worried about what they will say

hsvc

i am in the process of claiming income support after the recent death of my wife.i have two children of school age but i have a problem.i have been looking after a large amount of money in my savings account for my dad to the tune of 20 thousand pounds.just after my wife passed away my dad suggested i give him his money back as i would have to give up work and claim benefits to look after my children and it wouldnt look good to have that much money in the bank.i thought this was a good idea and withdrew his money for him.only now the benefit agency want to see my bank statements which include me withdrawing a large amount of cash just after my wife died.this is a genuine story but im so worried they will see my bank statements and think im hiding money they will think is mine so i can claim income support.will they believe my story or have i dug my self a hole i cant get out of?i think the maximum amount of cash you can have is 17 thousand pounds before they say you are not entitled to benefits.im worried sick about this and dont know what to do.

dmg24

The maximum amount is £16,000, with anything over £6,000 being deemed to provide a tariff income.

Do you have proof that the money was your fathers? For what reason were you keeping it for him?

How old are your children?

alwaysonthego_2

Hi sorry to hear about the death of your wife!

I would urge that you speak to a welfare benefits adviser at the CAB for advice, but you are going to have to prove that you were looking after the money for your dad, and this will be difficult as, 1) They will want to know why your dad did not open his own bank account 2)They may think it was a gift.
They are possibly thinking you have intentionally deprived yourself of your capital in order to claim benefits as you would not be entitled to income based benefits due to having over £16000.

I think that you are going to find this difficult to prove and hence why you should get some professional advice.

briona

hsvc wrote: »

i am in the process of claiming income support after the recent death of my wife.i have two children of school age but i have a problem.i have been looking after a large amount of money in my savings account for my dad to the tune of 20 thousand pounds.just after my wife passed away my dad suggested i give him his money back as i would have to give up work and claim benefits to look after my children and it wouldnt look good to have that much money in the bank.i thought this was a good idea and withdrew his money for him.only now the benefit agency want to see my bank statements which include me withdrawing a large amount of cash just after my wife died.this is a genuine story but im so worried they will see my bank statements and think im hiding money they will think is mine so i can claim income support.will they believe my story or have i dug my self a hole i cant get out of?i think the maximum amount of cash you can have is 17 thousand pounds before they say you are not entitled to benefits.im worried sick about this and dont know what to do.

Hi hsvc

The maximum amount of capital you can have while claiming income-based benefits is £16,000.

I think all you can do is be honest with the Benefits Agency. Unfortunately I have a feeling this may look like deprivation of capital, in which case you will find you are treated as still having the money and therefore not eligible to receive any benefits. I only hope you were not "looking after the money" for your father so HE could claim anything from the State!

Briona

EDIT: dmg and AOTG beat me to it!

hsvc

i was looking after it so he didnt have to pay tax on it on something or like that.a good idea at the time.around a year or so ago but now its going to cause me no end of bother.when i withdrew it i put it in my kids building society account but i withdrew it from there a few days ago and he has it as a cheque to pay into his own account.i could shove it up his !^#* to be quite frank.ive had so much to deal with since my wife died and this is all i need.if they refuse my income supprt claim can i claim again in a few months or am i screwed from now on??

alwaysonthego_2

hsvc wrote: »

i was looking after it so he didnt have to pay tax on it on something or like that.a good idea at the time.around a year or so ago but now its going to cause me no end of bother.when i withdrew it i put it in my kids building society account but i withdrew it from there a few days ago and he has it as a cheque to pay into his own account.i could shove it up his !^#* to be quite frank.ive had so much to deal with since my wife died and this is all i need.if they refuse my income supprt claim can i claim again in a few months or am i screwed from now on??

As Briona as said if they decide to treat it as notional income then you will not be entitled to income support. They will assume you have £20k so will expect you to be living off it and it is up to the decision maker how long it would last you before you can claim IS.

Your dad should give you the money as he has cause your problems.

dmg24

That is going to be a difficult one, as the reasons for you having the money were not legitimate. The fact that you then put it into your childrens account would make it seem all the more suspicious to the JCP.

I really think you need to take specialist advice on this, and unless your local CAB has a very experienced Benefits Advisor I would be looking for a specialist solicitor.

briona

hsvc wrote: »

i was looking after it so he didnt have to pay tax on it on something or like that.a good idea at the time.around a year or so ago but now its going to cause me no end of bother.when i withdrew it i put it in my kids building society account but i withdrew it from there a few days ago and he has it as a cheque to pay into his own account.i could shove it up his !^#* to be quite frank.ive had so much to deal with since my wife died and this is all i need.if they refuse my income supprt claim can i claim again in a few months or am i screwed from now on??

I imagine (although if someone actually KNOWS I'm happy to be corrected) that you will be ineligible to claim again until at least £4,000 of the notional £20,000 has been spent at a realistic rate, in other words your normal monthly expenditure.

hsvc

ok thanks. im going to be honest with them and get some professional advice as well.happy new year eh

tr82

He obviously gave you the money over, though didn't he ?

So you'll have two transactions, one for the money going in and another for the money going out. Ask him to write out a letter explaining exactly when he gave you the money, why he did so, why he wanted it back and the date that happened. Submit that to the DWP.

You're in deep schtuck, tbh. The test of your story will be "on the balance of probability" so every little bit of evidence you submit will be vital.

bigbill

I think you will find your only due £64.30 weekly Income Support.

You might find that you get more than this from Widowed Parents Allowance so you will not get any Income Support anyways.

You might still have problems claiming Housing and Council Tax if you have these to pay.

Child Tax Credits will pay for the children.