Pensioner on benefits to receive legacy

mancmum

Mother in law is 80 yr old who never had any money and despite working as a dinner lady is now totally dependent on means tested benefits and has no right to a contributions based pension. She has no assets other than her household furniture. She has just been traced by a firm of solicitors acting for her only sibling whom she has not seen for 40 yrs to say that he has died and under the rules of intestacy she appears to be the sole benficiary.

She has just one child, my husband.

For once in her life this old lady will have some money. Her expressed wish is to give it her only son and let him manage it, but the benefits authority might have a different view.

We've picked up the possibility of a beneficiary under intestacy varying the terms of distribution of the estate before distribution.

I'll post this in wills as well.

We are going to get some professional advice, but they are often not very good at benefits and the sums of money involved are likely to be less than 100K.

Has anyone got any idea of how means tested benefits might treat someone who passed a legacy on elsewhere before receiving it?

calleyw

mancmum wrote: »

Mother in law is 80 yr old who never had any money and despite working as a dinner lady is now totally dependent on means tested benefits and has no right to a contributions based pension. She has no assets other than her household furniture. She has just been traced by a firm of solicitors acting for her only sibling whom she has not seen for 40 yrs to say that he has died and under the rules of intestacy she appears to be the sole benficiary.

She has just one child, my husband.

For once in her life this old lady will have some money. Her expressed wish is to give it her only son and let him manage it, but the benefits authority might have a different view.

We've picked up the possibility of a beneficiary under intestacy varying the terms of distribution of the estate before distribution.

I'll post this in wills as well.

We are going to get some professional advice, but they are often not very good at benefits and the sums of money involved are likely to be less than 100K.

Has anyone got any idea of how means tested benefits might treat someone who passed a legacy on elsewhere before receiving it?

I have a feeling they would treat it as deprivation of capital. Which means she passes it on and has no access but for mean tested benefit they treat it as if she still has it. So she would get no more means tested benefits.

If she getting anything up to 100K why would she not want to use it to make her life more comfortable it her last few years it seems silly to want to give it away just to get means tested benefits.

Yours

Calley

LondonDiva

Would she not be better off living off the money as even if it's "under £100k", as she's likely to get more enjoyment and pleasure from it than means tested benefits?

for example, she can go on a holiday or cruise with friends or family, get a cleaner in on a weekly basis, update the heating and double glazing and generally be quite comfortable for 2 or 3 years.

If the money then runs out without evidence of deliberate excess which none of the above would be for a lady her age, there's nothing to stop her claiming back means teested benefits.

There's nothing to stop her son assisting her to mke the most of her money even if she was not in receipt of benefits - not sure what the money would be managed on her behalf for if she was not to maximise the chance to enjoy and benefit from as much of the income and capital while she can?

krisskross

If she passes the money on then she won't get to enjoy it. I also think even if she does give it away she will be treated as if she still has it. Only right to use her own money to pay her way now she will be able to. Without meaning to sound horrid the financial support was there for her when she needed it and quite rightly so. It is only fair to give up that support when she doesn't need it.

hippy-chicy

I am assumig that she is in receipt of Guarantee Pension Credits? If this is the case you need to inform the Pension Service as soon as the money is received. Depending on when her assessed income period ends ( bear in mind these can be set for a number of years) it may not be included in her assessemnt until her GC claim is re-assessed.

This effectively means that if she is claiming and other menas tested beenfits HB/CTB she could remain entitled until the pension service include this capital in her assessment as LA's are obliged to use the figures given to us in GC cases even if we know they have capital over the 16 k limit.

Not sure how transfering the capital into a sons name would be assessed or looked at for that side of it. Would have to look in the guidance to see how this would be looked at in terms of HB/CTB as dont really know off the top of my head.