To think benefits and tax free childcare should be split according to the child’s residency?

[Suzannargh]

A friend and her husband are separating and will have 50/50 care of their eight-year old. Both earn similar fairly amounts though my friend (the mum) earns more. The dad wants to claim the benefits as he earns less. Both would be eligible. Friend doesn’t agree but there doesn’t seem to be a way to split them?

There isn't a way to split them, only one parent can have a claim. There are lots of reasons for this, the most basic of which is the extra processing and admin time/cost to the benefit office of splitting it which is why they encourage parents to come to an amicable agreement.

If parents can agree then the office has criteria they consider to help them decide. They look at things like who has the child for the most nights, who has greater financial responsibility, which address is the child registered at for school/GP/dentist, which address are the majority of their clothes and belongings held at, who provides most of the basic day to day care and support for the child, and so on.

Are they going to be splitting all the things they need to buy 50/50?

Because I was just thinking today, atm my children are costing me each £15 per day food, say £5 bills, £7 bus pass, and £10 for just one activity. That's not even thinking about clothes/holidays/birthdays/school costs. So, absolute minimum of £40 per day. The £2.50 I get from the government makes no odds whatsoever.

Get her to tell him if he wants all the benefits he makes all the purchases for the kids. Food/clothes/uniforms etc

Surely there’s a way they can arrange to split it between themselves - one claims and sets up a standing order to the other perhaps? Or one claims but covers a specific expense as a result. Shouldn’t really cause problems unless they really don’t get on.

I guess if anything and it’s 50:50 time spend, the lower earned should get to claim .

Lower earner should get the Child Benefit, no question.
Tax free childcare, just have the higher earner registered for it and make all child care arrangements and payments. Lower earner would then transfer child care costs to higher earner used on their share of the 50/50.

Unless he parented 50/50 when they lived together, then they (she) should dely making that decision. Housing, pension etc has to be taken into consideration.

They’re not married and rented, so there’s no pension or other financial concerns. They’ll both be moving into smaller rental properties close to the school, so the home address for the school and doctors is also up for debate.

They want to do week on / week off so their responsibilities for things like uniform and clothes will be equal.

She earns about 2k more than him so with the benefits, he’d be better off. He is expecting a promotion this year; she isn’t. Not on good terms (she chose to split) so I doubt a standing order would be honoured, and once the benefits were in his name, I doubt he’d agree to change it if he became the higher earner.

I appreciate it’s a processing hassle but it seems unfair.

It's perfectly fair they should be able to be adults and spilt it between them if necessary. Child comes first it's not hard.

Is week on week off best for the kids or for them

One week on /one off is an awful arrangement for children. They need to rethink .

The only people I know who have successfully managed anything close to a week on/week off contact arrangement are a couple who worked opposite rotas at the same company and had done since the start of their relationship so the children were used to it already. Dad worked four days on and four days off, mum did four days off and four days on in the opposite direction to dad, DC had grown up having dad as main carer for four days while mum was on at work then mum for four days while dad did his shifts, having contact arrangements mirror that kept it normal for them but for the majority of people it is not an arrangement that is practical or workable.

If they can't decide who claims then they both need to make a claim with a covering letter and let DWP/HMRC make the decision.