child benefit

my son aged 13 was living with me..until ex manipultaed him and we got SHARED residence and ex got the primary care..ex works full time in his dads business and lies he comes home early but last form E in 2008 he said he earns £50 k ..he now wants child benefit too.. I am on jsa ..do I have any grounds to write to benefit agency I still deserve the child benfit..and if not .. I cannot provide food for son when he comes even though he might come for a day we may not even have a roof on our head by then..I live with my 17 yr old daughter

The main carer is entitled to Child Benefit and sadly it can't be shared. Do you still receive CB for your daughter or has she left school? Have the overall finances been settled yet?

yes I receive child benefit for my daughter, my son has shared residence, the court was expecting him to stay 3-4 days with me too...but at the moment son stays only few hours.I am wondering is ex can claim as well because he earns over £50K. ..would ex have to pay us any maintenance as we wont be able to survive and son was supposed to come back home which he didnt as yet would I be asked to return the money as he hasnt been living with me for a while but camhs has been on his case..

Sorry you don't see very much of your son. At the moment CB is a universal benefit paid to the main carer according to the actual time children spend with them. A child's address registered with schools and doctors is usually deemed their home address. The parent who receives CB can also claim tax credits and child support from the other parent. In your case the father can claim for your son and you can claim for your daughter.

You need to be aware that if your ex is self employed his income is likely to be organised in a way that is tax efficient. That means his assessable income for CSA purposes will be reduced and enforcement difficult.

The reason I asked whether the divorce settlement has been finalised is that if his income is £50k you might be able to claim spouse maintenance.