Ex wants to claim child benefit

[Helloyou111]

Hi , I’m unsure what to do . I have three daughers with my ex ( ranging from 4-12) and a baby (who I haven’t nothing to do with her father so don’t get money off him ) Ex has just said that because I have 4 children I can only technically claim for 2 of them (which is correct ) so he wants to put two of the girls on his claim ( he’s hoping to get money towards his rent etc . Also he will get child benefit for them (I don’t think he realises that the 2 child cap doesn’t apply here ) and anyway We have 3 children together not 4 as one isn’t his . I can see his point BUT he earns over 45k a year , has tons of help with childcare if needed ( me included ) and has a very good career ( which I never had as I spend 10 years looking after the kids for him to get it and sacrificed my option of having one hence I only earn 400 a month and heavily rely on benefits to get by . if he does this I’ll also have to pay bedroom tax as “my two on my claim are expected to share “ even though I have the kids half the time . also I’m limited to work as I have zero family here or help , I also help him by working around his working patterns . Ive worked out I’ll lose around £250 a month and after all my bills etc I have £50 left for doing things now as it is , clothes , birthdays , emergencies like today I had to get a new washing machine etc . I basically won’t be able to afford to live . I don’t get child maintanance. We both buy clothes for the kids , split school trips etc but what can I say 😭😭

If they are not living with him the majority of the time then he would be claiming fraudulently.

Tell him no.

If the children live with you then you receive the child benefit. It is your children's food & essentials money.

The money is not for him to spend on rent. If he grumbles, tell him you are saving him from a conviction for benefit fraud, and having to pay it all back in the future.

Well done, getting away from a free-loading idiot.

I can’t imagine it would be quite the windfall he’s imagining if he’s on £45k, he wouldn’t be entitled to much at all. Seems like a pointless exercise, and will make you worse off. And unless he has them at least 50% of the time, he would be claiming fraudulently and you’d be complicit in that. So in a nutshell, just tell him no.

Claim child maintenance of this freeloader. He had no problem asking you for child benefit fraudulently so his can top up his very good salary.
Say no and mean it, you cannot be £250.00 short every month due to his dishonestly. He sounds very unpleasant. He needs to pay for his children.

You say you have them half the time, so it’s 50/50? Then yes, he is just as entitled to claim the kids as you are.

This isn't true, it just needs to be shared care.

She doesn't get child benefit for the third - I assume that's his thinking, that he can claim it and it's 'free money'
OP I don't think that even works but even if it does, it will remove money from your household through knock on effects on housing entitlement so no, he can't do it.

Tell him no. You’ve sacrificed enough for the prick, don’t sacrifice any more.

Do you have them 50/50?

You are the main carer, which why you receive those payments. What he wants to do is fraud.

There's a misunderstanding here. There's is NO limit to the number of children to claim child benefit for - please make sure you are applying for all 4 OP.

The benefit cap refers to the child element of Universal Credit. Surely he isn't claiming UC if he's earning £45k anyway? So the whole conversation is redundant. And yes, you should now pursue child maintenance from him.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit

Thank you! I always thought the 2 child cap applied to CB as well.

No it's not, if you share care it's up to the parents which one claims CB. If they agree then the one who claims doesn't have to have them 50%+ of the time.

It is because even if the arrangement is 50:50 with regards to him not paying her maintenance, the description she provides is that she is the main carer. She is the one who picks up the flack so that he can have a career. When the shit hits the fan it is the OP who is the reliable parent. This is why she gets child benefit for 4 kids, council housing for a family of 5 etc. Of he gets what he wants and she can’t afford to pay her rent then she will be made homeless. I’ve seen housing associations kick families out for non-payment of agreed rent, even when their civil stances changed.

*If and circumstances.
fat fingers

All of that may be true but it makes no difference to the fact that he could claim CB if she was in agreement

@Helloyou111 there isn't a limit to how many children you can get Child Benefit for so you should claim for all of them yourself.

He could in theory make a counter claim and then the CB people would decide who gets it.

If he has them 50/50 he should be able to claim.

Theoretically he could but OP is still a financial disadvantage and needs the money more than him.

Since when did want to divorced couples help each other out financially

Your caveat - if she is in agreement - is essential here. He can’t simply claim it, legally, even in shared custody, everyone has a primary residence. That is her house. He wants to change their primary residence. He can’t do that unilaterally.

Yes I know. My initial responses were to people claiming it would be fraud for him to claim if he wasn't the main carer. You're now responding to points I never made.

Yes he could
He could make a counter claim without her permission and the CB dept would make a decision who to pay it to

Which would last all of 2 minutes because the kids’ address for school, GP etc will be their Mum’s house.

So she should just say no anyway!