Hi, my name is Julia1958!

Julia1958

Hi everyone I'm new to the group and need some help please.

I am in the middle of a nasty divorce and need to know if PIP, Carers allowance and ESA are taken as an income for financial purposes of splitting the families assets. I get PIP and carers allowance and my disabled daughter gets PIP and ESA. The other side are trying to include all of these benefits as my income.

Any advice would be appreciated

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Julia1958 and welcome to the community.

I'm so sorry you're going through a tough divorce. The community can provide some support if you need it 😊 I've had a look at the government website and it says that PIP is classed as income but doesn't mention Carers Allowance or ESA. Here's the link https://www.gov.uk/claim-tax-credits/what-counts-as-income Have you received legal advice? A solicitor would be able to advise you further on this.

AKR

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/121557/hi-my-name-is-julia1958

My gut instinct is benefits technically cannot be split i.e. they are not divisible, unlike pensions/other assets which can be split. However, when you are going through a divorce you do have to include any state benefits you receive/your daughter receives in your financial disclosure statement, and they can be taken into account by the court in determining the financial settlement, as can your/your daughter's needs/requirements. I am sorry your divorce is nasty but given that situation I would strongly recommend you speak to a solicitor. You mention "the other side" which I (as a former solicitor - not a family solicitor though) take as meaning your husband has instructed a solicitor to act on his behalf. That is all the more reason to instruct your own solicitor. You may be able to get a firm that offer a fixed fee or a capped fee to do all the paperwork for you for the divorce proceedings and to do the negotiations in respect of the financial settlement (divorce and financial settlements are two distinct processes). I wouldn't advise trying to do it yourself. I hope you get things resolved swiftly and as amicably as possible.

Julia1958

Thanks for your replys