What to do, in order
You are separating
Almost every benefit is worked out on the household, so a household splitting in two changes all of them. Two of these are worth doing in the first week.
Do these first
Not because they are the most important, but because they run out. Everything further down the page will still be there next week.
Tell Universal Credit the day you stop living together
A joint claim has to end and a single claim start. Leaving it means an overpayment you will be asked to repay later, sometimes a long time later.
As soon as one of you moves out.
Claim the single person council tax discount
25% off your bill if you are now the only adult in the home. Councils backdate it to the day you became the only adult, but only if you tell them.
Then, when you have a moment
Check who Child Benefit is paid to
It follows the person the child mainly lives with, and it will not move on its own: one of you has to tell them. It also carries a National Insurance credit towards your State Pension, so it matters beyond the money.
Sort child maintenance without going to court if you can
A private arrangement costs nothing. The Child Maintenance Service charges both of you a fee. Their calculator gives you a figure to agree between yourselves either way.
Take your name off bills you are no longer responsible for
Energy, water, broadband and council tax will keep charging the named person. Do this in writing and keep the date.
Separate your credit file
A joint account or a joint mortgage links your credit files. Ask each credit reference agency for a notice of disassociation once the account is closed, or their debts affect your applications for years.
What people are not usually told
- You do not have to be divorced to claim as a single person. What matters is that you are no longer living together as a couple.
- If you were not married, you have no automatic claim on the other person's pension or property, however long you lived together. Common law marriage does not exist in UK law.
- Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction are separate from Universal Credit, and both need telling separately.
Now check the rest of it
The full check runs through more than fifty benefits, discounts and grants against what has changed. It takes about three minutes, it stays in your browser, and nothing is sent to us or to anybody else.
Only the DWP, HMRC, your council or the NHS can decide what you get. This tells you what to ask for.