a second household because he isn’t - two adults with good incomes are paying one set of bills - again, how do you know this?

He failed to mention she was living with him on his first disclosure Because it's none of your business

and gave the figures as if he were paying all the bills himself. Maybe he is?

When you make a claim via CMS (which I assume you will - you should!) his other relationship will be completely irrelevant.  The only things that will be considered are his incomings and outgoings, not the other person that lives with him.  The only exception to this is if he has another child with that person - then his liability to you would reduce.

 His outgoings other than child support are not considered  otherwise absent parents could claim to pay all of their income in rent & bills with nothing left to pay child support.