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Hi, Positive comments only please, i'm not a bitter angry Dad, but struggling with an issue. So sadly, my wife left me at the beginning of April, she left me with 4 kids, one of whom I can't claim universal credits for. We have been amicable to date, but im struggling because she left me, and the kids, and said she had a plan, what this plan didn't consider was how she was going to finance her leaving. We've agreed to 50/50 child care, rotating every Friday, week on week off, however, she wishes to put a claim in for the children . My question is, I want to present her with the proposal that, as she left us, it will be me who puts the claim in and we can agree what that amount is cut in half , and I will direct debit her half the child benefit, child tax - and she can make her own separate claim for her own personal circumstances. emotions aside, this seems fair and balanced to me, is there anything I can do if she doesn't agree to my proposal and instead makes a full claim for all the kids instead of me, ...how would I challenge that? thanks Dads. x
Hi Jake
We only ever try to give positive comments. Your split is still so recent, it must be a struggle, I hope the kids give you some comfort and it’s good that you and the mother are amicable, that will help the children too I’m sure.
Have you remained in the family home? Are the children registered with GP/school, at the address you are currently in? If the answer is yes to those questions, then it will favour any claim you make, which I would advise you do quickly.
She may try and change the children’s address with the different agencies, this would most likely be to gain a primary position, with regards to any benefits she would be eligible for.
I would contact the school and let them know that the mother has left and the children remain with you at the same address, I would also do the same with the GP.
Money is so often a motivator in situations like this, things start off well but having the children more of the time can mean that the parent that has them more can claim all of the benefits, plus child maintenance. The less time the children spend with one parent, the more child maintenance the other parent will be entitled to.
You could suggest that you both claim for two children each, that way it should even out the benefits and allow you or your ex to claim for the fourth child. If you both agree that because you share the care of the children equally there is no eligibility for a claim for child maintenance from either of you.... that might work.
Best of luck
I believe that child benefit is £20.70 per week for the first child and £13.70 per week for each subsequent child. That means that if one of you claims for all 4 children, then to total benefit paid is £61.80 per week. However, if you both claim for 2 children each, you will both receive £20.70+£13.70 - so £34.40 each, or £68.80 per week in total. This is perfectly legal, and gives you justification to suggest to your ex that you do this.
a more drastic approach would be to take it to court, and hope you end up with a kids live with dad order. then CMS will work in your favour. or a shared care order, and then CMS does not apply. since its early days for you, you should see how things pan out over next couple of weeks or months.
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