My husband has just left me and I rely on him financially. What can I do?

Your husband has an obligation to make reasonable financial provision to you.

The immediate steps you should take are twofold. Firstly, you need to try to talk to your husband to determine what he is prepared to keep paying into the joint account.  Secondly you need to contact the Benefits Agency to see what extra income you could get by way of Tax Credits or other benefits and contact the Council to obtain a Council Tax discount.

If your husband refuses to provide sufficient financial support, you may need to make application to the Child Maintenance Service for an assessment of your husband’s child maintenance responsibilities and make an application to the Family Court for emergency maintenance to cover your day to day living expenses and, if possible, to include an amount to cover your ongoing legal fees. As the primary carer of the children, the Court will want to ensure that you are as financially protected as possible.