I got married and it's impacted on DS loan

[mumzof4x]

So I had 4 dc all with their biological father
Divorced after 25 years
I have worked incredibly hard since . Built up my career on. my own and seen one through uni now teaching / one several years into medicine and ds on year 4 at uni
Their biological father has never contributed one single penny and it nearly broke me but it was worth it. They are great kids and I'm so proud I could do that for them.
I met a man a few years ago and with their blessing we married recently.
Admittedly he's helped dd with her medicine sometimes but that's because he wanted to not needed to
DS put that I am now married on his student finance this year because I am but dh is not his father
He's really upset because he's got £4K for the entire year
I've just finally reduced my hours a bit because dd has additional needs and I need tk be here a bit more
All the other dc always got the max amount they needed which helped tbh . I still had to top them up but not like this
DS got the max the last two years amd all that's changed is I got married
This year has been a struggle as his internship in Oxford overlapped with his final year at uni elsewhere and is costing £3k in double rent
His bills and rent at uni this year are 800 a month and he will have 400 at most
That means I will have to find £600 a month.
We are just buying our first house together and this means we now cannot
I had no idea they would expect my husband to financially support him ? Apparently he had to provide his NI number so they will his salary details and everything
I would have waited until he'd finished uni and never married but it just seemed the right time
Would there be any chance of an appeal? I feel so bad because on my own I have always provided for them and now this.
Any advice would be much appreciated and thank you .

You’ll have to top up like the rest of us.

Unless it has changed recently his income should have been included in student finance applications the moment he moved into the home. The assessment is on household income, he counted the moment he became part of the household.

The assessment is on household income even with an unmarried DP. Should have declared that if he's been living with you, sorry.

It's a really unfortunate system. There are many reasons why parents may not be able to contribute such massive amounts. Also seems so unfair to me that the expectation to pay is only on the parent who was resident parent. This (yet again) disproportionately affects women.

Had you been living together before married or just since your wedding

The system is crap but they expect you to top up

.

No. The system has been this way for years. The onus was on you to find out - you have been filling in enough forms over the years - did you never notice they asked for details of everyone in the household?

Very similar here, my now DH moved in with us a year ago. This year dd1 is getting far less maintenance loan (despite both of us being low earners, there's two low incomes in the household) and it's really difficult. The system is shit - they need to at least lend the students what they need, but they don't.

It’s a completely ridiculous system. When I applied years ago I wasn’t even living with my parents and had to put their income down. That may have changed but then when my DD went it was on our household income. Imagine if my DH wasn’t supportive she might not have been able to go. It unfairly penalises woman and those from unusual or vulnerable situations.

It is a very weird system. Not living with your parents isn't enough, you have to have been supporting yourself for 3 years, or been NC with them for 1 year.

https://www.ucas.com/money-and-student-life/money/student-finance/student-finance-england/finance-independent-students#estranged

It makes sense. You are married so it's assumed that you now have 2 incomes coming into the household and therefore you personally are better off financially and can afford to contribute versus before marriage when you had a some adult wage covering all bills

You absolutely can appeal this. When I attended uni my mum had to appeal the household income as her partners income was taken into account yet he never provided for me in anyway. I was then awarded the highest amount. It's worth a try.

You absolutely cannot. Student loans are assessed on household income. Even if a step parent has never contributed it makes zero difference.

@OhshutupBarry
No, you absolutely can because we did and I received the highest award. How can you tell me you can't when we successfully did? Have a word with yourself.

I had to appeal one year as they wanted to take both parents marital income into account even though I had been living alone for ages 😂. My step mum and my dad both work for the NHS as high earners but didn’t give me a penny. I appealed and got awarded the highest amount.

It is not nice, but I think it does make sense that they think you're better off financially having 2 x incomes instead of one. I hope I'm not being cheeky, but are you able to reduce your hours now because you are a bit better off? So...they aren't wrong strictly speaking.

I empathise though. I worry a lot about my kids going to university as I know topping up is just getting crazily expensive.

It absolutely staggers me that a student's parents' circumstances should have any effect on their finances.

