death and income support

littlejan

Hi I dont know if anyone can help me with this problem but if I cant find help here then I cant find it anywhere!
I left my husband of 21 years on Jan 1st 2008 and went into a womens refuge as I'd had enough of the beatings etc . He died on Dec 31st 2008. I had not seen him since I left but wasn't divorced, so as his widow assumed responsibility for the funeral, thinking it was the right thing to do.
I applied for a funeral payment from the social fund as I am on income support and DLA for post traumatic stress, agoraphobia and other things asssociated with domestic violence.
Today I received a phone call from a very grumpy man who works for the DSS telling me that I shouldn't have assumed responsibility for the funeral and because I have that they wont pay for all of it.
I have received a lump sum widows payment which I thought was for me personally(after all I was married for 21 years, and for 8 of those I was his full time carer) but that has nearly all gone on bills etc.
Does anyone know my rights on this matter, or know where I can turn to for advice apart from the CAB as they have an horrendous waiting list and the funeral director is getting impatient!
I can't cope with much more of this so please moneysavingexperts any ideas?

[Deleted User]

Did your (ex)husband leave no estate?if he did then the dwp will normally reclaim the grant from that,i would suggest you try welfare rights(contact them via your local council)if you cant get to see cab.
You might also want to try asking the question on the mse benefits forum for further advice.

littlejan

Hi woodbine
In answer to your question, he died a penniless alcoholic. I have been told to send the death certificate to the post office (as he had a basic account to have his benefits paid in) to prove that he had no money.
I must admit that the post office will send me a final statement so that I can forward it to the DSS to so prove but they are saying that now my husband is dead I am not his next of kin as I am not a blood relative?
He does have a brother but he refuses to help.
Crazy world eh?
Many thanks

allydowd

I would advise you to contact the charity called Cruse Bereavement Care for information. Cruse Bereavement Care exists to promote the well-being of bereaved people and to enable anyone bereaved by death to understand and cope with their loss. Services are free to bereaved people. The charity provides support and offers information, advice, education and training services. You can get the contact details from their website

Cruse link

cheap_charlie

littlejan wrote: »

I have received a lump sum widows payment which I thought was for me personally(after all I was married for 21 years, and for 8 of those I was his full time carer) but that has nearly all gone on bills etc.

I don't think you can assume the £2,000 bereavement payment is for "you personally".

Certainly when I received it after my husband died I used it for the funeral. He had no life insurance and wasn't entitled to anything else from the state so it was the obvious thing to do with it.

I know I will probably get abuse for saying this but if you are happy to claim a widow's payment despite being separated you should also be willing to be responsible for your late husband's funeral.

[Deleted User]

cheap_charlie wrote: »

I don't think you can assume the £2,000 bereavement payment is for "you personally".

Certainly when I received it after my husband died I used it for the funeral. He had no life insurance and wasn't entitled to anything else from the state so it was the obvious thing to do with it.

I know I will probably get abuse for saying this but if you are happy to claim a widow's payment despite being separated you should also be willing to be responsible for your late husband's funeral.

I dont see why you should get abuse for stating the obvious,the money is for the funeral,and if the money has been spent on other things(bills?)then the only suggestion is to come to some arrangment with the funeral directors to pay their fee

littlejan

Hi there,
When I said that thought it was for me personally, I have put aside what I was told would be the amount that I would need to contribute, but am getting really confused by the DSS saying that I am no longer next of kin as I am not a blood relative and shouldn't have organised the funeral in the first place! This is why they are saying I'm ineligible for the payment.
Thanks for your comments though they have been duly noted.

littlejan

By the way, I agree with cheap_charlie and most certainly wouldn't use any form of abuse as I'm not like that!
I simply had not expected the strange response from the DSS
Thanks for the arrangement with the funeral director idea though, I hadn't thought of that.