Hi just need some more advice for my sister as she has no computer

She is single with 4 kids I believe she will be able to claim income support instead of returning to work as she has just had the 4th child and is on maternity leave at the moment, she will never be able to juggle 4 kids and a job on her own.

Anyway is it true she will have to go through the CSA before she can claim IS? hert ex partner gives her 40 a week as a private arrangement, he really doesnt earn very much and she knows he will go mad having them involved and she does not want to rock the boat and have hostility between them, at the same time she  really needs income support

Also she workeg out her outgoings each month and ith the money she can get (according to entitled to website) she will literally have about 5 quid left each week for clothes/shoes/road tax when its due/kids birthdays etc!

As she was earning good money before dp left she has things like store cards and a loan that she is paying which she could easily afford when earning but what will she do when she is on IS?

She is really getting stressed now about this and has been thinking of getting a job but i am sure this will just be the same circumstances after paying for childcare anyway???

Thanks for any advice u can offer

Hi

If you've checked out the entitled to web site then you will know what benefits she will get. If she claims IS then they will look at her ex for providing some support. This tho will be taken into account when calculating her IS. The CSA amount takes a variety of things into account and she may not get more from him, it may be less.

IS won't pay more to cover her debts. It sounds as if she needs better advice on these and she should go to CAB with details of all her outgoings and personal circumstances and they will advise her as to what is the best thing for her in relation to her debts and claiming IS.

Please let us know how she gets on.

Lottie

CL of Money Matters

Hi,

I dont think she will have to go through the csa before claiming IS, but she would have to declare any money he pays her when claiming as 'other income'. So it shouldnt rock the boat with regards to their relationship, but it will probably reduce her income support (you used to be allowed to keep £10 before it counted, but I dont know if that figure still applies)

With regards to the debts she has, it may be a good time for her to consider debt management, or at least asking her creditors to reduce her payments given her current economic situation. If the debts are not too high, she may be able to apply for an interest free social loan from the benefits agency to cover the credit card balance, but it depends on what she ran up debts for (they will often only help if it was to pay for essential things)

With tax credits nowadays, most single parents are financially better off working, if only part time, but with four kids that may be a nightmare.