Need help with dealing with inheritence..

viktory

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You could use the money to buy the council house you are already living in which would mean that you didn't have to claim HB but would still have an asset.

Or you could buy a home on the private market and free up your council home for someone that really needs it.

Oldernotwiser

viktory wrote: »

Or you could buy a home on the private market and free up your council home for someone that really needs it.

I doubt that you could buy much for £70K in Stroud and a lone parent of 3 children is pretty needy in most people's book!

fasteddy13

I would love to buy my council house... But that would take all of the money, plus a mortgage.. I dont think I can get a mortgage as I dont work at the moment, plus to get a full time job (lot of unemployment at the moment) would mean I would have to end my training and voluntary work.. If I did buy a property, wouldnt that mean I would have spent all the money on a possession thereby falling foul of the deprivation of assets rule? Would that then mean I could not claim WTC etc?
I will go to the CAB on Monday and see if they can help but iI am not finding it easy to come up with a plan that does not potentially have me struggling again in the near future..

Kimitatsu

Paparika wrote: »

They only people that can tell you are the benefits agency,

But there are a few people on here that are clued up and work there themselves,

there are one or two armchair experts, but majority do know what they are talking about on here.

yes you'll loose your benefits but i am pretty sure you keep your council home.

Enjoy the money and have a great Christmas with the kids :T

Actually the benefits agency have nothing to do with his house - thats down the the local council or the registered social landlord and since he has been given the house why would he be turned out? As long as he is not in arrears he has a right to a peaceful occupation.

As to buying your home, you need to take advice on it for two reason, firstly to avoid deprivation of assets and secondly you may not have been in your house (or a council property) for long enough to get a discount. Its worth exploring as an option but the best thing to do is get advice on all of it and then decide what is best for you no one elses opinion really counts

I will look up deprivation of assets re buying the house for you.......seems a bit of a grey area! WTC should not be linked to that because they only take into account any income over £300 made from the interest NOT the capital. Means tested benefits take into account both capital and interest.

Oldernotwiser

Are you eligible for a discount on your council house? If you did buy a property you wouldn't need to be claiming HB and there's absolutely no problem in owning your own home and claiming tax credits.

DaisyFlower

fasteddy13 wrote: »

Thanks..
I know I am going to have to declare it, it is still in probate right now so has not actually happened yet, but will in a few weeks.. At any other time of my life it would be a wonderful windfall, but right now it is a huge disruption to my life which I have spent the past few years putting into order.. I am not looking to hide anything, was just hoping to find ways of not letting it affect me for a few years.
Someone suggested putiing it into trust for my kids, will have to give that some thought though..

I would have thought it was a good time to have a windfall, it means you wont have to rely on the state and can support your family whilst you retrain.

It wont cause a huge disruption, you just need to sign off the benefits - nothing else changes.

viktory

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I doubt that you could buy much for £70K in Stroud and a lone parent of 3 children is pretty needy in most people's book!

It's one hell of a deposit - why take a house from those most in need? Social housing is for those that cannot afford to buy their own home - this is not the case here.

zzzLazyDaisy

Because it is their home, because OP has a secure tenancy, and because he is entitled to continue living there even if his financial circumstances change.

chesky369

Local authority housing, once allotted, is not taken away from people simply because their financial circumstances change, so I think it a little unfair to suggest that the OP is somehow being unreasonable if they don't use the inheritance to buy it. It would be different if there were a complete policy change on this throughout the country but at the moment I don't see why he or she should be made to feel guilty.

Oldernotwiser

viktory wrote: »

It's one hell of a deposit - why take a house from those most in need? Social housing is for those that cannot afford to buy their own home - this is not the case here.

I'm not mad on the right to buy scheme either but it is legal and one shouldn't offer advice to people based on one's own personal prejudices.

One bedroom flats in Stroud go for about the money he has, so hardly an option for a lone parent with 3 children.