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Can anyone briefly look at my finances and tell me if i can stay in the home if we separate ?

15 replies

Timetochange70 · 21/10/2011 14:33

Ok dh brings home approx 2000 pm ft plus very nice c car.
I work 2 days and earn appros 1200 pm bring home.(both after pensions etc taken out.)
mortgage is 480pm.
no credit of any sort.
4 dc
separation is looking a possibility, so just on my salary will i get a reduction in anything like counciltax ?
Will dh have to give me anything ?
Hed prob pay the mortgage ?
Wed have joint custody. btw dc 19 16 8 and 1. I think id be happer skint and single at the moment but i do want to be able to feed and clothe my chilldren.
Do single working parents survive on more / less.
Would i be better giving up work/ working more hours ?
Weve been together 22 years and ive always had his income but cant really expect him to live on nothing !

OP posts:
ScaredKittyWitchyKitty · 21/10/2011 14:51

You bring home £1200 which is pretty decent - I earned about that working full time, so I think you'll be fine - in fact I think if your H will pay the mortgage you'll be well away. But think realistically - can he really afford to pay the mortgage on your house and also house himself (either rent or another mortgage) in a house that will need to have room for 4 children? Also, I don't know the ins and outs of your relationship but if you decide to end the marriage he may refuse to pay the mortgage. However, your mortgage is less than my monthly rent so even if you end up having to pay your own mortgage, then you'll be ok. Not rich, but ok.

I currently work 3 days per week and bring home around £400 less than you. I get a bit of LHA to go towards my rent (private landlord) but I'm not entitled to council tax rebate. However, you will get the 25% single person discount, as do I. You may also receive some working tax credit/child tax credit. Have a look on entitledto.co.uk for an idea of what you'd get.

Don't forget you may also get maintenance, although if you have joint custody (by this I mean 50% shared care) he shouldn't really pay you anything as you'd both have the kids for the same amount of time. However if he has them say, every other weekend and half the school hols, you'll get maintenance as well.

gillybean2 · 21/10/2011 17:13

How many hours a week do you work? If you work 16 or more you can claim WTC and CTC on top of your salary. If you don't work 16 hours it would be worth seeing if you can up your hours, even if it is a second job that does it.

I survived on much less that that for years (still earn less than that) but I only have 1 child.

You probably won't get council tax help on that salary, but it's worth putting the figures into entitled too to find out exactly what you may get.

Also your stbEx should pay maintenance for his dc. Is the 16yo in full time education? 2 dc getting maintenance is 20% if his nett income, so you should get at least that (if you go via the CSA) and can negotiate accordingly - or go via CSA if easier for you all.

mrscolour · 22/10/2011 14:50

You will get child tax credits to top up your income and don't forget child benefit as well. He would have to pay you maintenance and that would probably cover most of your mortgage.

My income is similar to yours + I get child benefit and child tax credits but no maintenance. My mortgage is slightly less but I have childcare costs and I manage on that. I do feel I have to stop and think about what I spend but equally I realise there are people out there managing on less.

SaggyHairyArse · 22/10/2011 17:46

Are you planning to stay in the family home? If you are and you are working and can potentially work more as the children grow, it might be worth looking at taking the mortgage on yourself as yours is very cheap at £480 per month. You would still have £500 of your own salary left after to pay bills etc and you could:

  1. get in touch with child Maintainance Options who will tell you how much the minimum your (ex)husband needs to pay for the children based on his salary and how many you have etc.
  2. Get in touch with Council as you will get a discount for being a single person from your Community Charge, I believe that you get a discount not based on earnings but on occupancy.
  3. You would be entitled to Working Families Tax Credits and if you have child care costs then you would get help with that.
  4. You might get help with interest on mortgage (I don't know what the thresh hold is but it is worth applying for, especially as maintainence is not deducted from benefits anymore). Plus if you apply, you will get a Lone Parent Advisor who will tell you what you can claim for!
  5. I'm not sure if the changes to Legal Aid have gone through yet, but you might get Legal Aid to cover the divorce as well.
nickschic · 22/10/2011 17:53

Will she still get the 25% deduction with the 19 year old at home?

STIDW · 22/10/2011 21:47

To answer the question we would need to know the value of the property, any other assets and outstanding mortgage.

gillybean2 · 23/10/2011 09:02

nickschic it depends on several factors; if the 19 year old is a full time student and whether he lives at home or is away at college. If he works and lives at home then there is no reduction.

Timetochange70 · 25/10/2011 14:36

Hi again,
My 19 yo dd is at university.
House is worth prob 190,000 with mortgage for around 80,000.
DH would have equal custody although hed prob only have them weekends and once a week or twice for tea x
No other big bills.
2 cars paid for.

