# Separation and Benefits



## St. Bernard (13 Apr 2011)

Hi All

My wife and I are separating and i was wondering what entitlements were available.

I work full time and pay the mortgage on our house (Joint mortgage) I also pay all the bills.

I was going to move out but i simply can't afford to pay the mortgage, rent, bills and maintenance.

So my wife has decided to move out instead. We have 2 kids 6mths and 5 years. I will be paying maintenance and extra to cover her bills etc as she does not work. She is on illness benefit due to first child complications.


So my question is what can she claim for / what is she entitled to claim for.


I am hoping that this will be a short term thing and we can work things out but at the moment we need time out.



Thanks for your help and advice in advance.


SB.


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## alexandra123 (13 Apr 2011)

If you move out, your wife will be made homeless. The Social Welfare wont be so quick to house her and she might be put in sheltered accomodation or hostels. 

If your still going to support your wife, would it not be better that you move out and she stays in the house with the kids. You could then rent a room in a house for yourself short term for about 300 a month to see how things pan out.

If you wife moves out she will need to rent a whole house at a cost of 900 or more,so I dont think you will be gaining here. Or is it that she is moving back to her parent house ?

As long as you are still married in the eyes of the law you are responsible for supporting her and should be giving money to support both the kids and your wife. She should be entitled to some money from the welfare but I dont know how much this is ...180 a  weeek + child benefit ?? 

Your wife could be a couple of months trying to get entitlements but would probably have to file for legal separation.


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## St. Bernard (13 Apr 2011)

Hi alexandra123

I was wondering if she would be entitled to rent allowance if she moved out. We will be separated 3 months in 2 weeks which is the time frame I understand you need to be separated before most benefits are payable.


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## Magpie (13 Apr 2011)

She can apply for rent allowance after the 3 months are up, as far as I know the rules are strict and difficult though, so you should read up on them on welfare.ie
She can also apply for OPFA as well, again read up on the rules, I don't know if its allowable with illness benefit (which must be the longterm version if 5 years on it?)


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## St. Bernard (15 Apr 2011)

Thanks Magpie.

Will she get rent allowance seen as both our names are on the mortgage. We both need somewhere to live that has room for our kids so we are considering freezing our mortgage (If allowed) to be able to afford rent for the next 6 months.

After that god knows what our options will be, but hopefully by then she will be fit for work so we might be able to sell our house and take the negative equity as personal loans.


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## Ildánach (27 Apr 2011)

Your wife will not be eligible for rent supplement until she has been  assessed as in need of housing by the local authority, so that should be  the first step.  She can apply at her local authority office.

The other thing that she will need to keep in mind is that if this is  really only a short-term break, that the HSE (and the Department when it  comes to other payments such as OPFP) may not consider that you are  actually separated and therefore take your income (and the value of the  matrimonial house) into account when considering what payment your wife  is entitled to.  Have a read of the guidelines here on the means  assessment process and in particular Section 3 "Assessing the Means of a  Couple"  http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/meansassess.aspx 

If your wife is considered to be separated from you, then you still have  to consider that any maintenance that she receives from you will be  taken into account in the means test process.  The way that this happens  varies from payment to payment.

For rent allowance, the first 95.23 of maintenance is fully assessable,  which means if you pay this much, that it will be deducted in full from  any rent supplement which she will receive.  There is then a 75 Euro  disregard, which means that the next 75 Euro she receives will not  effect her claim.  Income after this is assessed at 75%, which means she  will have her claim reduced by 75c for every 1 Euro that you pay in  maintenance.  I know this is a little convultuted, but if you let us know how much roughly you plan to pay in maintenance and which county you live in, then someone should be able to let you know how much this will affect her claim, or indeed if she is entitled to anything.

You can see that any significant amont of maintenance paid by you will  seriously reduce her rent supplement payment.

As far as a welfare payment in her own right is concerned, your wife  will have to wait 3 months before she can apply for One Parent Family  Payment.  She should apply for Jobseekers in the meantime to ensure that  she has an application in the system (provided of course that she is  looking for work).  Once she has an application in the system she can  apply to the Community Welfare Officer for Supplementary Welfare  Allowance (SWA) until her main payment is sorted out.

The SWA rate is 186 Euro per week, plus 29.80 for each child.  There is  no disregard for maintenance payments, so any maintenance that she  receives from you will be deducted from her payment.

To receive One Parent Family Payment (OPFP) she will have to show that  she has sought maintenance from you.  The rate of payment is slightly  higher than the SWA rate at 188 per week, with the same 29.80 for each  child.  However the disregards are much more generous, the first 95.23  of maintenance (and the first 146.50 of earned income) are disregarded,  and 50% of anything above this is deducted from her payment.

