Hartz-IV Higher ALG II claim for care

Hartz-IV: More claim in the care of seriously ill relatives

10.01.2011

The care of a seriously ill spouse must be taken into account in the unemployment benefit II (ALG II). Thus the Ulm Social Court ruled that an ALG II recipient, who lives together with her underage children and her severely disabled husband in a community of need, had claimed additional benefits for single parents (AZ: S 8 AS 3142/09).

Husband of the applicant relied on long-term care
The plaintiff's husband suffers from an incurable degenerative disease of the motor nervous system, which manifests itself in increasing muscle weakness. The man is paralyzed from the neck down, has difficulty holding his head, sits in a wheelchair, is fed with a probe due to a dysphagia, and has to wear a respiratory mask for 16 hours daily. The competent authorities had therefore first granted the woman extra benefits for single parents, but subsequently withdrew it on the grounds that she was not entitled to the supplement because she lived with her husband. The previous grant had been made accidentally, according to the reasoning of the authorities.

Plaintiff with husband in need of care quasi single parent
In court, the plaintiff requested that the additional benefits for single parents already granted be maintained. The Ulm Social Court now ruled in the applicant's favor that it does not matter who the wife lives with or whether she is a single parent according to her legal status, but decisive for granting the additional needs of caring for and raising her underage children the woman alone is to cope. In the present case, the plaintiff not only had to cope with everyday life with her children alone, without the support of her husband, but also provided her husband around the clock, the judges explained their decision. Thus, the applicant is subject to at least the same restrictions as women who actually live alone with their children and are generally entitled to the additional requirements for single parents. (Fp)

Also read:
FDP demands self-payment in case of lack of doctors
Exemption of additional contributions from Hartz IV
Study: Fear of Hartz IV makes you sick

Picture: Dr. Klaus-Uwe Gerhardt