OP posts:
STIDW · 25/10/2011 15:47

The priority is housing children under 18 but young students over 18 aren't irrelevant and it is reasonable for them to have a base even if they are away at university during term time. Your housing need is therefore to accommodate 4 children and yourself adequately. That has to be balanced against the housing needs of your husband who requires somewhere suitable for the children to have staying contact.

When the former matrimonial home is bigger than required it often has to be sold to release equity to enable both parties to rehouse. If the house is worth £190k and there are 4 children it is unlikely to be larger than required to house them and yourself. Therefore the considerations are local property prices and both parties mortgage raising capabilities. Some mortgage lenders will take Working Families Tax Credits and maintenance into account when determining the amount they are prepared to lend. The aim is to raise enough mortgage to enable some equity to be released so that there is something towards a deposit for a new home for your husband.

If you can't raise enough mortgage and there is no other way of keeping a roof over the children's head your husband could maintain an interest in the former matrimonial home in the form of a chargeback which is paid when certain conditions trigger a sale. You would be responsible for meeting the mortgage payments. There can be different triggers but the usual ones are the youngest child reaching 18 or finishing uni and the parent with majority of care remarrying or dying. Beware though that there are disadvantages in this arrangement, in particular being tied to your husband for many years until a sale is triggered and the possibility of not being able to raise a mortgage for the usual 25 year term to rehouse yourself.

The other option would be renting.

As others have said your husband would be liable for child support for the 3 younger children whilst in education at 25% of his net income minus deductions for overnight stays. There is a calculator at the CM Options website that will give you a rough idea of the amount. It's worth checking out state financial help at www.entitledto.co.uk - if you work 16 hours or more a week you might be surprised at the amount of WFTC you will get.

Spouse maintenance isn't very likely because when child support and state help are taken into account there isn't a huge discrepancy in incomes. If you have a larger slice of the capital or your husband has to wait until the house is sold to realise his share his monthly outgoings will be more leaving little or no disposable income to pay SM.

Divorce settlement are treated case by case and I think it is a good idea to see a solicitor early on to find out where you stand and what options there are given the specific details (for example you don't mention pensions and they have to be taken into account as part of the overall circumstances) even if you then decide to negotiate between yourselves or with the help of a mediator.

Timetochange70 · 27/10/2011 01:38

Wow thank you .x
I've used the tax credits calculator on HMR website and something must be wrong.
I've put my salary in at 18000 which is I think my basic av.although I usually double this with overtime which obv. I wouldn't do being a single parent.
I've put in my hours and my childcare costs which are very cheap at present but will go up . ( 70 pw ).
4 x dc under 20 .
says not to include any maintainance or child benefit.
Anyway it says I,m entitled to over 5,500.00 between 27th oct and 4th April ! that's about 1,100.00 per month !
I'd end up with my salary of 1200, my CB 188 , 1100 of these credits and DH maintainence too ! the tax credit thing can be right surely ? crumbs if it is he's off faster than he realised !

OP posts:
Timetochange70 · 27/10/2011 10:35

X

OP posts:
Timetochange70 · 28/10/2011 01:21

Bump x

OP posts:
MeMySonAndI · 28/10/2011 02:17

I found this other calculator is more helpful at providing yearly figures.

www.turn2ushelp.entitledto.co.uk/viewhelp.aspx?sid=13&ctyid=0&helpfile=groupsnotincluded

And once you have that information go to an independent mortgage advisor and ask how much you can borrow once that your salary, tax credits, and child maintenance (20% of your h's net salary, he is not legally expected to pay maintenance for the 2 older ones).

Please note that although you may afford to pay the current mortgage, it is very likely that your current lender decides it cannot be transfered to you. If so, you will need to apply for a new mortgage, and the amount you may end up paying per month may be very different to the current one. So take that into account, and ring your lender to see if they could transfer the mortgage to you.

He won't be forced to pay the mortgage on his current salary, it is more likely for the home to be sold to rehouse both of you, albeit at a lower standard, to accommodate for overnight contact to take place.

Do not even consider the idea of stopping work, you need that salary in order to be able to get a mortgage, and the hours (16+) to get the extra tax credits.

You may be entitled to a 25% reduction in council tax.

Nooster · 30/10/2011 22:57

I earn about that working part time, and I manage to pay £500 rent and manage quite well with tax credits. You're far better off working than not if you can get the balance right.

The mortgage thing could be a problem though. I'd definitely look into that.

Nooster · 30/10/2011 22:58

I earn about that working part time, and I manage to pay £500 rent and manage quite well with tax credits. You're far better off working than not if you can get the balance right.

The mortgage thing could be a problem though. I'd definitely look into that.

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