money left in trust and ESA income related limit

polyanthus

Hi

I am on ESA at the moment (contributory based). In April 2012 I will probably loose it and have to use my savings until there is less than 16k at which point I will be able to claim income based ESA. My question is -my grandma might be leaving some money in her will. Is it possible for her to leave it in a trust of some kind, so that I can make repairs to the house etc, but that doesn't count as savings and therefore just get used up in daily living expenses - I know she wouldn't want it to just be used for food etc, but to improve our quality of life.
thanks

dmg24

No, you cannot! However you can use it to make essential repairs whilst also living off it. Just keep the receipts as the DWP will want to see them when you reclaim.

polyanthus

Given the suffering I endure every day I'm hardly living it up!

The point is, my Gran can do what she wants with her money - and I suspect she'll give it all to a cats home if she is basically just subsidising the government from providing for those who are chronically ill. It is her decision not mine! And she would like to know that when the roof breaks or the boiler needs replacing, or the smoke alarm has had it's day, or when the chimney falls in after a windy day, etc etc that I can sort out the problem. I won't be able to otherwise.

Oldernotwiser

polyanthus wrote: »

Given the suffering I endure every day I'm hardly living it up!

The point is, my Gran can do what she wants with her money - and I suspect she'll give it all to a cats home if she is basically just subsidising the government from providing for those who are chronically ill. It is her decision not mine! And she would like to know that when the roof breaks or the boiler needs replacing, or the smoke alarm has had it's day, or when the chimney falls in after a windy day, etc etc that I can sort out the problem. I won't be able to otherwise.

If your grandmother would prefer to leave her money to the cats' home rather than her grandchild, then that's her choice. However, leaving it to you would mean that the money would go nowhere near the government and straight into your pocket, for you to do with what you want.

Mojisola

I know this is a regular question which gets taxpayers annoyed but at least polyanthus is talking about the inheritance being used for practical things. I can understand that a grandparent would want to make sure a grandchild has a way of maintaining a property. It's not as if polyanthus wants to take off on holidays or drink it all away while receiving benefits.

I don't see why it couldn't be left in a trust which specifies that the money can only be spent on certain things such as house maintenance. Parents who have sick or disabled children set up trusts like that.

Also, if there is another family member who can be trusted, the money could be left to them in the hope that they will use it to keep a roof over your head.

polyanthus

Thanks Mojisola

I'd just like to add, that when I was working I was very happy to know that part of the taxes I paid were going to help those worse off than myself. And when, hopefully i'm well enough to work again, I will feel the same.

Personally I would rather pay a few extra pence a week and live in a society that gives a reasonable standard of living to those less fortunate than myself. To me that is what makes a just and fair society. I'm not talking about frittering it away - I'm just talking about what should be a basic standard of living for anyone in this country. Little things that people take for granted like having the boiler serviced to make sure their chance of dying from CO2 poisoning is reduced, can not be afforded by those on the lowest benefits, and it scares me.

I know that that is not a popular view at the moment, but personally I feel awful, because I know how much suffering there is among those who are the most vulnerable members of society. I believe that a fair and just society benefits everyone.

McKneff

Given the suffering I endure every day I'm hardly living it up!

Hardly suffering (you say in your first post you would have to use your savings till it got below 16K)
I know quite a lot of people who would put up with that sort of suffering......................

Your first post and your last post seemed to have compelety changed tack.............

I hope your grandma lives a long, long time then you wont have any dilemma.

AnxiousMum

Polyanthus - I do have to agree with you - it is nice to know that you can repair the chimney, get the boiler serviced etc.......oh, but hang on a second........you're on benefits, with money in the bank and thinking you're going to be getting more? Basically, if you have the money - then you can go without the benefits for a time, and if you do need to spend it on major repairs etc., then keep the receipts to show that the money was spent justifiably. When your money runs out, you'll be in the same position of may of us who have worked continuously for the last 30 years, and don't have anything to spare at the end of the month.

welshmoneylover

Tell your gran to spend the lot on a wonderful cruise of a lifetime :j for herself

rogerblack

polyanthus wrote: »

Hi

I am on ESA at the moment (contributory based). In April 2012 I will probably loose it and have to use my savings until there is less than 16k at which point I will be able to claim income based ESA. My question is -my grandma might be leaving some money in her will. Is it possible for her to leave it in a trust of some kind, so that I can make repairs to the house etc, but that doesn't count as

As others have said - no.

First - go and read and understand http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch52.pdf - these are rules on capital - what it is, and most importantly, what are the rules for deprivation of capital.

Deprivation of capital is bad! It means they can treat you as still having it - though you have spent it.

Next, do a complete budget.

_everything_ - all household expenses, all living expenses, entertaining, rare expenses like holidays, ...

For every item, find out if there is a way to reduce it, without hitting the 'deprivation of capital' rules.

For example, get an electricity power meter, and measure the power used by all your appliances.

If you find your freezer is using 400Kwh/year (mine was - it was on its last legs), and you can replace it with one that uses 150, then that's a saving of 25 quid a year. (direct saving - however due to the fact the new freezer is much larger - I'm making savings of perhaps 100 quid a year by being able to prepare large batches of tasty stuff reducing my grocery bills, as well as storing reduced ingredients)

Would it be worth overhauling your house?
Many older properties are not well insulated.
Getting them up to, or beyond current building standards can drastically decrease your outgoings on fuel. (I'm in this process at the moment, my heating bills will go down to around a quarter of their current value)
This unfortunately can be very disruptive and expensive, but it's worth thinking about.

If in a water metered area, can you save water by changing appliances, or re-do the garden or whatever is currently using lots of water.

Are there security measures you could take (burglar alarm, new locks) that would decrease the cost of insurance?

Are there ways you could get contributions - for example carers allowance.

Then there are normal saving measures - have you checked that you're on the cheapest energy/... tarrif.

Then there is stupid stuff. http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-2.htm - for example - similar functionality devices where one happens to use lots more power than others. (in this case, it's Wii and Xbox)

Are you claiming everything you're entitled to - DLA, ...

Finally, investing a proportion of your 16K as best you can.
Though it's unlikely you can beat the 15% or so assumed income from capital (1 pound per week for every 250 pounds over 6K), you will at least slow down the draw-down, so that you can use it for allowable expenses in the future, or for a holiday if your condition improves, or the DWP decide you're no longer unfit for work.

Morglin

polyanthus wrote: »

Hi

I am on ESA at the moment (contributory based). In April 2012 I will probably loose it and have to use my savings until there is less than 16k at which point I will be able to claim income based ESA. My question is -my grandma might be leaving some money in her will. Is it possible for her to leave it in a trust of some kind, so that I can make repairs to the house etc, but that doesn't count as savings and therefore just get used up in daily living expenses - I know she wouldn't want it to just be used for food etc, but to improve our quality of life.
thanks

You could, if you wanted to, see a solicitor for advice - there are things called 'deeds of variation' (or something like that) that can be applied to wills.

Might be worth a half hour appointment.

Lin