Help re :money from Will

seven-day-weekend

I agree with Margaret Clare.

Do you seriously think we could give you advice on how your mother can claim means-tested Benefits (for people with no means) while she is busy giving £1000s away?? Never mind what the politicians/bankers have done, that is nothing to do with it, what your mother would be doing would still be fraud.

Do as MargaretClare says, pay off the mortgage, do up the house, have a holiday, live mortgage-free with some savings.

Mojisola

It sounds as if there is a lot of resentment against your Dad and that is affecting how you (and maybe your Mum) are viewing this windfall. Instead of thinking how unfair it is that your Mum hasn't had the wealth that your Dad has enjoyed and how unfair it is that she will now get less money from benefits, try counting blessings. She's about to get £40,000 which will mean she can own her house outright, spend money on the house - don't stop at the kitchen and bathroom, decorate and maybe buy some new furniture - and have some spare after all that. In addition, she has the love and support of her child, unlike your Dad, which is priceless.

missile

bing0 wrote: »

any way how would anyone find out ?? if i opened an account for her??

I understand most fraudsters are caught when someone reports them. I am sure your mum has told (or will tell) her friends neighbours about her windfall.

Willman_Rodders

bing0 wrote: »

any way how would anyone find out ?? if i opened an account for her??

Not a great idea! The executors of the deceased person's estate will issue a cheque payable to your mother. How are you going to pay that into an account in your name? Even if the Bank accept the cheque (which I doubt they would), suitably endorsed, there is then the risk of you then being reported for money laundering. And if you open the account in your own and your mum's name then your mum will have to provide proof of ID. All the Banks have sophisticated reporting requirements to the HM Revenue and Customs - and HM Revenue and Customs (I am led to believe) tie all these snippets of information from the banks together to get an overall picture. Social Services might not have access to this information, but then again who knows.

And then of course you mum will be forever looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, wondering if the next knock on the front door is going to be from some Government Agency demanding that she repays what she is not entitled to, and with a potential threat of far worse. What a change in lifestyle ... your mum goes from an honest, content, person to a dishonest thief - scared of her own future - overnight. Evidence, if evidence were needed, that money corrupts.

seven-day-weekend

Excellent post William Rodders.

Rikki

If she continues to claim help with her mortgage and is found out, this nice inheritance will have be used to pay back the money claimed.

How is she going to pay off the £12000 mortgage at the end of term?

margaretclare

'Money corrupts', Willman...but it need not. There's a frequent misquotation from St Paul 'money is the root of all evil' but the quotation actually reads 'the love of money is the root of all evil'.

This is a woman who has 'never had any money and desperately needs a new kitchen and bathroom'. She's about to inherit £40K. So why does this even need to be discussed? She will have the price of a new kitchen and bathroom, plus enough to pay off the mortgage, and enough over to live contentedly for a number of years. The suggestion about redecoration and new furniture is excellent - a new comfortable bed, for instance, a goose-down duvet for the cold winters, a nice comfy chair. (All things that DH and I have bought fairly recently, as well as re-doing the kitchen and bathroom in this 1930s bungalow!!) I can see why a woman who has never had much money is scared by the prospect, but really, the early suggestions about giving it away, hiding it etc are most unwise, for all the reasons that have been pointed out already.

I would forget about Dad and his lifestyle. I am married to a man who survived 2 previous divorces, and one of the things he found he had to do was to turn his back, mentally, physically and metaphorically and not look back at all. The last wifey was given the house property in return for him keeping his annuity, she then inherited her father's house, so for a while she was a lot better off, plus having all the furniture etc. He could have resented it, but he didn't. You just can't spend your life looking back and thinking that someone else is better off than you, envying them, thinking you're badly done to. And as for the other red herrings, the politicians etc, well, they are irrelevant to the present discussion. All any of us can do is to live our lives the best way we can, play the cards we've got. Mum is about to have a nice windfall. Not enough to make her rich, but enough to do something practical with, that can enhance her life. And don't forget, she isn't getting younger but she may have a good few years to live yet, and may as well live them in comfort.

seven-day-weekend

I agree with what you have said MargaretClare, but the OP's mum doesn't WANT to 'pay off the mortgage and ..live contentedly for a number of years'. She wants a new kitchen and bathroom (fine, great idea), but then she wants to give away a few grand and keep the rest hidden away whilst still having her mortgage and council tax paid by the State. Her son/daughter has come on here to ask us how she can achieve this. With the best will in the world , we can't give her advice on how to commit benefit fraud!

I agree there seems to be an element of bitterness about her ex-husband's situation; I also agree that this has to be let go so that she can get on with her life. Same with the situation with bankers and politicians; just because they have done wrong doesn't mean it is OK for us to do so. Two wrongs will never make a right.

Your initial advice was good in the way she should go - pay off thre mortgage, have her holiday, make her house comfortable in whichever way she chooses and then have the rest as a nest egg. As you pointed out, she can from next April have £10k in savings without it affecting her Benefits.

Oldernotwiser

Presumably bing0 is part of the family who'll be receiving some of this money, so no wonder s/he wants to find ways in which her mother can commit fraud!

Bennifred

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Presumably bing0 is part of the family who'll be receiving some of this money, so no wonder s/he wants to find ways in which her mother can commit fraud!

I'm sure you're right, but - ouch!:D