Benefits after divorce?

He should qualify for housing benefit, however as he will be entitled to 50% of the equity on the house (assuming it is a shared mortgage) this will effect his claim and he may not be able to claim whilst he has this lump sum.

The DLA etc are not means tested so they should be unaffected.

It really all depends on what you are planning to do about the house.

Not sure if I am reading this properly to be honest.. is the house his alone or are you on the deeds etc too?

If it is just in his name he should be able to apply to have the interest on his mortgage paid, it's a couple of months at 50% and then they pay the lot - depending on circumstances of course but being on high rate DLA usually means that they qualify immediately rather than having to wait the three months that standard claims do.

There is very little equity in the house - probably about £12k in the current climate. Technically I could give him half of this sum in cash.

I was just worried because I know it is hard to get benefits if you have been an owner occupier.

I want him to be ok, but I just cant care for him anymore. I am exhausted and it is making me ill. He may even need some sheltered type housing, but that is up to his family... I am going to have to be quite brutal i think.

Thanks for replying.

No, house is in joint names. We bought it together about 7 years ago.

Firstly you need to see a solicitor and get severance, that way if anything happens to you he will not inherit the property. Most solicitors will do that as soon as you start divorce proceedings.

As long as his savings do not amount to more than £16,0000 he should be able to get housing benefit for a rented property, he may want to put his name down with the council or housing association as they are more likely to have suitable properties.

You will have to legally buy him out of the property and get the mortgage lender to agree to it, that means that you will have to prove that you can support the mortgage on your single income.

Does he have a social worker? They can often give advice etc about benefits and they will be able to push through any waiting lists etc if he needs specific care

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

He does have a social worker, but we have seen nothing of her for a couple of years. We are at very early stages... I have not sought the advice of a solicitor. I have an appt for next week.

I just wanted to put my mind at rest before then that I am not going to be held financially responsible for him over the coming years.

As I said, I really want him to be as "ok" as possible, but I just dont want to be with him anymore... dont want to be a carer.

Thanks again for your advice

The equity in the matrimonial home will be disregarded for 26 weeks exactly from the date of estrangment. After that, it can be disregarded for a further 26 weeks (or more at the discretion of the local authority) if he is either taking legal action to recover possession in order to occupy or is taking reasonable steps to sell the property.

In practice, in the current climate with the housing market being slow, so long as the house is on the market at a reasonable price he would be fine.

DLA is disregarded as income in full but increases his needs, particularly if no-one receives carers allowance for him and he lives alone. He's be pretty likely to qualify for full benefit up to his local 1-bed self contained LHA rate or his rent plus £15, whichever is less. That's assuming he rents privately.

He can look at his LHA rate here, to help when looking at possible properties and setting budgets: https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHARateSearch.aspx?SearchType=LA

Only problem I can see would be raising the deposit and the fact that LHA is paid two weeks in arrears, not a month in advance as most tenancies require.

Thank you Pom. That is incredibly useful.

It seems he may be entitled to more than I thought.

Thanks also to Madam Jodie for your advice.