ex thinks its not fair i get benefits

[Bettyboo7]

Can anyone help?? ive been a single mum of 2 for 6 months now and recently their dad asked me if we could claim we have custody of 1 child each (bearing in mind that wouldnt b the case, they both live with me and visit him twice a week) so he can get help towards rent etc. I sed no as i think its fraud but he is now sayin he wont b able to afford child maintenance and has apparently been told from council that it shouldnt b a problem to claim 1 each. help!!!! :(

mine asked the same.(his solicitor advised him). i said no.stick to your guns and if he is working then he should pay maintenance, the CSA should make sure he does!!!

good luck.

What he's suggesting is benefit fraud and against the law.

If he trots out the 'I can't afford maintenance' like I'd tell him 'Well, we'll see what the CSA thinks, then.'

thanks, i keep sayin hes askin me to break the law and live in fear of gettin caught but he jus keep sayin its fine its only on paper n its allowed. jus wanted it confirmed, i certainly will stick to my guns xxxxx

No, no, no! It's benefit fraud and you could both end up arrested and in court. I believe the person who gets the child benefit (which I assume is you, as they are with you the majority of the time) is the one who gets the benefits. Contact the CSA regarding maintenance. They don't take benefits into account now either, so you'll keep all your benefits and the maintenance. Just refuse and don't give in. He doesn't have a leg to stand on. And get your CSA application in now.

Not fine. If he's doing it to get Housing Benefit, then it is definitely fraud and depending on the amount of benefits involved it could mean prison for him if he was caught.

While you would be unlikely to be prosecuted to the same level, you could wind up having your benefits sanctioned - ie dropped to a subsistence level.

If you think you're getting by on a pittance now, google benefits sanction.

And anyway, I'm pretty sure that him claiming one of the kids lives with him won't make any real difference to Housing Benefit entitlement, unless he's living by himself in a two or more bedroom property. Especially if he's working - it would be more about him having to pay for child care.

I just can't see his thinking where he's come to the conclusion that he'll get more help towards his rent if one of the kids lives with him.

It sounds like this might be just another way of him jerking you around. Just calmly tell him you won't break the law just because he wants you to.

What they will have advised him is that it is possible for you both to have benefits for the children IF EACH OF THEM LIVES WITH ONE EACH OF YOU. What he is asking you to do is lie, because they both live with you.

Sometimes in cases where custody is split down the middle and a child, or children, spend equal time with both parents it can be unfair that one parent claims all of the benefit. In these cases I personally feel that no maintenance should be paid and some of the benefits should be given to be given to the other parent because they have the same costs in regard to the child/ren.

But in your case, you have the children 5/7ths of the time... so you deserve the benefits and he HAS to pay 15% CSA minus 2/7 for the days he has the children. Why can't he afford that?! How much does he earn?

Tell him to get stuffed.

Anyway, like SSD said, he may not be entitled to any housing benefit if he's working. My friend who's also a single parent works part time and doesn't get any help with her rent..

My ex, a long time ago, asked me to claim the kids spent x number of nights a month with him to reduce his CSA payments. I wouldn't have been any worse off, as it was when those on benefits got nothing of the CSA payment. as soon as I told him I could be done for fraud he said it didn't matter. He actually though it was crap that I didn't get the money, and loathed the gov't getting more of his money.