I've just become a single mum. I have no idea what I'm doing. Thankfully, my ex let me keep the rental, and he's moved out. He's going to make the car payment as my child support. I've lodged my single parent payment forms and waiting on that to be approved.
I was previously receiving ftb a and b, and that's gone up slightly, but they still haven't taken him off as my partner. Will my ftb a and b go up when I'm classed as single, plus single parent payment, or does it stay as is?
I thought I would be able to handle everything a lot better, but not working at the moment, my youngest is 6 months and my oldest 7 with 2 more between, I'm worried about making ends meet.
My ex will be seeing the kids any time in the day he wants but no overnights for now because he works nights.
Newly single mum
Newly single mum
Posted in:
Relationships & Marriage, Baby & Toddler, Kids, Money
4 Replies
*Also how long do single parent claims take to be approved? He's going to help pay my rent until I get approved, he's got his own rent to pay, so I want to let him know an average date because I don't want him short of money when our kids are at his house.
As soon as centrelink has established you are actually separated your payment will process pretty quickly. Make sure you have provided both of the leases etc to them and call them early of a morning so there's someone looking at your file! Your payment will go up, go onto the payment calculator on their website for an estimate
This transitional phase is the hardest phase. Once you get that regular money coming in etc, you get a routine going and you adjust your expenses to suit your income it all becomes easier.
Use the online payment calculator to find out your income and do a budget. Be brutally honest about if something will need to be cut back on etc.
I think mine was a week or two!?! I freaked out initially cos I couldn't pay rent so had to ask ex for a loan.
I contacted Centrelink and child support prior to separating to find out my entitlements, that way I knew if I could continue paying the rent,etc on my own.
Your parenting arrangements should be consistent, not just him popping in to see the kids when he feels like it. Do some research. Contact relationships Australia, they have great info and you can go for mediation if you can't agree on things. A booklet I received had a Parenting Plan template and examples. I created a rough plan, made a time with ex to meet for a coffee, and we went through it. Once agreed, I typed it, printed it out and we both signed it. Child Support said to fax them a copy, incase it went missing, or things turned ugly. Not that it's legally binding, but I told him they had a copy. While it feels wierd to do things so officially, especially when you're still close and getting along well, it doesn't necessarily stay the same. You have split for a reason...
Child Support will advise how much he should be paying, if you know his income, and what % of time they are in your care, which sounds like 100%. I'm thinking CS payments might be more than your car repayments!?!
Your lease agreement is another matter. Once you know the amount of 'income' you receive, including child support, then divide that into your rent amount. Most Real Estate's have a rule of approx. no more than 35%. So you might need to keep his name on the lease, but for your own independence, and to be considered a 'single parent' by Centrelink, you need to be paying the rent (also rent assistance if you don't already get it) Then you can show proof of payment, on any rental applications you do in the future
I'm presuming you have your own bank a/c and will change any joint things like insurance, credit cards,etc into your own name.
Sorry I feel like I'm jumping all over the place.
Main thing is to know exactly how much you have coming in, and how much is going out. I schedule weekly or fortnighlty payments of bills. Create a budget, stick to it, get creative with pasta and try to relax. This is the hardest bit. Hopefully you have good support around you, but get a good counselor to see you through the particularly rough patches like xmas, a new partner, divorce. My psychologist said it takes 6 - 24 months to separate out xx