CHILD MAINTENANCE

Marvellousmrsmaisel

Hi. I currently get child maintenance for my 17 year old daughter. She’s staying in full time education until she’s 19. My question is what happens to child maintenance if she moves out of the home and into her boyfriends home (he lives with parents) which I’m guessing she might want to when she’s 18. Can my ex husband stop paying it then which I know he’d be over the moon at. and also I would need to tell the Child benefits office I know. I’m just thinking ahead of what may happen. I would still contribute to her for bus pass,clothes etc whilst she was at college and also would need to keep the roof over my head should she need to move back. This is the only income I get at the moment due to chronic health conditions as I’m living off savings from sale of family home when we divorced but there isn’t much left so this won’t always be the case. Just trying to plan ahead. Thanks in advance for any help. 

elsien

If your OH does continue to pay it would make  more sense for him to pay it directly to her and for her to use it to buy her bus pass, clothes etc. and also paying a contribution to her boyfriend's parents as they cannot be expected to have her there without her paying her keep.

With regards to your own circumstances, have you completed a benefits check to see if you are getting everything you are entitled to and what you would get if she does move out? 

unforeseen

Don't know about cb but the boyfriend's parents will be able to claim child maintenance from your ex instead of you

jlfrs01

This is very topical for me as I am presently looking for a review of the child maintenance payments I've been paying to my ex-wife for the last few years. As such I've consulted a Solicitor and pored over the Dept. of Work and Pensions part of the Government Website to find out what the score is.
So, first things first. It is the DWP that sets out Child Maintenance payments and these will continue if a child is in full-time secondary or further education until they are 20. If the child goes into Higher Education, they can stop in their entirety. It matters not where they live, it is the paying parent's responsibility to pay the agreed amount. There is no need to tell the DWP of any changes unless the parents cannot reach an agreement in which case they will effectively arbitrate.
As I understand it, you're query isn't over the amount itself, but whether your ex can cease payments if your daughter moves out and the answer is "no" (if she meets the criteria set out above).
Reading your post further on, you appear to be struggling financially, as suggested you could be entitled to benefits.

Marvellousmrsmaisel

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I’m not entitled to any benefits yet as my savings are currently above the £6000 you can have before you can claim universal credit because as I said above I’m living on what I have left from the sale of our house when we divorced. I have bowel and bladder conditions which is the main reason I’m finding it hard to find a job that this doesn’t affect. Basically I need to be near a toilet at all times and when I need to go I need to go straight away as it will just start coming out by itself and I have accidents. Also I have osteoarthritis which means my knees and hips are very painful and I can’t bend down to the floor and get really bad pain when on my feet for hours at a time as my back and feet really hurt. I know I sound like I’m 95 lol. I’m 48. 

I have tried to do some cat sitting jobs but obviously there is a lot of competition doing that and have only had a few jobs as fairly new to it.
Just sharing that all with you to explain things rather than you wonder why .

Spoonie_Turtle

The threshold for UC is £16,000.

You should do a benefits calculation anyway, just to make sure you're not missing out on anything
https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

You may also be entitled to PIP.

Marvellousmrsmaisel

Spoonie_Turtle said:

The threshold for UC is £16,000.

You should do a benefits calculation anyway, just to make sure you're not missing out on anything
https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

You may also be entitled to PIP.

Yes thanks I’ve done that and as at the moment my savings are over £16000 I don’t qualify for anything besides child benefit and 25% reduction of council tax.

peteuk

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I’m not entitled to any benefits yet as my savings are currently above the £6000 you can have before you can claim universal credit because as I said above I’m living on what I have left from the sale of our house when we divorced. I have bowel and bladder conditions which is the main reason I’m finding it hard to find a job that this doesn’t affect. Basically I need to be near a toilet at all times and when I need to go I need to go straight away as it will just start coming out by itself and I have accidents. Also I have osteoarthritis which means my knees and hips are very painful and I can’t bend down to the floor and get really bad pain when on my feet for hours at a time as my back and feet really hurt. I know I sound like I’m 95 lol. I’m 48. 

I have tried to do some cat sitting jobs but obviously there is a lot of competition doing that and have only had a few jobs as fairly new to it.
Just sharing that all with you to explain things rather than you wonder why .

Have you considered PIP?

