DWP investigating uncles estate

astra73033

hi, my uncle died in december leaving some money in bank accounts. his solicitor was sorting things out when the DWP stepped in to look into why he had this money. my question is nothing to do with if they can but how long would it take to conclude investigating. all we have been told off the solicitor is that they are going back to 1999 and it takes time but i would have thought that normally the government would have sorted this out quickly. surely if they have the accounts and figures any repayments should be soon sorted, lets be serious normally if you owe them a penny you get a nasty letter the same week as the overpayment. it is just with it dragging on and my father isn't a young man and he is starting to worry that he may have to find money to pay them. surely after 7 months some developments should be forthcoming. any input, cheers, astra

nannytone_2

your father needn't worry. if there was an overpayment of benefit to your uncle, they can't hold your father responsible for it if he hasn't received any payment from your uncles estate.

astra73033

nannytone wrote: »

your father needn't worry. if there was an overpayment of benefit to your uncle, they can't hold your father responsible for it if he hasn't received any payment from your uncles estate.

thanks for that. already tried to explain this to him but it's hard. all he is after is some closure now. although his brother has gone he feels that until this is cleared he is not truely at rest. astra

astra73033

does anybody have a idea what the time period could be? i know the saying how long is a piece of string could apply but surely after 6 months you would have thought that some progress should have been made or could it just go on and on, thanks astra

Anubis_2

It could take a long while Astra, given that they are having to go back 12 years. Are you able to contact them to see how things are progressing?

rogerblack

astra73033 wrote: »

hi, my uncle died in december leaving some money in bank accounts. his solicitor was sorting things out when the DWP stepped in to look into why he had this money.

I posted on this today - the DWP are often not quite accurate with regards to overpayment calculations.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=45676060&postcount=7

I am unsure if it's possible to send a data protection request for all the information the DWP hold on the person, by the person dealing with the estate. I suspect so.

dafyguy

Anubis wrote: »

It could take a long while Astra, given that they are having to go back 12 years. Are you able to contact them to see how things are progressing?

They will be reviewing the capital position on a day by day basis. Then they will have to consider if there is an overpayment, how it arose. Was it an error or was it with the intention to defraud. Penalties could then be imposed plus interest.

Like another poster said, you will have to know enough law to ensure that the overpayment is not excessive as the calculations are very very complex especially where pension credit is involved.

zaksmum

When my mother in law passed away the DWP investigated her finances as an ad was placed in the local paper asking if anyone had any claim on her estate.

This apparently came about as her solicitor had MISLAID her will! We had the copy of it, and he had the original, but couldn't find it anywhere so her estate was treated as if she hadn't made a will at all, hence the ad in the paper.

When the DWP checked it out, it seemed she'd claimed to have just a couple of hundred pounds life savings, when in fact she'd had about 20K.

So they went right through her accounts and claimed back any overpayment they considered they had made. I can't remember the exact figures now, but they checked back about seven years.

MacMickster

dafyguy wrote: »

They will be reviewing the capital position on a day by day basis. Then they will have to consider if there is an overpayment, how it arose. Was it an error or was it with the intention to defraud. Penalties could then be imposed plus interest.

Like another poster said, you will have to know enough law to ensure that the overpayment is not excessive as the calculations are very very complex especially where pension credit is involved.

I suspect that they would have a problem charging a penalty. They can't charge the deceased now and the executors have not committed any offence.

clemmatis

zaksmum wrote: »

When my mother in law passed away the DWP investigated her finances as an ad was placed in the local paper asking if anyone had any claim on her estate.

This apparently came about as her solicitor had MISLAID her will! We had the copy of it, and he had the original, but couldn't find it anywhere so her estate was treated as if she hadn't made a will at all, hence the ad in the paper.

When the DWP checked it out, it seemed she'd claimed to have just a couple of hundred pounds life savings, when in fact she'd had about 20K.

So they went right through her accounts and claimed back any overpayment they considered they had made. I can't remember the exact figures now, but they checked back about seven years.

Executors should place an ad in the paper, it's part of the job. It should be done whether there's a will or not, creditors won't be named in a will. Also the DWP should be informed anyway -- surely, they were informed she'd died? I rang them when my mother died, they sent me a form; I had to wait while they checked; she had no means-tested benefits but they check anyway for under- or over-payment (of the state pension), and in her case, attendance allowance).

dafyguy

MacMickster wrote: »

I suspect that they would have a problem charging a penalty. They can't charge the deceased now and the executors have not committed any offence.

No, but they can charge the deceased claimants estate.