Step-mum and Student Finance/Loans Company

[goakland3]

Hi everyone, this is my first time here, I hope you're all doing well.

I have a question about my daughter's student finance application.
I am a divorced, but re-married father of 3, and I currently live alone with my daughter, as my wife and I live completely separately. My wife, my daughter's step-mother, lives in her own house, and has all of her financial ties associated with her own household and close family. Needless to say, we live and operate separately, and my daughter (nor myself) will receive financial support from my wife.

For this reason - I was wondering, what happens if my daughter doesn't list her step-mother on the finance application? I have a single-occupancy tax bill to evidence myself and my daughter being the only people at this address. I know this topic is a hard one, and there are stories of the game of SFE/SLC being "played", but we're a low-middle class household, and I'd like my daughter to receive as much support from the maintenance loans as possible.

Thanks very much,
Kindest regards.

@MillicentMartha They're primarily separate because of the fact she has her own house and birth children, so the majority of her finances are linked to her household. And also, it varies, often one of us just pays for the both.

Do you think a single person discount tax bill would be enough? As mentioned above, I don't want my daughter to get to year 2 and be asked for additional evidence, or something like that.

Thanks for your reply.

@Soontobe60 I appreciate your response, as with all. However, I would also appreciate if you could comprehend the situation a little better, and therefore understand the attached desperation.

I don't believe I ever mentioned giving false addresses to attend oversubscribed schools, but instead mentioned the very real problem which exists with SFE/SLC's terrible system of income assessment, which you seem to think either doesn't exist, or is a joke.

As described - we are a low middle class household and I cannot afford to supplement a loan. However, do not make the mistake of assuming I will not help my daughter through this time, I have been saving to provide my daughter with monthly payments which will be carried out. However, it's not a lot, hence I'm here asking questions about 'defrauding the state'. So before you call me despicable from up there, and assume I am 'avoiding' the requirement to support my child, maybe think about the situation I am in to be here.

I have no idea what is meant by 'expect her to be equally fraudulent', but if you're insisting my child will inherit terrible traits from a parent who is worried about her quality of life, nothing less, nothing more - then I must say you are not qualified to make that judgement.

As mentioned above, I don't want my daughter to get to year 2 and be asked for additional evidence, or something like that.

But if there is nothing wrong with what you are intending to do, there can be nothing that your DD could be asked to produce that would be a problem?

@ArriettyJones Yeah, I'm not too worried - but we don't necessarily plan to divorce, and for that reason - the Decree Nisi would be drafted/put in play for the sole purpose of identifying to the loans company a financial separation, and once the funding is approved and my daughter is out of university - this document will be disregarded and the marriage will continue... It's peculiar, but seems necessary.

But you’re not planning to move in together either are you? So you’ll still have other documentation such as council tax bills showing who was resident at your house before during and after your DD’s stint at uni.

It’s not as though SLC want an affidavit detailing who you love and who you have sex with! You don’t need to promise that you will do X thing at Y time in the future either.

This is about residence, addresses, finance, separate households etc.

I think you’re quite safe and morally justified to just provide the Nisi, which is a snapshot in time.

So your family lawyer friend also gives advice on how to defraud the state? Nice! Do you also think it's ok to give false addresses to get into an oversubscribed school?

Oh @Soontobe60 don’t be silly. OP is not hastily arranging a separation to gain financial advantage. He doesn’t live with his significant other (who technically he is married to). They run and finance separate homes for their separate children, spend their money on their own children and essentially have a dating relationship.

Student Finance is loan anyway so it will be expected to be paid back by the DD (with interest).

Do you think a single person discount tax bill would be enough? As mentioned above, I don't want my daughter to get to year 2 and be asked for additional evidence, or something like that.

They don’t usually ask again, but if they do, show them the Nisi again and another single adult Council Tax Bill.

In my experience, they ask every year. I’ve provided a copy of my decree absolute 5 times so far.

@ArriettyJones Oh @Soontobe60* don’t be silly. OP is not hastily arranging a separation to gain financial advantage. He doesn’t live with his significant other (who technically he is married to). They run and finance separate homes for their separate children, spend their money on their own children and essentially have a dating relationship.
Student Finance is loan anyway so it will be expected to be paid back by the DD (with interest)*

That is true of the student loan. At the university my DC attend, there is a automatic bursary that isn't paid back that is based on the income of the parent/household supporting the application. Presumably the OP and his wife have a combined income of approx £62k if they "just cross the line" with regards to finance, so I would guess the OP's income is less than £50k. In that case, his DD would get a bursary totalling £16k if she went to the same uni as my DC.

Forgive me if I am wrong, OP, but why would you get "technically" married to someone and not live with them? It wouldn't be to reduce CMS payments for the other two DC you mention you have?

In my experience, they ask every year. I’ve provided a copy of my decree absolute 5 times so far

I've never been asked for mine.

lostinleaves That's not fair! I always thought it was poor admin on their part, to not have on record that they've seen it. Apparently they have to destroy copies of people's data once they've seen them, which makes sense for GDPR type reasons, but they seem incapable of keeping a record of the fact they've seen it. So their admin is disorganised enough to ask me every time, (even though I'm not likely to remarry my ex unless he divorces his new wife!) but only ask you once? We'll be applying again this year for DS3. I've already made copies in anticipation. Maybe the fact that the DSes get the max loan makes them keep checking up on me?

This thread highlights why it’s such a stupid and unfair system. Parental income should have no bearing on an adults funding to go to university. The funding should be the students issue not their parents.
All students should be eligible for a maximum loan and they should be made to repay it when their earnings allow it.

I’ve known too many students get the maximum loan because they live in a household with a low ‘income’ - usually separated parents where the mother has no income but the father has a high income job. I’ve also known too many students come from high income but cash poor households. This are people I actually know. It’s crazy.

One lad came from a middle earning household where his parents legitimately had no spare cash. He had to work all his holidays and during his termtime. Everything was so difficult for him.

Surely this is fraud?!?

Planning on separating just so your daughter can benefit from loans from our government?

@ArriettyJones No, I should have the single-occupancy discounted bill for the foreseeable, but I was just worried they might ask for something additional, and if we hadn't began divorce proceedings, for example, it may cause problems.

@DreemOn The system is undoubtedly flawed, and too little people recognise its flaws as it seems to only drastically affect the low-middle class, who don't qualify for the minimum loan, but also don't qualify for the higher brackets...

@Herringbone31 I don't know how much of this thread you have read, but I'd suggest reading it all as it outlines this question. It's effectively what I'm here asking.