advise for step daughter who's husband wants a divorce

[Dave654]

just hoping someone can give me a few pointers to try and help my step daughter. she's 26 years old and has 3 young children. two aged 4 and one aged 18 months. her husband has been working away for a year now. and just this week out of know where has decided he wants a divorce. obviously she is devastated and he isn't being very nice about the whole situation either. they have a council house and he earns reasonable money. she basically has no income at all as he was paying for everything. she cant even afford the bus to take the two 4 years olds to school right now so the rest of the family are doing everything we can to help. does anyone know what she is entitled to in benefits? what she needs to do to start the ball rolling. what should she be asking him for in maintenance. she's so upset she doesn't even know where to start and I just want to try and make it easier for her

Are they both listed on the tenancy agreement? Is she getting the child benefit or is it in his name? Is he leaving the property?

I would advise her to make an online claim to Universal Credit and contact a divorce lawyer first thing Monday so she can get proper advice on process and likely settlement. Also worth contacting the council if his moved out as they might be able to assist with council tax reductions etc

they are both listed on the tenancy. I dont think we are going to have an issue with him trying to claim the tenancy. pretty sure he's playing away if im honest. has no real reason for the sudden change of heart. sorry to ask but do you know if she would be able to get legal aid with a divorce lawyer?

She needs to go to entitled to and check her claim

Then claim everything she can - she should be able to claim free school meals Housing benefit etc she’ll also get free dental care etc

She’s been on her own a year anyway so this should be just about money:

Does she know what he earns?

unsure of his wages but he works long hours away (could be a lie) and they never have had to struggle. all I know is he earns too much for them to claim anything.

The right to legal aid for divorce ended some 6-7 years ago and is only granted, subject to income/savings etc, in exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse which has been reported to police/health professionals etc.

Check the amount of maintenance she can expect here: www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

In view of the ages of the dc if your stepdaughter is not working I would advise her to claim spousal maintenance until such time as she gets a job, but obviously not if this would adversely affect her claim for benefits.

What proposal has her stbxh made to ensure she can continue to care for his dc without financial stress/hardship?

You say the stbxh has been working away. Is his salary being paid by a company whose wages department/payroll is in the UK?

he hasn't offered anything as yet, the whole situation is a mess. only came to light Sunday evening. soon after he left for work and was meant to be away all week. he showed up for a few hours today and has been pretty rotten to her. poor girl really hasn't done anything wrong.to be honest he's never really been much of a husband. works away and is devoted to his football more than really being there for his family. hardest part is not knowing what's made him decide to walk out on her.

his payroll is uk yes.

is she entitled to anything from him until she has her benefits set up? obviously I won't see her or the kids struggle but I feel like he's getting away without helping right now. its only been a few days and he only actually called it a day last night but surely he should be giving my step daughter something to survive on until its all sorted?

Do they have joint accounts? She could take her own half out to keep things going. I think with UC she can get an advance, which would help. She can put his wage into the CMS calculator to work out what she will get from him. Spousal maintenance is rarely awarded these days, but best bet is to go to a solicitor and they can advice. Don't think she will get legal aid in these circumstances unfortunately.

Given her children are over 3 she will likely be expected to get some kind of work to support them long term, topped up with benefits and CMS, but there are online calculators to work out what she will be entitled to overall.

Sorry it is late and I am tired. I missed the little baby of 18 months, which will change the work thing thankfully. Also, make sure child maintenance is coming to her, not him

Can I ask why she doesn’t have access to any money?

She can go online in the morning and start a claim for universal credit. On Monday she should call the council department and explain the situation so they can advise. Meanwhile she needs to pursue him for child support, it's about 19% of his income, if he refuses to come to an arrangement she should approach the cms. If he's a high earner (£80k ish and above) spousal maintenance may be claimable until the kids are all in school at least but it's not always awarded if the marriage was under a certain number of years. Unfortunately she will need to pay for legal representation however if he wants to get divorced and they can come to an arrangement you can file online without a solicitor, it all depends how much he wants out of the marriage, he may comply

Contact a divorce solicitor first thing Monday morning for advice. Lots do a free half hour. She needs proper legal advice. Go to the online cms calculator to work out what she should be getting

www.gov.uk/calculate-child-maintenance

Theres also a free legal advice website called rights for women. Call them.

rightsofwomen.org.uk/