To think the fact that you're the claimant of Child Benefit shouldn't be the deeming factor that you are the "Resident Parent"....

[SoWhatIfImWorkingClass]

According to the Government, My DSD is classed as not living with us and that her home is at her mum's. My partner is classed as an "NRP" yet she stays with us 3/4 nights a week. Hardly EOW is it??

What makes it worse is that they don't think we need a bedroom for her for this reason. Bedroom tax and all that shizzle.

Am I being totally unreasonable in thinking that the rules that determine whether you are a resident parent or a non resident parent shouldn't rely on who the CB claimant is??

Even if you are splitting residency 50/50 someone has to take 'ownership' for purposes such as CB and other ancillary things too.

Have you asked her mother is you can have the CB, but in turn won't that disadvantage the mother when it's her 50% turn that week, in that she too will be classed as not needing a bedroom for your SD?.

Who principally buys clothes, funds dinner money, pays for school trips, extra curricular clubs and activities, buys the party gifts and so forth? Who is paying who maint in this situation? Because that is where the CB should be going - to the parent who is doing the principle shelling out.

Yanbu, it shouldn't depend on who claims the child benefit. There has to be a defining factor somewhere though. My ex is classed as the non resident parent, but as he is an involved, engaged, wonderful parent, a government definition makes no difference to any of us. Why should it?

I don't think the government should be expected to pay for one child to have bedrooms in two separate homes through housing benefit. That's got to be the responsibility of the parents.

Holly it's not the fact that my partner should be the claimant, it's just that he should be recognised as being a parent to his daughter as well and that she should be classed as living here too.

As far as maintenance goes, neither party have paid anything to each other since they split, and just going half on all of the big expenses iykwim. Seems to work.

Clouds oh I know housing benefit shouldn't pay for both households. At the moment we don't claim housing benefit so it makes no difference to us anyway. I only mentioned the bedroom tax as an example, it doesn't bother me at all as we pay full rent anyway.

Then why do you need to be 'recognised'?

I really don't see what difference it makes whether there is some government form somewhere stating that your dsc lives with you a lot of the time or not.

The term resident parent is just a term, it makes no difference to actual parenting.

I thought it was being the RP that made you eligible for the child benefit and not that receiving the child benefit gives you the label RP.

so what do you suggest?