Giving half of inheritance to me - how does it affect benefits?

Sunshine12

Why dont you just tell them the truth??? If you lose any benefits then its because you (or your mother) are not entitled to continue getting payments as they believe that you will have enough to live off the same way that everyone else has to. Trying to find loopholes in the system is not the way to go about it, nor is it morally correct. I get very frustrated at people trying to manipulate the system when its primarily taxpayers that are funding it.

sp1987

timez wrote: »

hmmm ok so she does have to tell them the whole amount? she can't just tell them after she transfers it? even though my grandad said he wanted us to have half each and it was always going to be that way?

and the bank don't want letters of adminstration - my mum is under 65 - it wasn't a joint account and they are happy to just transfer it all with the death certificate.

also there would be no other relatives who would wanna make a claim - and we will be paying out any "claims" anyway - eg electric etc.

with this new info - any ideas?

Timez

Sadly the bank is not a probate lawyer. You will need to apply for letters of administration as far as I can see. If you just take the money and somebody else pops up later on staking a claim, you are playing with the brown end of the stick. Someone could pop up in a years time with a fake will and you could be in for a lot more expense than you could predict. It is best to ensure you do it right first time. My mother had to go through probate for my grandmother even though she was an only child and the closest living relative (by that I mean, only distant in laws and me), it took a few months.

I'm assuming you only have to declare the money when you have it and can use it? If this is the case then the time through probate will not leave you short as until you are given this money you will not be able to use it to pay your bills. So your benefits will remain in place until such time as you are able to financially support yourself.

I do not see the problem with declaring what you have, as soon as you start using it, it goes down meaning one day you will be eligible again for part benefits once more, still with £6000-£16,000 in the bank.

timez_2

just seems a bit unfair to me thats all - seems like my mum has to tell them an amount higher than what she will have in her bank and have her benifets reduced because they assume she has that amount - when she wont have?

DX2

I don't understand what's not fair? She is getting £22,000 and disposing of £11,000 whilst still trying to get benefits.

timez wrote: »

just seems a bit unfair to me thats all - seems like my mum has to tell them an amount higher than what she will have in her bank and have her benifets reduced because they assume she has that amount - when she wont have?

Mojisola

Kimitatsu wrote: »

If you both apply for that probate as next of kin does the amount not get split anyway - which would help your Mum as she would not be intentionally depriving herself of any assets and so although there would be a minor amount that would be reduced the majority of her benefits would stay the same.

If someone dies without having made a will, there is a set pattern of inheritance. If the estate is worth under £125,000, the spouse gets it all.

Oldernotwiser

timez wrote: »

just seems a bit unfair to me thats all - seems like my mum has to tell them an amount higher than what she will have in her bank and have her benifets reduced because they assume she has that amount - when she wont have?

But the only reason that she won't have it is because she'll have given it away! We can all be generous with other people's money!

timez_2

ok thank you - and there is no spouse

healy

timez wrote: »

just seems a bit unfair to me thats all - seems like my mum has to tell them an amount higher than what she will have in her bank and have her benifets reduced because they assume she has that amount - when she wont have?

I know this has been said before but the best thing to do is take legal advice and then tell the DWP/Council exactly what you plan to do and let them decide what will happen to your benefits from there.

seven-day-weekend

DX2 wrote: »

You know I'm sick to the back teeth with this dam excuse! Mps do it so it's okay that I do it. :rolleyes: As for your friend he/she disgusts me taking benefit whilst splashing out with 150k. What goes around comes around one day.

So am I. What the MPs do with hteir expenses should have no bearing on whether someone else commits Benefit fraud. Two wrongs have never added up to a right.

Mojisola

timez wrote: »

ok thank you - and there is no spouse

Sorry, forgot it was a parent/child inheritance.

Assuming your grandfather's death happened after February this year when things changed - as there is no spouse, everything will go to his children. If any of his children have predeceased him but have surviving children, those grandchildren inherit their parent's share. If your mother is a single child, then everything would go to her.

What happens to the money is laid out, step by step. It isn't divided up between everyone who is a relation of the deceased.