My wife and I are seperating and we are wondering how to go about splitting benefits.

geeky_wolf

As my title says, my wife and I are seperating and going to divorce, even though we are divorcing I will still be living in the home as I am also her carer. I am a joint claimant on her ESA benefit, and we are wondering if we should seperate our benefits now, or wait until we've divorced, any advice would be appreciated.

Bradden

I'd suggest getting proper legal advice. Divorcing whilst still living together isn't straightforward as you may struggle to show that you have been living separately for the last 2 years.

poppy12345

Bradden said:

I'd suggest getting proper legal advice. Divorcing whilst still living together isn't straightforward as you may struggle to show that you have been living separately for the last 2 years.

For benefits purposes you do not need to show you’ve been living separately for the past 2 years.

OP you would need to claim Universal credit yourself but you will need to prove you’re not living together as a couple, such as bank account in your own name and paying your share of the bills. 

Do you own or rent your home? 

Bradden

poppy12345 said:

Bradden said:

I'd suggest getting proper legal advice. Divorcing whilst still living together isn't straightforward as you may struggle to show that you have been living separately for the last 2 years.

For benefits purposes you do not need to show you’ve been living separately for the past 2 years.

OP you would need to claim Universal credit yourself but you will need to prove you’re not living together as a couple, such as bank account in your own name and paying your share of the bills. 

Do you own or rent your home? 

Sorry.. should have been clearer. I was referring to the divorce itself. I suspect the OP may not have sufficient grounds to divorce as they are living together and intend to continue this arrangement.. I'm not a solicitor though.

OhWow

Bradden said:

I'd suggest getting proper legal advice. Divorcing whilst still living together isn't straightforward as you may struggle to show that you have been living separately for the last 2 years.

Are you sure? Thanks to Mrs Owen (Owen v Owen) the divorce laws changed and that came into force for divorces starting from 6 April 2022.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/blame-game-ends-as-no-fault-divorce-comes-into-force

You can get divorced in England or Wales if all of the following are true:

• you’ve been married for over a year
• your relationship has permanently broken down
• your marriage is legally recognised in the UK (including same-sex marriage)
  

https://www.gov.uk/divorce

I should imagine the OP knows that they can divorce and now wants to know about the benefit side of things.

Danien

For benefit purposes I've come across this situation a few times, and it is very difficult to get the DWP to agree you are separate households in the same house if you were once married or even living together but unmarried.

As has already been said you need to be very careful to separate all financial matters and get any agreement regarding caring/living in the same house down on paper with a solicitor. 

If the DWP refuses separate claims the first time you may need to challenge the decisions and ultimately go to appeal. 

poppy12345

Danien said:

For benefit purposes I've come across this situation a few times, and it is very difficult to get the DWP to agree you are separate households in the same house if you were once married or even living together but unmarried.

I've heard of quite a few people that continue to live in the same house but claim UC as single people. I also have a friend that was living in the same house as her Ex (not married) I advised her to put a claim in for UC but you maybe asked to prove that you're not living as a couple. They asked her for bank statements, which she provided. Her claim was successful as a single person. He moved out a few months later. 

Murphybear

poppy12345 said:

Danien said:

For benefit purposes I've come across this situation a few times, and it is very difficult to get the DWP to agree you are separate households in the same house if you were once married or even living together but unmarried.

I've heard of quite a few people that continue to live in the same house but claim UC as single people. I also have a friend that was living in the same house as her Ex (not married) I advised her to put a claim in for UC but you maybe asked to prove that you're not living as a couple. They asked her for bank statements, which she provided. Her claim was successful as a single person. He moved out a few months later. 

I went through this a few years ago.  We weren’t married but had been living together for a few years.  I wanted to claim ESA for myself only and I had to go for a formal interview at the JobCentre.  The person who did this was really nice and helpful.  I had to explain we had separate bedrooms, separate living rooms, separate freezers and separate cars.  I explained I had some health issues which made it possibly dangerous to live on my own.  They happily accepted the claim, I think us being near retirement age helped.  

Danien

poppy12345 said:

Danien said:

For benefit purposes I've come across this situation a few times, and it is very difficult to get the DWP to agree you are separate households in the same house if you were once married or even living together but unmarried.

I've heard of quite a few people that continue to live in the same house but claim UC as single people. I also have a friend that was living in the same house as her Ex (not married) I advised her to put a claim in for UC but you maybe asked to prove that you're not living as a couple. They asked her for bank statements, which she provided. Her claim was successful as a single person. He moved out a few months later. 

Yes, as a previous benefits adviser I used to only see the ones who were refused as single claimants, so I guess my experience is skewed one way, I didn’t get to see the ones who got through the process without problems.