Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
Hi
I'm just after some advice. I have 50/50 custody of my 13yr old daughter. She was living with me 3 weekends out of 4 and half of school holidays, but she wanted more time with me so she told her mother and jumped on the bus to me. After some shouting with her mother, her mother has decided to let her have her way. So, now we're 50/50. My ex then let me claim the tax credits for our daughter but kept the child benefit. I'm on JSA at the moment and was lucky to get a discretionary payment to cover the bed room tax for the time she was living here before. Now she's living 50/50 I thought there would no longer be a problem with bedroom tax, but I was wrong. The local council (my landlord) is charging me £30 a week for my empty bedroom. I cannot afford £30 a week from my single persons benefits and stand the real chance of losing my home if I can't get another discretionary payment. Is there any advice/help that anyone can offer? Perhaps someone in a similar situation.
Many thanks
Andy
I don't know the system, but if you had your daughter for over half the time, and claimed the child benefit, do you then avoid the bedroom tax? If so, ask your ex if you can claim the child benefit on the basis that you pay her, say and extra £10 per week as well as the amount of the child benefit - that way you are £20 per week better off (nno bedroom tax) and she's £10 per week better off.
If I had my daughter for more than half the time, there wouldn't be a problem but as its exactly 50/50 my local council won't recognise my daughter as in 50/50 custody they class the child only has one home and that is with the person claiming child benefit. My ex wife will not relinquish the child benefit so I'm stuffed. Even if I make a claim for the child benefit, and they agree - which they will, that I have an equal right to my child, as it is already being paid to my ex they will just carry on paying her as there is NO legal requirement to split the benefit.
I would contact your CAB and ask them to signpost you to any 'homeworks' type schemes or local welfare rights offices. Housing Benefit decisions can be challenged / appealed and if that doesn't work, you can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment to top your LHA up.
Do you have any formal paperwork that reflects the 50/50 shared care arrangement? If you have a court order to reflect that, they usually state that the child lives with both parents, not one.
If you don't have any joy with any of the above, get your local MP on board.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.