Advice for the newly split

[MoelFammau]

Hello

I've been around here a few times, mainly on the Aspergers thread. My DH has Aspergers and I've struggled for 5 years to make things work. This week I finally threw in the towel. I can't live with the nit-picking, the lack of common sense, the paranoia and the emotional ineptitude any more.

Thing is, I have a 20mo daughter, I'm a freelancer on a wobbly income and I have a rented flat that I want to keep living in if at all possible. What do I do about the split? Do I tell HMRC and have changes made to Working Tax Credit etc? Will it be relevant if we've just split and not divorced? Will I end up worse off?

Is there anything else I need to do? I need to get Single Occupancy Council Tax now, which is a big help. Is there any other help out there for lone self-employed parents on low income?

Just need to get stabilised so I can organise my work better and bring in more money.

Hello, sorry to hear your news. I'm assuming he is going to move out of the flat and you and your daughter will stay there?
As far as I am aware it doesn't matter if you split up or are divorced you should inform the benefits people and you entitlements should hopefully increase depending on how low your income is. You may also be entitled to housing benefit to help with your rent. If your husband works then you should also ask him to support your daughter or put a claim in through the csa. If I were you I would contact the benefits people as soon as you can to check exactly what you are entitled too and put the wheels in motion. Hope this is of some help. Good luck.

You should put your new circumstances into the www.turn2us.org.uk benefits calculator which is a very good starting point and will give you an idea of what's potentially available, how much and where to apply.

I would also recommend, however, that you consult a solicitor so that you are very sure of everyone's rights and responsibilities in the event of a divorce. In the early days of a split former partners can agree to all kinds of things which they later claim to forget. Or you might agree to something just to get him off your back which leaves you out of pocket and you later regret. Get some really sound advice in the early stages, make sure anything you agree is fair and the more you can officially formalise the better.

You can be living in the same house and claim benefits like Tax Credits and Housing benefit. It is worth looking at your local council housing benefit section to find out how much you can claim for a 2 bed in your area.

Good luck

Thank you all so much. Never claimed anything before - feels weird...

Will take a deep breath and try one of those forms. As a freelancer my income is all over the place so I'm not really sure what to put in the income box!

Might go to Citizens Advice next week.

Don't get your hopes up too high.. :) The thresholds for claiming anything are pretty low. But, the way I see it, is that we all pay in via our taxes when we're able and the deal is that we get a bit back if we need it. If you're a freelancer, try entering a reasonable average monthly/annual income as a start point. What have you got to lose?

I just made a claim for the council tax discount online (newly separated too). It took 5 min, was really easy and I now only have to pay £25 until April.

Thank you. I earn about £7500 a year at the moment... guess that might be low enough?

Definitely, and if you can claim you work 16 hours or more a week you qualify for WTCs. The rules will be changing when the Universal Credit comes in later in the year so I think it's important to get your claims in now and get yourself in the system, as it were.

I work 60 hours. Thanks for the help!

60 hours a week for £7500 a year? Not on topic OP but that is a waste of your time! £2.50 an hour approx? It must either be very rewarding or something that is going to lead to great things. You would be better to find another job!

It's rewarding. I run my own artist studio. But I'm thinking of giving up and becoming a foster carer.