Am I entitled to anything following seperation

Ireland224

Hi,

My husband and I have finally decided enough is enough. I wont bore ye with the details but Im now in a position where Im thinking of how the hell am I going to support myself and my 2 children. I am a full time carer for a family member however because of my husbands earnings I only get €81 a week. So thats it thats my only income. Although my husband and I havent discussed maintainance etc I imagine that he will continue to pay the mortgage and loans etc and that will be that. At the moment he is living with his sister but will eventually need to secure his own place. And with paying for the mortgage (no point in selling!!) loans, his rent there wont be anything left in the kitty for rent.

Am I entitled to the full carers amount now that his gone. We will apply for legal seperation however thsi is all new to us and although we wont be goign back into teh marraige Im not going to rush taking the legal seperation forward either. I imagine we will go about it in Feb/Mar. In teh mean time what do I do.

Thanks

Offy

Ireland224 wrote: »

Hi,

My husband and I have finally decided enough is enough. I wont bore ye with the details but Im now in a position where Im thinking of how the hell am I going to support myself and my 2 children. I am a full time carer for a family member however because of my husbands earnings I only get €81 a week. So thats it thats my only income. Although my husband and I havent discussed maintainance etc I imagine that he will continue to pay the mortgage and loans etc and that will be that. At the moment he is living with his sister but will eventually need to secure his own place. And with paying for the mortgage (no point in selling!!) loans, his rent there wont be anything left in the kitty for rent.

Am I entitled to the full carers amount now that his gone. We will apply for legal seperation however thsi is all new to us and although we wont be goign back into teh marraige Im not going to rush taking the legal seperation forward either. I imagine we will go about it in Feb/Mar. In teh mean time what do I do.

Thanks

Sounds like you might be entitled to single parents allowance. If its your kids your caring for and none of them are disabled then your not likely to get carers allowance. As for maintenance, I think half of what you receive will be taken from single parents allowance but check this with welfare. You really need to speak to welfare and a solicitor. Look up citizens information on the web, they have lots of information on this sort of thing.

Doom

Tbh I can't for the life of me wonder why your ex and you should rely on the state to pick up the tab for you and your failed marriage, this reliance on state handouts must stop, if you can't support single lives then don't go there, rant over

aujopimur

You need to consult a family law solicitor, if you can't afford one apply for legal aid at your nearest Law Centre. If the seperation is amicable the details regarding maintainance etc. can sorted out thru' mediation. Good luck.

LilMsss

Doom wrote: »

Tbh I can't for the life of me wonder why your ex and you should rely on the state to pick up the tab for you and your failed marriage, this reliance on state handouts must stop, if you can't support single lives then don't go there, rant over

#

Who said they are relying on the state to cover the cost of their marriage breakdown? That's not the reading I got of that post!

My reading is that the OP is currently a stay at home mother who is being means-tested by Social Welfare on her husband's income and is only eligible to receive a lesser amount of the full JSA rate. The marriage is in the process of breaking up, meaning that personal circumstances are changing and the OP is asking if she will be assessed as a single person once the legal separation is processed, and if so, which benefits will she be entitled to, which is perfectly within her rights to research.

To be honest Doom, I think you are being a bit harsh. We don't know the details of the OP personal life or career aspirations, or if she is planning on claiming social welfare as the seemingly lucrative 'lifestyle choice' that so many critics seem to imagine life on benefits allows for.

Likewise, we don't know if she is simply looking for state assistance for an indeterminate period of time while she adjusts to her new situation and gets back on her feet, finds a job, arranges childcare for her children, and implements a maintenance agreement with her ex.

Similarly, she didn't state whether or not her soon-to-be ex-husband is currently in employment or also seeking benefits. So I am unsure how you managed to come to all of the conclusions above.

