I am just entering my last year of my IVA and am expecting my first child at the end of the year. The father and I are a couple and are both in the army, I am being allocated army housing while we save up to buy our own house. He has been told that he is not allowed to live in the army housing due to us not being married (and we dont plan to anytime soon)but he is allowed to visit three days a week. My first question is, does this circumstance class me as a single parent because I will be living alone with the baby, or will both our incomes be taken into account when it comes to claiming child tax credits etc, bearing in mind the army will not allow him to live with me, which can be proven? My second question is, when I start recieving child benefit will the IVA class this as income and take half if it? If this is the case, could my partner claim the benefit instead if me, as I do not agree with what is effectivey my childs money being used to pay off my past mistakes. Thanks
I'm sure that you will be entitled to some benefits, and these will be treated as income for the purposes of your IVA. However, your expenditure will clearly also increase as you have another mouth to feed.
Usually your IP is able to take this into account when calculating income reviews, but you should speak to them as soon as possible. They should be able to advise you on exactly which benefits you can apply for in your situation, and also do a full income and expenditure review when your circumstances have changed to stop you from paying more than you can afford.
Hi
All income will be taken into account but at the same time your expenses will increase and should off set any increase in income so payments into your IVA should not change too much
Regards
Thanks for the replies, I am going to be on maternity leave but the army gives you full pay for 6 months so that wont be a problem, I am lucky in that respect. I am going to actually ring the benefits office and tell them the situation and then they can decide on what happens with the tax credits. At least I know then I am not claiming for things I shouldnt! Better to be safe than sorry!
Hope it all works out Lou. By the time you have had the baby and gone back to work you should be more or less finished the IVA anyway,
Good luck.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
When on earth will the Armed Forces come into the 21st century when it comes to looking after our serving soldiers? With a divorce and separation rate of an incredibly high rate, you would think they could do a little more to help the families concerned. This would never happen in the US Army!
