Advice on monies from house sale and Universal Credit

blackcar

Hi, looking for some advice on above. 
Separated from husband 3 years ago, he is in R o Ireland I am north of Ireland, therefore he is outside of jurisdiction. 

We have 4 kids together, two over 18. He has not visited them, had them to him nor paid any child support. 
Family matrimonial home sold last year, there are proceeds of £125k being held in a solicitor account. 
I was responsible for getting house ready/sale then having to source new rental property for myself & kids. Very stressful time. 
I have divorce, ancillary and contact orders begun though he is evading being found to be served. 
This man who I was with for 20+ years, supported him & dealt with kids while he returned to studies and now holds a very highly paid job. He has been in a relationship since we've separated with a lady who also holds a similar very highly paid job. 
I am in a minimum wage term time job to be available for my kids etc. And receive universal credit top up with rent included. No savings. 
I qualify for legal aid but only on premise I've to repay in full once ancillary order complete. I estimate this to be minimum of £20k. 
I also have debts that my ex walked away from and ceased paying of approx £25k that I will pay out of settlement. 

There could be possibility settlement can be achieved by July this year. My second born is for uni in September and would qualify for grants, course fees etc. I myself had planned to return to studying in September to gain a degree securing my future. 

However, I'm aware the receipt of funds from ancillary settlement into my bank account would cease all benefit entitlement along with the ability for myself & my son to achieve financial help with studying. 

My question is, life has !!!!!! on me enough from childhood yet I havent given up but kept going, I'm receiving benefits for the first time in my 45 years of life & I've finally got my mental health back on track & positive about my future. 
Is it possible to receive say a portion of my settlement into my bank account which I will use to pay debts along with my legal fees, still receive my entitlement to benefits and somehow say if there were an amount of £30k left over, it could be put somewhere to keep it safe like a credit union account/child's account as a sort of safety net to get through my studying? 

born_again

blackcar said:

Hi, looking for some advice on above. 
Separated from husband 3 years ago, he is in R o Ireland I am north of Ireland, therefore he is outside of jurisdiction. 

We have 4 kids together, two over 18. He has not visited them, had them to him nor paid any child support. 
Family matrimonial home sold last year, there are proceeds of £125k being held in a solicitor account. 
I was responsible for getting house ready/sale then having to source new rental property for myself & kids. Very stressful time. 
I have divorce, ancillary and contact orders begun though he is evading being found to be served. 
This man who I was with for 20+ years, supported him & dealt with kids while he returned to studies and now holds a very highly paid job. He has been in a relationship since we've separated with a lady who also holds a similar very highly paid job. 
I am in a minimum wage term time job to be available for my kids etc. And receive universal credit top up with rent included. No savings. 
I qualify for legal aid but only on premise I've to repay in full once ancillary order complete. I estimate this to be minimum of £20k. 
I also have debts that my ex walked away from and ceased paying of approx £25k that I will pay out of settlement. 

There could be possibility settlement can be achieved by July this year. My second born is for uni in September and would qualify for grants, course fees etc. I myself had planned to return to studying in September to gain a degree securing my future. 

However, I'm aware the receipt of funds from ancillary settlement into my bank account would cease all benefit entitlement along with the ability for myself & my son to achieve financial help with studying. 

My question is, life has !!!!!! on me enough from childhood yet I havent given up but kept going, I'm receiving benefits for the first time in my 45 years of life & I've finally got my mental health back on track & positive about my future. 
Is it possible to receive say a portion of my settlement into my bank account which I will use to pay debts along with my legal fees, still receive my entitlement to benefits and somehow say if there were an amount of £30k left over, it could be put somewhere to keep it safe like a credit union account/child's account as a sort of safety net to get through my studying? 

Can we take it that you are on UC?
Paying debts & fee's is OK, The rest would be DOA.

As to debts. Are you jointly liable for them? If they are in their name only. Then you do not have to pay them, that is their issue.

Are you planning on buying a house with the funds from the sale? As they could be disregarded for 6 months

blackcar

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply...a few points 

• yes, currently in receipt of a UC topup 

• i don't intend to buy a property for at least 5 years until I finish my studies 

• my credit rating is gone to !!!!!! with him leaving debts behind & while I'm still financially linked to him so wouldn't be able to get a new mortgage, i couldn't even get an overdraft in my bank account last year which was what alerted me to him not paying his direct debits

• most of the debt is joint, including the car i drove but which he took with him & changed plates in the ROI but has stopped paying

• i have had to rely on financial support from SVDP 

• his address in the south is his parents, who deny he is living there, he isn't he's living with his partner in a house they purchased last year - a friend of us both informed me

• have a request in with the REMO unit (linked with courts service of NI) who try to source child support Cross border as CSA can't do it as outside of jurisdiction...he may as well be in timbuktu 

I'd really like to place whatever is leftover after paying everything off into something that I could then use to buy a property in the future once I am financially secure. 

