On benefits and big inheritance - advice agencies?

Ames

I can't do that, it's so far away and all my support networks, doctors, specialists are here (I'd have to travel 70 miles each way every four weeks for a blood transfusion that makes me ill for a few hours afterwards, I just couldn't handle the return journey). Plus I don't think I can face living in the house where I watched my mum slowly die for six months, just going in there is hard.

I know it makes financial sense and my head should rule my heart but I just couldn't do it.

Oldernotwiser

Ames wrote: »

I can't do that, it's so far away and all my support networks, doctors, specialists are here (I'd have to travel 70 miles each way every four weeks for a blood transfusion that makes me ill for a few hours afterwards, I just couldn't handle the return journey). Plus I don't think I can face living in the house where I watched my mum slowly die for six months, just going in there is hard.

I know it makes financial sense and my head should rule my heart but I just couldn't do it.

Isn't your father living nearby and couldn't you arrange to have your transfusion at a different hospital for a while? I doubt that you'd have to live there for more than a few months which could make an enormous difference to your future.

rogerblack

Ames wrote: »

In the midst of insomnia I've just had a thought. I've been saying I'll be getting an inheritance of 60k, but I've just realised that's not actually true. I'll be getting half ownership of mum's house (along with my sister). So would that change things? As if I owned my own house outright I'd be able to sell up and buy another without it being deprivation of capital, so is it any different me selling half a house that I've inherited?

My understanding of the capital rules.
Capital is any assets you have that you have the right in law to sell.

Some things are excluded from this - for example - the home you are living in, and any grounds - as long as it's not reasonable to sell the grounds seperately.

Second homes are not excluded, and would normally form part of your capital, unless you cannot legally sell them.

In some cases, you would be expected to sell your share in a home that you're not living in.

Ames

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Isn't your father living nearby and couldn't you arrange to have your transfusion at a different hospital for a while? I doubt that you'd have to live there for more than a few months which could make an enormous difference to your future.

My dad lives in the same village, he's buying the house from us. I doubt I could have my transfusion at the hospital there, immunology clinics are really rare, and Scarborough hospital doesn't do a full range of services anyway, most people have to travel to York, Middlesborough or Hull for various treatments, and they're more common ones than mine.

Plus, my sister needs it selling asap so that she can get her share. She's renting in London and wants to buy to stop paying dead money to landlords.

Also, it would mean giving up a council flat, which I wouldn't get again, in a gamble that I'd get to buy a house. I need to properly sit down and work out all the risks and pros and cons of different possibilities.

rogerblack wrote: »

My understanding of the capital rules.
Capital is any assets you have that you have the right in law to sell.

Some things are excluded from this - for example - the home you are living in, and any grounds - as long as it's not reasonable to sell the grounds seperately.

Second homes are not excluded, and would normally form part of your capital, unless you cannot legally sell them.

In some cases, you would be expected to sell your share in a home that you're not living in.

Thanks for that, I think I need to wait till I've got proper advice and then see what I can do.

Oldernotwiser

Ames wrote: »

My dad lives in the same village, he's buying the house from us. I doubt I could have my transfusion at the hospital there, immunology clinics are really rare, and Scarborough hospital doesn't do a full range of services anyway, most people have to travel to York, Middlesborough or Hull for various treatments, and they're more common ones than mine.

Plus, my sister needs it selling asap so that she can get her share. She's renting in London and wants to buy to stop paying dead money to landlords.

Also, it would mean giving up a council flat, which I wouldn't get again, in a gamble that I'd get to buy a house. I need to properly sit down and work out all the risks and pros and cons of different possibilities.



Thanks for that, I think I need to wait till I've got proper advice and then see what I can do.

I appreciate your point and I can see it's not that simple. However, I wouldn't be railroaded into anything by your sister because your needs are so much greater than hers and property prices are dropping.

If you could sort out the medical side of course your father could just buy your sister's half and you could own it jointly.

33degrees

Ames wrote: »

Ok, it's starting to sink in, I've been in touch with DIAL for advice.

A huge problem is that my sister wants to sell to dad, and he's already started paying for work on the house. I'm terrified of being accused of fraud because keeping it in the family could be seen as dodgy. But I'm also terrified of trying to argue with my sister about it all, she doesn't get the benefits system at all. I don't think I'm strong enough to stand up to them. Is there anywhere I can get an advocate to deal with them on my behalf so that I'm not pushed into decisions that will get me in trouble?

