social welfare madness

edellc

Husband and wife split up wife stays in family home(she is terminally ill) husband moves out but still pays mortgage and gives wife money each week (same amount of social welfare)
with economic climate he is finding it hard to keep giving her money so isnt social welfare say they are not obliged to give money as husband is paying mortgage...wife now gets nothing and has never worked as reared the kids....is what social say right and if so how does someone survive on nothing?????

Sardonicat

OP, I don't fully understand your post. Could you clarify a few things?

The woman is now single, living in the family home and terminally ill, is this correct?

Until now her parner has been supporting her to the tune of what she would be receiving from social welfare to the amount she would receive on Loan parent's?

As well as this her partner paid the mortgage and continues to do so but is no longer able to pay maintenance?

Socail protection office have informed her that she is not entitled to any payment becayse her husband pays the mortgage?

I just want to make sure i understood the post.

Thanks

edellc

yes to all except the amount she receives from the estranged hubby she was getting just less than JSB each week her kids are all grown up and yes social said she is entitled to nothing cause hubby is paying mortgage
in order for her to get anything she has to get his name taken off mortgage and take over mortgage herself which is just not going to happen so social wont give her anything
she is living in poverty and it is just crazy and infuriating as there are plenty of women of her generation who never worked but stayed home and reared the kids and now the social wont acknowledge them

Sardonicat

Thanks for clarifying.

Firstly, JSB means what we used to call "stamps". As she never worked or put up a stamp then she would not be entitled to this.

JSA, what used to be called dole, is means tested. Here is the link to how this is done:


http://www.welfare.ie/syndicatedcontent/en/irish-social-welfare-system/means-test-for-social-welfare-payments/means-test-for-jobseekers-allowance/

This talk about paying the mortgage herself does not sound right to me in light of having just read that.

Now, you say she is terminally ill? If she is ill and unable to work she would not be entitled to either JSB or JSA.

As she has not paid stamps she would not be entitled to disability/illness benefit (any payment called a benefit is based on PRSI contributions)

Here is a link to Disability Allowance, which is means tested which she may be able to apply for:

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/IllnessDisabilityAndCaring/PeoplewithDisabilities/DisabilityAllowance/Pages/da.aspx

What you have told me re the mortgage does not seem to be right to me. Is there a possibility that this lady is confused by the advice or that the staff at the local "Social" office misunderstood her?

I would suggest that she goes to either a Citizen's advice centre or a Centre for the Unemployed.

I hope this info will be of some help.

All the best to this lady.

edellc

Sardonicat wrote: »

Thanks for clarifying.

Firstly, JSB means what we used to call "stamps". As she never worked or put up a stamp then she would not be entitled to this.

JSA, what used to be called dole, is means tested. Here is the link to how this is done:


http://www.welfare.ie/syndicatedcontent/en/irish-social-welfare-system/means-test-for-social-welfare-payments/means-test-for-jobseekers-allowance/

This talk about paying the mortgage herself does not sound right to me in light of having just read that.

Now, you say she is terminally ill? If she is ill and unable to work she would not be entitled to either JSB or JSA.

As she has not paid stamps she would not be entitled to disability/illness benefit (any payment called a benefit is based on PRSI contributions)

Here is a link to Disability Allowance, which is means tested which she may be able to apply for:

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/IllnessDisabilityAndCaring/PeoplewithDisabilities/DisabilityAllowance/Pages/da.aspx

What you have told me re the mortgage does not seem to be right to me. Is there a possibility that this lady is confused by the advice or that the staff at the local "Social" office misunderstood her?

I would suggest that she goes to either a Citizen's advice centre or a Centre for the Unemployed.

I hope this info will be of some help.

All the best to this lady.

Thanks for the reply she did apply for disability allowance and was refused and she was told by the social that because her estranged husband is on the mortgage she is entitled to nothing as it seems he is living there which he has not done in the last 9 years they told her she has to take over the mortgage to prove he is no longer living there and as i said in the opening post this is just not going to happen
he has stopped giving her money and she is now receiving nothing my heart is broken with this situation so i am going over to the social welfare office with her on wednesday i find this situation shameful and an absolute disgrace she has great difficulty breathing and this stress and worry is only making her illness worse

inbits

As far as know,most mortgage providers in a separation\divorce situation,will take the name of the deeds as long as there is a legal agreement for said person to keep up the payments.I think that's maybe used as evidence for the ex having no ownership of the home for one parent\disability etc.Best to get professional help i think.

Sardonicat

+1 to the above post. I strongly urge you to visit/ contact a centre for the unemployed ASAP with all the info she has. The fact that this woman is in an extremely vulnerable position and has no means at all means the state is obliged to provide for her in some way, a technicallity on a piece of paper is no justification for their decision.

I understand your and this lady's anger and frustration ( I'm outraged reading of her plight) but it is important to try and deal with this a clamly as possible with the social, as getting angry will have negative consequences.

Keep calm, get some professional advice, these people can liase on her behalf with the social. This lady's situation is untenable and cannot be allowed to continue. Someone from an unemployment centre will be able to help. It is important, also, that you both follow their advice. Do that before you go down to the social, beacuse they are not going to listen to you but will listen to a professional.

All the best.

Sardonicat