TELLIT01

To answer the final part of the question.  No you can't hide the money in an account in somebody elses name.  That is fraud.

If you plan to purchase a property the money can be disregarded for a period, generally 6 months.

blackcar

TELLIT01 said:

To answer the final part of the question.  No you can't hide the money in an account in somebody elses name.  That is fraud.

If you plan to purchase a property the money can be disregarded for a period, generally 6 months.

Hi there, 
I'm aware hiding money is fraud. I'm not asking online how to hide money illegally, I'm querying if there is such a case where it could be put away into a trust etc which i have no idea exists, or something that i could split between my 4 kids to assist them in their future, that is all.

 In the end once everything has been paid there won't be a huge amount left over but most likely over the £16k threshold. But this won't be long in going down once uni etc is funded out of it. 

After a !!!!!! hand being dealt by my ex and father to my 4 kids after we supported him through furthering his career, I am only concerned about them. My income and outgoings will still remain the same however there seems to be nothing that exists.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

peteuk

blackcar said:

TELLIT01 said:

To answer the final part of the question.  No you can't hide the money in an account in somebody elses name.  That is fraud.

If you plan to purchase a property the money can be disregarded for a period, generally 6 months.

Hi there, 
I'm aware hiding money is fraud. I'm not asking online how to hide money illegally, I'm querying if there is such a case where it could be put away into a trust etc which i have no idea exists, or something that i could split between my 4 kids to assist them in their future, that is all.

 In the end once everything has been paid there won't be a huge amount left over but most likely over the £16k threshold. But this won't be long in going down once uni etc is funded out of it. 

After a !!!!!! hand being dealt by my ex and father to my 4 kids after we supported him through furthering his career, I am only concerned about them. My income and outgoings will still remain the same however there seems to be nothing that exists.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

No, sadly not.  If you give it away you will be treated as if you still have it.  Your UC will stop and you will not be able to reclaim until the amount you’ve given away has been calculated to have been reduced to £16 K.

As above paying debts is acceptable, if you have £30k left over this is what you are expected to spend along with your wages to cover your household costs, foods ect.  Once your capital is less than £16 K you can then reapply.

blackcar

peteuk said:

blackcar said:

TELLIT01 said:

To answer the final part of the question.  No you can't hide the money in an account in somebody elses name.  That is fraud.

If you plan to purchase a property the money can be disregarded for a period, generally 6 months.

Hi there, 
I'm aware hiding money is fraud. I'm not asking online how to hide money illegally, I'm querying if there is such a case where it could be put away into a trust etc which i have no idea exists, or something that i could split between my 4 kids to assist them in their future, that is all.

 In the end once everything has been paid there won't be a huge amount left over but most likely over the £16k threshold. But this won't be long in going down once uni etc is funded out of it. 

After a !!!!!! hand being dealt by my ex and father to my 4 kids after we supported him through furthering his career, I am only concerned about them. My income and outgoings will still remain the same however there seems to be nothing that exists.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

No, sadly not.  If you give it away you will be treated as if you still have it.  Your UC will stop and you will not be able to reclaim until the amount you’ve given away has been calculated to have been reduced to £16 K.

As above paying debts is acceptable, if you have £30k left over this is what you are expected to spend along with your wages to cover your household costs, foods ect.  Once your capital is less than £16 K you can then reapply.

Thank you very much for your help, appreciate it.

TELLIT01

blackcar said:

TELLIT01 said:

To answer the final part of the question.  No you can't hide the money in an account in somebody elses name.  That is fraud.

If you plan to purchase a property the money can be disregarded for a period, generally 6 months.

Hi there, 
I'm aware hiding money is fraud. I'm not asking online how to hide money illegally, I'm querying if there is such a case where it could be put away into a trust etc which i have no idea exists, or something that i could split between my 4 kids to assist them in their future, that is all.

 In the end once everything has been paid there won't be a huge amount left over but most likely over the £16k threshold. But this won't be long in going down once uni etc is funded out of it. 

After a !!!!!! hand being dealt by my ex and father to my 4 kids after we supported him through furthering his career, I am only concerned about them. My income and outgoings will still remain the same however there seems to be nothing that exists.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

"and somehow say if there were an amount of £30k left over, it could be put somewhere to keep it safe like a credit union account/child's account as a sort of safety net to get through my studying? "

That is hiding money which is still yours, and that would be fraud.  You have to declare ALL money to which you have access.  You clearly would have access as you would have it available as a safety net.....

I'm not suggesting you intended to commit fraud, just clarifying how it would be viewed.