can i manage on this

[pinkkoala]

i work part time and earn approx 500 a mnth, i have one dd, and i get child benefit and child tax credit, am considering private rent, currently have joint mortage with approx 13k equity. would i manage financially on my own. would i get housing benefit or any other help. this is my biggest worry.
i am in an unhappy marriage with verbal abuse to me and emotional abuse, and threats from in laws. just want to be happy and not nervous all the time. solicitor already involved, house on the market but he being awkward with viewings etc.
how do u all cope financially and mentally.

Your housing benefit would be an "income based" claim.

So all your applicable income (earnings, child & working tax, interest from savings - child care costs) [iirc] offset against your applicable cut-offs etc.

From the sort of situation you're talking about, I'd expect you'd get some housing benefit, but it would depend on several other factors. Your local council may have a benefits calculator on their web page, or you could try entitledto.co.uk.

You should also get in touch with your local Women's Aid so that they can give you advice on how to get away from your abuser.

You won't be able to get housing benefit if you have more than a certain amount of savings. I think the limit is £9000, but I could be wrong, and it tapers off below this so less benefits if above £3000, or at least that was how it used to be. I would check it out by asking the DSS or CAB. The equity in your house will count as your savings once your house is sold and the money is in your name.

You could of course use your savings from the sale of your house to help pay the rent until they are low enough to claim housing benefit and then claim housing benefit. Not sure what happens for the period when your home is on the market. I think you can claim HB if it's not considered reasonable for you still to live in the home you own - eg if your ex is violent and still living there himself. Women's Aid can advise on that sort of thing I think too.

You would be eligible for tax credits though - your savings won't matter for them. You can look on the tax credits website to see how much you can get. Depending how high rents are where you live, you may be able to manage fine from tax credits and your earnings, and not need to claim housing benefit.

You can also claim child support from your ex, assuming you have kids that live with you. Claim thought the CSA if necessary.

to rent a two bed house where i live is approx 600 a mnth, not sure i would get child support as he has no income and no work, got made redundant last june and aint done much since then.
do any of ynu have any spare money to take kids out for a treat or is it a real struggle. x

The limit is 16k of savings for housing benefit, however after 6k they reduce the amount they will pay as they assume you have an income from the savings. If you are unhappy and want to leave then do so, you will not have any savings until you sell your house anyway. Good luck.

Check entitledto.org.uk. They have a benefit calculator which can give you an estimate of much helo you will get and whether you qualify for housing benefit.

Oh, bugger.

Yes, savings and other forms of assets.

Especially given the low amount of mortgage left to run, the DWP will consider the house as "assets of more than £16k" - in other words, they won't give you any main benefit, but as you're working, that's beside the point.

However, that same ruling is very likely to be applied by your local council in working out housing benefit. I had a similar case at work a while back - lady in council house, left share of a property in a will, hasn't been able to sell it, but HB stopped because DWP considered it as assets of more than £16k. She gets child and working tax credit, but no main benefit, and no HB.

Go to Women's Aid, get their advice on the money and benefits side of things, as part of the whole leaving your abuser plan.

If your OH is not working right now, you certainly won't be any worse of financially if you separate, once you've got things sorted out and are claiming the benefits to which you're entitled. DCs can have treats certainly, though you may have to budget for them carefully. But presumably you're already doing that if you and your OH are living off your £500 a month?

thanks for the replies, yes i can still give dd treats, i put child benefit towards it. forgot to mention he had redundancy payout which has spent all of, he did waste 1k though.
he is being quite nasty again, threatening to make things difficult, told me if i divorce him i had better leave the county as i dont know what he is capable of.
telling me i am not thinking about dd, splitting up the home etc.
i cant find the courage to make that step. he has had a letter from sols already regarding his threats and behaviour, doesnt seem to of made much difference.
what are his chances of having full time care of dd, he is threatening me all the time to take her off me.

Fuck all chance of him getting custody. Abusive men often threaten this and it's bullshit, particularly when there is already some kind of official record of abusive behaviour. By the sound of it you might be able to get an occupation order on the grounds of him being a danger to you and DD: that means he is forcibly removed from the house if he won't go, and forbidden to return.