My rights/entitlements as a non-primary carer (m8)

Benefits, finances and funding
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Hi all,

This seems like the right place to come. I have my son, (who receives DLA) 40% of the time and my ex-wife 60%

As a result the entirety of child support and DLA go to her. I should be clear here, she is a fantastic mum, always fighting in my son’s corner, and I’d never make any claim that reduced what she received. She is a good person, we are friends, and I’m not any kind of angry ex partner. I’m in awe of how much she does.

My question is, are there any sources of funding I could apply for which didn’t affect her? I don’t want to go into my son’s disability, but I will if it’s relevant to the kind of help he could receive.

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Ask Social Services for a Carers Assessment, and a copy of your son’s Care Plan.
Look at the LA website for a Carers Charter.
How old is your son?

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Fantastic advice, thank you. He is 8. I’ll get on with my research!

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In that case, are you aware of the Family Fund? When my son was under 26, and money was tight, they gave us several grants for holidays. We were on the Isle of Wight, with our caravan, having had free travel as we were taking something to a show. Just for once I could go shopping and buy some special treats without worrying about the cost.

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Again, no I wasn’t aware, thank you. I’m pretty new to this and just finding my feet! Thanks again, very kind of you to reply.

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I found out more from other parents than “officials”. A number of form members have adult children with special needs, my son is now 46, so feel free to ask anything you need to know. Getting suitable education was a huge challenge for us going from infant to junior school.

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@Nick716028 I don’t have the knowledge to give you advice on this topic, but just wanted to say “well done” for sharing the care responsibility and keeping a good relationship with your ex to enable you both to provide care for your son. I hope you get extra help with your role. :people_hugging:

There’s loads of information and support from us all on here so I hope you post again.

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Thank you Chris that’s very kind! One of the things I’m most proud of about our separation (weird statement, I accept), is that we stuck at it and stuck at it until we found the best solution for our son. He deserves the best possible chance in life. Thanks again :blush:

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I think you should be proud of the fact that while your marriage didn’t work you made sure things work for the benefit of your son. (so NOT weird!)

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Hello Nick and welcome to Carers Connect.

You say that your ex-wife receives child support and DLA for your son, but you don’t mention Carers Allowance. If your ex doesn’t receive Carers Allowance for caring for your son then I believe that there is a possibility that you may be able to claim it for yourself for the time he is with you.

I would suggest that you contact Carers UK Adviceline and seek their advice.

Helpline

If you have a question about caring, you can contact our Helpline.

For information and signposting, our telephone Helpline is available on 0808 808 7777 from Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm (including Bank Holidays).

If you have a more complex query or would like more detailed guidance, we suggest you contact our email Helpline (advice@carersuk.org), as we’ll be able to provide more information.

In the meantime have a read of our factsheet about Carers Allowance

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