Edit: Just to add, I reread the OP and it seems the €81 may be from Carer's Allowance and not JSA, but my points above still stand.

mrsbyrne

once you have been seperated for 3 months you can apply to SW for one parent family ayment. the amount your husband pays for the loans and the mortgage will be considered maintenance for Sw purposes. euro95.23 will be disregarded (I presume your mortgage weekly amount is more than this) and 1/2 the balance will also be disregarded. if , for example, your mortgage is euro120 per week and your husband pays say, euro170 in bills and mortgage then 37.40 euro would be deducted from your OPFP of euro247.6 giving you a OPFP of euro210.20. you can also continue to receive 1/2 rate Carers allowance on top of that.
write to carers immediately to inform them of your new circumstances. provide some kind of proof that your husband has moved out.
You should go to see your CWO an ask about an SWA payment in the meantime, bring a copy of the letter you wrote to carers, and proof of him having moved out. good luck.

Ireland224

Thankyou for all you replies.

Doom honestly your reply was not warranted and down right rude.

I am a stay at home mom and I act as a carer for an elderly relative for which I only get €81 a week. In addition one of my children has autism and is in receipt of the DCA however I have not applied for Carers Allowance in respect of that child but as a result of my current circumstances I will now have too. My career prospects which were good are no longer a viable option considering I have one child with autism and also an elderly relative. My husband is in full time employment thankfully. Our mortgage is €1700 per month and loans etc amount to €500 so he will cover that. Essentially we will have a roof over our heads but not much else.

Will contact my CWO tomorrow.

Thankyou again for your helpful replies.

mattjack

Doom wrote: »

Tbh I can't for the life of me wonder why your ex and you should rely on the state to pick up the tab for you and your failed marriage, this reliance on state handouts must stop, if you can't support single lives then don't go there, rant over

Maybe you should PM an apology

upinthesky

Doom wrote: »

Tbh I can't for the life of me wonder why your ex and you should rely on the state to pick up the tab for you and your failed marriage, this reliance on state handouts must stop, if you can't support single lives then don't go there, rant over

is this women not a full time carer how much is she saving the state keeping this person out of a nursing home?

plus you dont no what her partner is working as im sure he is paying his taxes like everyone else and the op is just looking for her full time rate as a carer nothing wrong with that

i can understand why your peed off but the op said she has tried and just wants a life of her own

mp22

Back on topic please.

User Doom infracted for breach of forum charter.

ShaShaBear

My mum was able to get OPFP within a few months of her and my dad's separation, and they were never legally separated either. She just had to get a letter from her local garda station stating that she was not co-habiting with her husband etc and it worked just fine. I never had to put my dad's earnings on any forms so it never affected any grant entitlements, and he gave my mother money whenever he had it (worked casually as a carpenter/builder). She never declared this because she could go weeks or months without getting any and it was a very amicable split so she didn't see the reason for court. There's plenty of support out there and definitely go for carer's allowance with your child, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you right now, you're fully entitled to all the financial support you can get.

mrsbyrne

ShaShaBear wrote: »

My mum was able to get OPFP within a few months of her and my dad's separation, and they were never legally separated either. She just had to get a letter from her local garda station stating that she was not co-habiting with her husband etc and it worked just fine. I never had to put my dad's earnings on any forms so it never affected any grant entitlements, and he gave my mother money whenever he had it (worked casually as a carpenter/builder). She never declared this because she could go weeks or months without getting any and it was a very amicable split so she didn't see the reason for court. There's plenty of support out there and definitely go for carer's allowance with your child, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you right now, you're fully entitled to all the financial support you can get.

I never said anything about legal seperation. they need to be living apart for three months before she can claim OPFP
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/one_parent_family_payment.html
Not declaring maintenance payments from the father of the children is committing fraud.

ShaShaBear

mrsbyrne wrote: »

I never said anything about legal seperation. they need to be living apart for three months before she can claim OPFP
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/one_parent_family_payment.html
Not declaring maintenance payments from the father of the children is committing fraud.

She couldn't really declare him handing her 50 quid for Christmas for the first time in 6 months, that would be a bit silly. That's very harsh. And I was putting forward to the OP not to worry about the fact that she isn't legally separated yet. No need to slate me over it.

eastbono

Just as a note the three month wait only applies to married people in cases of co-hab a person can apply straight away (just in case co-habs are looking at this thread).