These are adults making important choices about their own education that will have ramifications throughout the rest of their lives. It opens them up to all sorts of pressure and coercion - what if the parents insist upon a course or university they're not best suited to, and threaten to withdraw support? Or even use it to exert control well into their child's twenties? (Share your location/don't go out with that boy/don't dress like that or your money's getting stopped.). Parents don't always know best or even have good intentions. And even aside from that, it's just wrong.

One day I hope we'll view this the way we now view women needing a husband's signature to open a bank account.

Your DS will need to get a part time job, has he not been working through the summer? Every student I know works.

@worriedsic's situation is unusual. @OhshutupBarry is correct that an assessment is based on household income. With so many people going to university, it's not affordable for everyone to receive a full loan, and it's shocking to hear from @As476 that "My step mum and my dad both work for the NHS as high earners but didn’t give me a penny. I appealed and got awarded the highest amount." Fortunately, many parents and step-parents do what's expected of them, however flawed the system may be. So don't assume that because a couple of people have appealed successfully, this is the norm.

If that’s the case there must have been some other error in the initial assessment, because the income of everyone in the household is taken into account.
*We’ll assess your parents’ income, including the income of a relevant partner of your parent unless:

• you’re an independent student (see section 4.11)
• you choose not to provide details of your parents’ income because you’re applying for support that isn’t assessed on your household income

If your parents don’t give these details, you will not get the full amount of Maintenance Loan available. For academic year 2022 to 2023, we’ll usually look at your parents’ household income for the financial year 2020 to 2021. But if your parents’ household income has dropped by 15% or more, they can ask us to look at their likely income for the current financial year. Your parents’ income will be added to yours to work out the total household income. Using your total household income, we’ll then work out what support you’re entitled to and if there should be any household contribution. To understand how your household income may affect your Maintenance Loan, check out our dedicated page*

It’s on household income, as PP have said; whether you are married or not.

Is he working when he isn’t doing internships?

Do you believe that everybody, regardless of household income, should get a full student loan? So, Miles who lives with his parents who have a combined income of £500k a year should expect every tax payer to fund his 4 years at Uni to the tune of £50k+ in order that he can study some airy fairy subject before he joins his dad’s firm doing a job that on paper pays him under the loan replacement threshold but in reality he receives far more? Meanwhile, Ella who’s single parent is on NMW is training to be a teacher, ends up with the same student debt of £50k which she has to start repaying as soon as she gets a teaching job and impacts on her ability to save a deposit for her own home.
How is that in any way fair?

The system is completely messed up. I cannot believe one adults' loan amount, their personal responsibility, is based on what their parents earn. The parents can choose to give money to top up the loan, they don't have to. So the assumption is, if your parents are higher earners, they're going to be generous.

As for the question, it's been like this for years @mumzof4x I got divorced in 2021. My X contributed very little. Wherever uni came up in conversation, I reminded my children that should they choose to go to uni, I will never move in with anyone until they have completed their courses in order for them to get their full loan entitlement.

DD is off in 2 weeks. So I'm happily living alone for at least the next 3 years.

Ask Miles, whose parents have decided that he needs to learn to stand on his own two feet at uni, and don't give him a penny of their £500k.

@DevotedSisterBelovedCunt but he is not my son's father he barely knows him? How's that's okay.
It is my own fault i guess I am so independent now it never crossed my mind that getting married would mean dh was financially responsible for my adult children
Am seriously in the shit now then as dd is doing medicine too
No @Kelly51 he hasn't got a summer job he's on an internship until October and paying double rent as the Industry year overlapped with uni accommodation both ends
He has volunteered though most weekends and bank hols as his internship has taken him abroad with the job and he's building up a portfolio in the hope that they offer him a graduate job .... it's his dream job and he's worked so hard
Apart from that yes he's pot washed in the local Italian since 14 thanks for asking
I think I've been a bit naive and I guess we need to rethink things. I was just quite upset yesterday and wrote it all down on here so thanks for your kind comments and support
I will appeal thank you x