Marvellousmrsmaisel

peteuk said:

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I’m not entitled to any benefits yet as my savings are currently above the £6000 you can have before you can claim universal credit because as I said above I’m living on what I have left from the sale of our house when we divorced. I have bowel and bladder conditions which is the main reason I’m finding it hard to find a job that this doesn’t affect. Basically I need to be near a toilet at all times and when I need to go I need to go straight away as it will just start coming out by itself and I have accidents. Also I have osteoarthritis which means my knees and hips are very painful and I can’t bend down to the floor and get really bad pain when on my feet for hours at a time as my back and feet really hurt. I know I sound like I’m 95 lol. I’m 48. 

I have tried to do some cat sitting jobs but obviously there is a lot of competition doing that and have only had a few jobs as fairly new to it.
Just sharing that all with you to explain things rather than you wonder why .

Have you considered PIP?

Hi! I have looked at it before. But although I struggle sometimes more than other days I manage so I don’t think I would qualify. It’s hard when you have some better days than other days.

Spoonie_Turtle

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

peteuk said:

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I’m not entitled to any benefits yet as my savings are currently above the £6000 you can have before you can claim universal credit because as I said above I’m living on what I have left from the sale of our house when we divorced. I have bowel and bladder conditions which is the main reason I’m finding it hard to find a job that this doesn’t affect. Basically I need to be near a toilet at all times and when I need to go I need to go straight away as it will just start coming out by itself and I have accidents. Also I have osteoarthritis which means my knees and hips are very painful and I can’t bend down to the floor and get really bad pain when on my feet for hours at a time as my back and feet really hurt. I know I sound like I’m 95 lol. I’m 48. 

I have tried to do some cat sitting jobs but obviously there is a lot of competition doing that and have only had a few jobs as fairly new to it.
Just sharing that all with you to explain things rather than you wonder why .

Have you considered PIP?

Hi! I have looked at it before. But although I struggle sometimes more than other days I manage so I don’t think I would qualify. It’s hard when you have some better days than other days.

Have a look at reliability - it's not about whether you can manage (many many people manage because they *have* to, there is no choice if they are to survive) but about how you manage and the effects it has on you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#reliability-1

https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably
Particularly: "The effects of pain are also considered in [2016] UKUT 326 (AAC) where Judge Markus holds that even if someone may be able to carry out an activity repeatedly and within a reasonable time, they still may not be able to complete it ‘to an acceptable standard’ if they do so with difficulties such as pain or breathlessness."

See also https://pipinfo.net/issues/fluctuating-conditions
It's about how you are on more than 50% of the days, which accounts for fluctuating conditions
And https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#applying-the-criteria   (Scroll down to "Time periods, fluctuations and descriptor choices")

Marvellousmrsmaisel

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

peteuk said:

Marvellousmrsmaisel said:

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I’m not entitled to any benefits yet as my savings are currently above the £6000 you can have before you can claim universal credit because as I said above I’m living on what I have left from the sale of our house when we divorced. I have bowel and bladder conditions which is the main reason I’m finding it hard to find a job that this doesn’t affect. Basically I need to be near a toilet at all times and when I need to go I need to go straight away as it will just start coming out by itself and I have accidents. Also I have osteoarthritis which means my knees and hips are very painful and I can’t bend down to the floor and get really bad pain when on my feet for hours at a time as my back and feet really hurt. I know I sound like I’m 95 lol. I’m 48. 

I have tried to do some cat sitting jobs but obviously there is a lot of competition doing that and have only had a few jobs as fairly new to it.
Just sharing that all with you to explain things rather than you wonder why .

Have you considered PIP?

Hi! I have looked at it before. But although I struggle sometimes more than other days I manage so I don’t think I would qualify. It’s hard when you have some better days than other days.

Have a look at reliability - it's not about whether you can manage (many many people manage because they *have* to, there is no choice if they are to survive) but about how you manage and the effects it has on you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#reliability-1

https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably
Particularly: "The effects of pain are also considered in [2016] UKUT 326 (AAC) where Judge Markus holds that even if someone may be able to carry out an activity repeatedly and within a reasonable time, they still may not be able to complete it ‘to an acceptable standard’ if they do so with difficulties such as pain or breathlessness."

See also https://pipinfo.net/issues/fluctuating-conditions
It's about how you are on more than 50% of the days, which accounts for fluctuating conditions
And https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#applying-the-criteria   (Scroll down to "Time periods, fluctuations and descriptor choices")

Thanks for that. I will take a look.