Family Break Up (Info)
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Note: Before making any changes, you must follow the
guidance in
Establish If A Change Can
Be Made
If there is a family break up during the period of entitlement to tax credits, the original award decision must end. Notification of a family break up can be received in a number of ways
- By telephone
- Face to face
And / or
- Paper
An award may need to be ended in this way for the following reasons
- The death of a claimant. Follow the guidance in Death of A Claimant Referred To Priority 1 Team
- One claimant in a two parent family leaves
- One claimant informs you that they have moved address and has not mentioned the 2nd claimant, which would need investigating
- A single claimant marries or starts to live with someone as if they were married or in a civil partnership
- A married or civil partnership couple break up either by a court order or in circumstances which are likely to become permanent and they still live in the same household
If notification of a family break up is received you need to establish whether there is still eligibility. For example, in a 2 claimant family
- Claimant 1 leaves the family, yet, the remaining claimant in that family is working 16 hours or more per week. Claimant 2 is still eligible for tax credits in their own right
- Claimant 1 leaves the family, yet the remaining claimant in that family is not working. There is a child in the family who is in full time non advanced education and the remaining claimant is the main carer. Claimant 2 is eligible for CTC in their own right
Follow the guidance in Entitlement and Membership Of The Family
- If you are unsure as to whether there is still ongoing
eligibility then you must contact the claimant and ask relevant
questions to enable you to establish this.
- If you have been notified by one claimant in a two claimant family of a change of address, you will need to determine whether the change of address refers to both claimants or just to one, to establish if there has been a family break up.
If the claimant supplies a new address for an ex-partner when reporting a family break up
- The ex-partner will be marked as Returned Letter Service (RLS)
- You must not update the computer with a new address for an ex-partner based on third party information. Any such notification must be verified either from HM Revenue & Customs computer records or by contact with the claimant
And
- A letter will be issued to the ex-partner at the address supplied to confirm the address given