You stated in an earlier post that your father was prepared to pay more for the house than what it could reasonably sell for on the open market. An independent valuation by a reputable firm would easily satisfy the DWP boys that you and your sister aren't selling it to him too cheaply.

Ames

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I appreciate your point and I can see it's not that simple. However, I wouldn't be railroaded into anything by your sister because your needs are so much greater than hers and property prices are dropping.

If you could sort out the medical side of course your father could just buy your sister's half and you could own it jointly.

But that would mean us living together which wouldn't work. He'll be selling his house to buy mum's from us. I've been thinking about this and it would mean losing my brilliant GP (and going back to the ones who missed my serious illnesses for years), losing my mental health support worker, losing my therapeutic activities... On balance it'd be better losing the money than losing what little support I have.

33degrees wrote: »

You stated in an earlier post that your father was prepared to pay more for the house than what it could reasonably sell for on the open market. An independent valuation by a reputable firm would easily satisfy the DWP boys that you and your sister aren't selling it to him too cheaply.

Well, that was the idea, but it depends how much he'd get for his house. Plus he wants money from us to do up mum's house. It's really complicated, although we do have an independent valuation (we needed it for probate) and he'd be buying it for around that.

Oldernotwiser

Ames wrote: »

Well, that was the idea, but it depends how much he'd get for his house. Plus he wants money from us to do up mum's house. It's really complicated, although we do have an independent valuation (we needed it for probate) and he'd be buying it for around that.

Sorry? You're selling him the house and he wants you to give him money?

How does that work?

Ames

I don't know, I've started zoning out now. I think it goes like this.

The house needs loads of work. If we sell it as it is we'd get (using false figures just to make it easier) 100k. With the work we'd get 140k.

Dad is prepared to buy the house for whatever his sells for. He'd take out a slightly higher mortgage. He'd then knock off the cost of new kitchen, boiler, bathroom etc before giving us the money. That'd be about 5k.

He then does the work himself, so that when he dies the house is worth the full amount.

Him doing the work saves us a fortune on getting professionals in to do it all. We just pay for materials.

So overall in the long run me and my sister get the value of two houses at the top of their price range (his now, and mum's when he dies), rather than mum's now at the bottom of it's price range, and his when he dies at the top of it's.

Neither me or sister can afford to do even the basics to get the house worth more.

I hope that explains it, sort of.

Originally he wanted us to give him 10k on top, but that was when he was in a very bitter mood towards mum - when they split up all their savings were in her name and she blew 20k in less than a year. Ironically it was so she could go on income support as a lone parent, but didn't get any sanctions for that. She also made loads of very nasty allegations against him which screwed him up for over 10 years. He wanted some kind of compensation I think. Obviously we told him where to go with that idea!

The whole history is very, very complicated and nasty.

sunnyone

Ames wrote: »

I don't know, I've started zoning out now. I think it goes like this.

The house needs loads of work. If we sell it as it is we'd get (using false figures just to make it easier) 100k. With the work we'd get 140k.

Dad is prepared to buy the house for whatever his sells for. He'd take out a slightly higher mortgage. He'd then knock off the cost of new kitchen, boiler, bathroom etc before giving us the money. That'd be about 5k.

He then does the work himself, so that when he dies the house is worth the full amount.

Him doing the work saves us a fortune on getting professionals in to do it all. We just pay for materials.

So overall in the long run me and my sister get the value of two houses at the top of their price range (his now, and mum's when he dies), rather than mum's now at the bottom of it's price range, and his when he dies at the top of it's.

Neither me or sister can afford to do even the basics to get the house worth more.

I hope that explains it, sort of.

Originally he wanted us to give him 10k on top, but that was when he was in a very bitter mood towards mum - when they split up all their savings were in her name and she blew 20k in less than a year. Ironically it was so she could go on income support as a lone parent, but didn't get any sanctions for that. She also made loads of very nasty allegations against him which screwed him up for over 10 years. He wanted some kind of compensation I think. Obviously we told him where to go with that idea!

The whole history is very, very complicated and nasty.

Your dad and your sister should be making this as easy as possible for you because of your health, both physical and mental health because you have a bad hand with both.