As far as freezing your mortgage is concerned, I would contact MABS and speak to a money adviser who can give you proper advice about how to manage your debt.


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## gipimann (27 Apr 2011)

As the OP's wife is currently on Illness Benefit, there may be no entitlement to SWA as a weekly income support payment.

Rent Supplement, as stated above, can't be considered until either (a) the person has been renting privately for 6 months or (b) has been assessed by the local authority as having a housing need and be placed on the housing list.


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## St. Bernard (28 Apr 2011)

Thanks for your replies. We have decided that I will be moving out instead and renting for 6 months. We have frozen our mortgage for 3 months and will go interest only for maybe another 3 months. I will be paying maintenance of course but she will have to cover the house bills as i will have my own. Will be going to the solicitor for a legal seperation next week. I know i wont be entiteld to any benefits but will my wife be now that she is staying in the house. She wont be returning to work this year and will be staying on illness benefit.


Cheers
SB


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## pinkyBear (28 Apr 2011)

Hi there,
SB I am really heartbroken for you and your family. Is there any way that you and your wife could work things out??? The reason I ask, is that you have a 6month old baby, and well life can get out of sync when a new baby comes along!!!

Have you tried counselling? Things are obviously extremely tough and raw for you and your wife right now, but if you could take some time out - just the two of you, to see if things can be resolved....

P..


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## Ildánach (28 Apr 2011)

She could apply for mortgage interest supplement.

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/admin_mis.aspx



> *3.19  *In the case of a couple who are no longer  living together a copy of the relevant documentation i.e. separation  agreement or court order, as appropriate, should be requested in  addition to other standard documentation. Where the property is the sole  or main residence of the claimant, payment of a supplement may be  considered having regard to arrangements which have been agreed or set  down by the court in relation to the claimant's liability for mortgage  repayments and future ownership of the property.
> *3.20* In the absence of an agreement, payment of a  supplement may be considered where the property is the sole or main  residence of the claimant and the claimants is making mortgage  repayments subject to confirmation that the parties are engaged in  negotiations in the matter. Where a supplement has been awarded on this  basis, payment of the supplement should be subject to a review, no later  than 12 months from the date of commencement, to clarify the position  in relation the future ownership of the property.


With being in receipt of Illness Benefit and maintenance payments from yourself, this is not going to be a large amount, but she should still enquire, she might get something.


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## St. Bernard (28 Apr 2011)

Thanks pinkyBear but im afraid not. This is her decision. It's what she wants im willing to do whatever it takes to make things work but i can't do it alone. Im hoping some time apart will be good for us.

Ildánach. Thanks a million for your advise. Will look into it.


Cheers
SB.


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## Bronte (29 Apr 2011)

In agreement with Pinkybear and understand the stresses a new baby can put on a relationship which is not often highlighted.

St. B you should really examine closely all the rules about which would be the better option for you all as a family.  In an ideal world you both would have homes where your children can visit.  If you move out of the family home you will end up in at best a one bed apartment, whereas if she moves out she will get something better and that way you both will have decent accommodation. 

To be informed you really need to talk to citizen's advise and the social welfare people and read the rules and really understand them.  When you've done that maybe ask some clarifications on here.


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## dubinamerica (30 Apr 2011)

Hi I'm in a similar situation, staying in the family home with the children. My husband is now renting after spending some time with family. I have contacted the CWO and she indicated that I will NOT be entitled to MIS as my husbands name is still on the mortgage and basically did not entertain any queries that I had.  My husband tells me that he is not entitled to rent allowance for the same reason, and that he appealed it with the same result, but to be honest I do not know if that is true. 
I believe if we had a legal separation and if the house was signed over to me (the deeds) then I might qualify for MIS, but I don't know for sure. 
Money is extremely tight and costs are escalating, and the fact that if we were together we would probably qualify for MIS is particularly galling. 
Best of luck with things and if you do qualify for rent allowance or your wife for MIS can you update the post and let us know. Thanks


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## netz (30 Apr 2011)

In most cases that wedding band may as well be a noose as far as claiming benifits are concerned. I would certainly check welfare.ie but the updates are not frequently updated, and maybe an email or visit to local TD might benefit? MABS - great suggestion, even phone line communication for advice. Another port of call could be citizens information - really good info, updated on a regular basis. As other posts, a new baby can bring very a lot of stress into any relationship and I really hope you weather the storm well. Good luck to you all.


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