Split with DH but still living together, can I claim TC?

[Twinklebell11]

our relationship is definitely over but for the time being it makes sense to share this house.
He works normal hours, I work evenings and weekends so we rarely see each other any way and the arrangement works with childcare. If I moved out it'd mean him looking after the kids in the evening and him dropping them off with me the next morn at 7am so he can get to work in time. Not ideal for the kids.
I'm only planning to do this job until dd starts school in September and then I'll look for normal hours to fit round the school run.

Also financially it makes sense as we're stuck in a tenancy agreement until August, neither of us can afford the rent and bills alone.

He earns more than I do but as we are no longer a couple have said all household bills should be split down the middle.
Previously he has paid the rent and I have paid all the bills. Splitting it down the middle will mean I'll owe him about £200pcm to even it out.

When I spoke to inland revenue about whether I can claim as a lone parent she was very vague and just said "well we can't decide whether you're in a relationship or not, that's up to you"
But the forms say you're classed as a couple if you are married. We are but no longer living as a married couple, we're two parents parenting together under the same roof.

We aren't financially tied in any way, no joint credit agreements or joint bank accounts.

I've completed the forms for the application but I'm worried they'll see it as a fraudulent claim. It isn't.

I do genuinely need the money, it'll be impossible for me to save a deposit to move out and impossible to feel independent and free from my ex until we're financially equal. At the moment I'm depending on him and I hate it.

Do I send the forms?

Maybe someone else knows more than me but no, I don't think you can. People would be doing it all the time. There is no way of you proving you aren't a couple anymore. Separate addresses would do that for you. Sorry and good luck

I think whilst you're sharing a property together and linked by rent, bills etc it would be hard to prove you're not financially linked and thus claiming as a single person. You say you're not financially tied in any way but you are, as you are financially working together to pay rent, bills and provide for your children.

You don't have to be divorced, separated is enough but whilst living together it will be much more difficult to claim as a single person. For a claim to be successful they may require a lot of supporting evidence.

If you're giving him money to pay the bills how do you know he is paying them?
You might find he is pocketing the money and racking up bills and you'll find yourself in a while heap of debt very fast.
Instead I suggest you pay your half of the bill directly so you can be sure it is being at least half paid.

You'll need to show that you live separately under the same roof.
You must have different cupboards for food, don't share meals, don't do things together such as shopping or outings etc.

You don't do each others washing, or clean each others rooms (he should have separate rooms to use than you do, especially bedroom).
You will have to jump through a huge number of hoops to prove it, and if they don't believe you then you won't get it.
Best thing to do is to show you are actively looking to be in separate houses after august and line something up for one or both of you to be happening then.

In the long run it will be easier emotionally to be apart. Financially it's never easy being a single parent, but WTC & CTC should help you get by.
As long as you're working more than 16 hours a week as a single parent. Proving you are a single parent is a lot easier when you live alone.

I lived with my ex (joint mortgage), I explained we were separated, no joint accounts, separate rooms, no shared family activities. They were fine and put my claim through no probs.

thanks for the replies.

I'm still undecided about whether to send the forms off, I just think as it stands at the moment it would be difficult to prove that we're not in a relationship.
We sleep in separate bedrooms but again it would be difficult to prove.
We put DD (2) to bed in her bed and then when I go to bed I get her in bed with me and DH sleeps in her bed.
Dd's room is a tiny box room with no room for wardrobe, she shares DS's wardrobe. So DH's things are still in my bedroom & he just gets things out the night before so he's not disturbing me in the mornings.
There's literally nowhere else for his stuff to go and this arrangement causes the least disruption to the kids.
But again, it would be impossible to prove to Inland Revenue without them putting up CCTV in our house.

We've kept finances as they were for now.

Gillybean - I know he wouldn't pocket the money because the only bill he has to pay is the rent for our home. He's always paid it so I don't see any reason why he would stop now. And I can always log on to his online banking to check if I want to, he's not got the initiative to change his password & login details. He's an honest bloke and he'd never risk making his children homeless.

He is a decent guy, it's all amicable really, we just don't love each other anymore and the relationship has come to an end.