I just won the ruddy lottery. But …

[Lotteryinducedturmoil]

I just won the ruddy lottery 🤩
£10,000 per month for a year 🤩
But, I’m not sure if I can spend it!?
I have been desperately saving for a deposit to buy my first house for myself and my 3 young daughters for years so this is beyond bloody amazing.
I’m a lone parent & work full time on minimum wage. My wage only just covers my rent so I get Universal Credit to top up my earnings.
I can’t work out if I can use all of the money to put towards a house deposit. Would that be classed as deprivation of capital?
I have been googling my fingers to the bone and can’t find anything out other than I may be expected to live frugally on it for ever more.
My head is going around in circles and getting nowhere.
The first £10,000 monthly amount will take me over the threshold of the savings limit of £16,000 meaning that I won’t qualify for universal credit any longer.
Will I be able to get a mortgage with just my (ever so slightly over) £1,000 a month wages?
I had spoken to a mortgage broker recently and they said I’d be able to get a small mortgage for a shared ownership property with my current wage plus UC benefits/ child benefit etc.
Does anyone have a clue how it all works?
I also have a complete twat of a husband who I have been separated from for 5 years but am still married to. Will he be able to get his nasty hands on any of it?
Any advice would be most helpful.

Wow congratulations op! I’m sure you could get a mortgage with that. I’m in Scotland and you could buy my 2 bed house outright with £120k and still have £10k left over! If it’s an option I’d look at getting it as a lump sum and using a hefty amount as a deposit and then pay for childcare and get a job that will pay the (hopefully small) mortgage.

Not all full time jobs are 37 hours. 35 (with unpaid breaks) is not uncommon.

Congratulations 🍾

From £120k?

How can she divorce him without disclosing however much of it she's received at that point in time? That would be illegal.

Honestly, some of the advice given here is shocking and bonkers.

Depends where you are in the country. £120k would get a reasonable house in many areas, mine included.

No way should you expect to get UC if you're getting 120 000 a year plus your earnings .

I do not think you can use it to buy a house, if doing so means you are very soon after the house purchase needing to go back on UC. I believe the dwp would not allow UC if a large amount of savings had very recently been spent buying a house. This may not be accurate, but be careful. I think you may need an appointment with a solicitor who specialises in benefits. Congratulations, I so hope you can buy a home with the winnings.

Thanks xx enjoy every bit of it !!

I assume with £1k per month income you work part time?

From the very first post: I'm a lone parent & work full time on minimum wage

Nat Min Wage is really not a lot of money.

Unless OP is under 23 (which seems unlikely if she has been married, had children, then separated for 5 years) national minimum wage for her is £10.42 per hour so £416.80 for a full time 40 hour week which is £21,674 per year. After tax and NI this is net pay of £1,564 per month.

She doesn't expect to! She gets £120k for one year only.

so £416.80 for a full time 40 hour week

As I mentioned upthread, 'full time' hours can vary significantly.

If OP is under 23, she won't get as much as if she was over.

She has been separated from her husband for 5 years and had time to have children beforehand so unless she was a child bride, this seems unlikely.

It’s so annoying that people haven’t rtft, and are still wittering on believing she’s got it for 30 years.

Congrats op.

Ha! You mean people who work 30 hours and claim they have a "full-time job"? 🤣

Congratulations!!

But- be careful:

• don't make any large purchases that could mean yr husband/children smell a rat
• get a solicitor advice asap re the benefits situation (before you speak with dwp). You don't want to break the rules , and also don't want to accidentally say the wrong thing to dwp that means you are stuck in a doom loop of complication before they fully understand your circs. The average dwp employee won't have a clue what to do in this position and you need to be sure if yr ground first.
• don't rush the house purchase, interest rates are going mental and prices are likely to fall

I mean what your employer defines as full time. If your lunch break is unpaid, a 9-5 week amounts to 35 hours - I don't think many would argue that a 5 day 9-5 week is not full time.

OP, congratulations.

Lots of appalling and crazy advice on this thread, and some sensible.

Obviously benefit fraud is a bad plan. As is lying on Form F in a divorce. 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

Divorce asap - it takes time and the longer you wait the more of this money will be at risk as a marital asset. Cancel the UC obviously. And hopefully you should not need it again. This is enough money for you to find a way to raise your earnings to make a mortgage manageable and leave enough for the deposit once you are ready to buy.

I mean what your employer defines as full time. If your lunch break is unpaid, a 9-5 week amounts to 35 hours - I don't think many would argue that a 5 day 9-5 week is not full time.

Is 35 the same as 30. 🤔

@Lotteryinducedturmoil I don't have any advice to offer, but I just wanted to say a huge congratulations💐...it's really lovely to hear of people winning big amounts 🙂

You were the one who mentioned 30 hours. I said that definitions of full-time vary - you were treating 40 hours as standard, which it is not.

Congratulations!!! Don't tell anyone you know outside of your immediate family!

I mean what your employer defines as full time. If your lunch break is unpaid, a 9-5 week amounts to 35 hours - I don't think many would argue that a 5 day 9-5 week is not full time.

FYI if you re-run the calc with 35 hours per week on minimum wage it is £18,964 per year so £1,410 per month net after tax and NI. Not £1,000.

Good call, I'd forgotten that bit. 😂

This is what ChatGPT said about it:

Congratulations on winning the lottery! That's certainly an exciting development. I can understand that you have concerns and questions about how to best utilize your winnings while taking into account your current financial situation. I'm not a financial advisor, but I can offer some general information that might be helpful to you.

Regarding the potential impact on your Universal Credit (UC) eligibility, it's important to note that I'm providing information based on the knowledge available up until September 2021, and policies may have changed since then. When it comes to lottery winnings, it's possible that receiving a lump sum or large monthly payments could be considered a capital asset. Depending on the amount, it could affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits like UC.

If your total savings, including the lottery winnings, exceed the £16,000 savings limit, you may lose your entitlement to UC. However, you mentioned that the savings limit is £16,000, and the monthly amount you will receive is £10,000, which means the winnings for the year would be £120,000. So, in the first month, your savings would temporarily exceed the limit, but subsequent monthly payments would likely take you below the threshold. It's advisable to consult with a financial advisor or contact the relevant authorities, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to get accurate and up-to-date information on how your specific situation will be treated under the current regulations.

Regarding the mortgage, it's challenging to provide a definitive answer without knowing more details about your income, the property you intend to purchase, and the lender's criteria. However, your income of slightly over £1,000 a month, along with UC benefits and child benefits, may still allow you to qualify for a mortgage, especially if you're considering shared ownership. Mortgage lenders typically assess affordability based on factors such as income, credit history, and expenditure. Consulting with a mortgage broker or seeking advice from various lenders would be beneficial in determining your eligibility for a mortgage and the specific amount you could potentially borrow.

Regarding your husband's potential claim to the lottery winnings, I should note that I am not a legal expert. However, in the UK, lottery winnings are generally treated as personal assets unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as debts owed jointly or ongoing financial commitments related to the marriage. It would be advisable to consult with a family law solicitor to understand your specific circumstances and any potential legal implications regarding your husband's claim to the winnings.

Ultimately, seeking professional advice from a financial advisor, mortgage broker, and potentially a family law solicitor would be the best course of action to ensure you make informed decisions based on your unique situation. They can provide personalized guidance based on the most current regulations and help you navigate the complexities involved in managing your lottery winnings while pursuing your goal of buying a house for yourself and your children.