Claiming as a couple but will be separating.

yas0178

Hi and good day,

Myself and my husband are claiming UC as a couple. These are what's included on our joint payments.

LCWRA (both of us were deemed as LCWRA but I get the extra money because he gets the carers element)

Carers element (my husband)

Rent

What goes out from the payment:

Rent

Advance payment

What I would like to know is when my husband makes a claim as he has moved out, do we both pay the advance payment or it is just one of us who pays it back. And secondly, can he contest/refuse to pay it back and I will be the one to pay it all back?

Thank you in advance.

Zippy1983

I separated from my wife in October 2023, or should I say my ex disowned me!

We had a joint claim for UC and like yourself we had an advance payment to pay back.

The week after she dumped me, I initiated a claim for UC for myself, this led to me taking over the main claim that we had.

My ex then had to make her own claim for UC on her own terms.

With both of us now claiming the advance payment was split evenly between the two of us. Even if your ex contests it, the DWP will be able to see it on the system and show that as there was an advanced payment and as he was benefiting from it while he was living with you then he would have to dead to have to pay it back.

This happened to me with family tax credits with my first ex wife, they split it down the middle and said I had to pay half as I benefitted from the overpayment while living with her and her two kids.