Help! Pregnant 17 year old in full time education

[bronson21]

Hello, this is my first post as I'm new to this forum so sorry if iv posted in the wrong place or anything like that.
I have a 17 year old daughter at college who is pregnant, the baby is due in August and she intends to return back to college in September/October (her college has been brilliant), I have 3 other children and my husband works full time and I stay at home to look after the other children two of who are pre- school. What I need to know is as my daughter is still in full time education and cannot claim any benefits for herself I am still able to claim child tax credits and child benefit for her but what happens when the baby arrives? do I claim child tax credits and child benefit for the baby as well or does she claim them herself? It seems strange that she cant claim anything for herself but can for her baby. I'm so confused, I spoke to the inland rev/tax credit helpline and they didnt seem to know and told me to ring back when the baby was born but I'm one of those people who like to know what to expect and be prepared, surely I'm not the only person to have been in this position, so any help would be greatfully accepted. Thankyou

 

[mylullaby]

Hello! You sound like you have a lot on your plate and I'm not surprised you want to be as prepared as you possibly can be in advance.

I don't have any specific experience but wanted to suggest an organisation called Gingerbread. They might be able to provide answers to some of your questions: http://gingerbread.org.uk/content/681/Teenage-parents-benefits-finder

Good luck xx

 

[bronson21]

Thank you so much, I've been searching for a site like this for weeks and gingerbread never came up in my search results! just what i was looking for and has answered my questions, Thanks again, Angela

 

[mylullaby]

Awww I'm so glad you got what you needed! Take care xx

 

[JD.Deedee]

What I learned in economics in school was that a parent has responsibility over their child until the age of 21. A child can make their parents' responsible up until the age of 21 that they have to care for them from what I remember. As your child is still in your care you will have that financial responsibility towards her and perhaps because she is not yet 18 not be able to claim herself though I would check that with the tax credits. I would just ring the tax credits and ask them how you have to claim

 

[emi678]

Is everything okay now??