Housing benefit for homeowners

Emmzi

John has so far posted about

- what jobs can I do from home
- what jobs have a good social life
- how can he muscle in on the house his mum buys after she has a Compulsory Purchase Order on her current flat
- how to buy land to generate an income
- how to buy a freehold to generate an income
- where to buy cheap properties for cash
- self employment


Apparently mum lives with sister who suffers from depression and mum is the carer.

It is possible he's concerned about his sister's wellbeing in the future. It is also possible he's looking to grub his mum's money and get as many benefits out of the system as possible.

Which is it Mr Stiles? You are confusing us with all of your wildly different plans. Full picture = better quality of advice!

skintandscared_2

Now if all that energy could just be directed towards actually getting a JOB that covered his own bills....

John_Stiles

Emmzi wrote: »

No. It can be seen as willful deprivation of assets and the house can be reclaimed and sold. Uncommon but possible. The person who owns it will then be evicted an become eligible for HB again.

Easy thing is, if you need care and you have the assets to pay for it, sell them and pay for it.

If you own a house, live in it and don't claim HB.

Is very very simple. What you believe to be fair doesn't come into it, only the law, but do feel free to write to your MP or indeed get elected yourself and try to change the law.

You're probably right, I have been advised that it is pretty uncommon for councils to successfully get their paws on a property which has been put into trust. After all, if it's in a trust, it does not belong to the person anymore and therefore cannot (hardly ever, only in exceptional cirumstances) be nabbed. That's why I'm not particularly worried about that. When I have more information about trusts and which type to go for, I'll be in a better position to judge this, but trusts are quite complex, although the basics are fairly straightforward. People use trusts for all sorts of reasons, ranging from protecting their assets from 3rd parties (ie councils) to tax avoidance.

I wonder if there's any info on trusts on this website.

Emmzi

John_Stiles wrote: »

I wonder if there's any info on trusts on this website.

Or you could tell us the WHOLE story and get proper advice.

Or you can go on ignore. Your preference?

John_Stiles

Emmzi wrote: »

Or you could tell us the WHOLE story and get proper advice.

Or you can go on ignore. Your preference?

Perhaps you should read what people post.

Emmzi

ahh, that's better

antrobus

John_Stiles wrote: »

How much are we talking, more or less?

Don't know to be honest. I Am Not A Lawyer. I know that it can be expensive, but a simple decleration of trust might be fairly straightforward and inexpensive.

John_Stiles wrote: »

I've been advised that the key is in the stated reasons for setting up a trust. Yes, if the reason is to avoid paying for care costs, the council will jump on that. This is why (or so I've been advised) it's important to give other reasons too. Reasons such as wanting to leave the property to someone else to inherit. Both are perfectly reasonable.

That is my understanding of the position as well.

Or indeed the motivation for buying a property and putting someone else's name down as owner.

skintandscared_2

Ok, so if there is a trust set up then obviously you will need to be the beneficiary under this trust. I presume that, in order to carry on getting your housing benefit, there needs to be some stipulation relating to the beneficial interest in this property, say that it only passes to you on your relative's death.

So, the house is nicely stashed away ready to become your property on the day your relative dies.

What happens then, when your relative is unable to take care of themself and needs to move into a care home (because they can't afford a private carer to help them in their own house, so they can live out their days at home). The care home is pretty rubbish, but its all that the benefits cover. What do you do then? Do you sit back and wait for them to die, knowing they could be so much happier and comfortable if they only had access to those funds they worked so hard for?

I just don't understand this at all.

dodger1

skintandscared wrote: »

Ok, so if there is a trust set up then obviously you will need to be the beneficiary under this trust. I presume that, in order to carry on getting your housing benefit, there needs to be some stipulation relating to the beneficial interest in this property, say that it only passes to you on your relative's death.

So, the house is nicely stashed away ready to become your property on the day your relative dies.

What happens then, when your relative is unable to take care of themself and needs to move into a care home (because they can't afford a private carer to help them in their own house, so they can live out their days at home). The care home is pretty rubbish, but its all that the benefits cover. What do you do then? Do you sit back and wait for them to die, knowing they could be so much happier and comfortable if they only had access to those funds they worked so hard for?

I just don't understand this at all.

I think you and the rest of us understand this perfectly

skintandscared_2

dodger1 wrote: »

I think you and the rest of us understand this perfectly

Yes, you are right. I should have elaborated. I just don't understand how someone can do this to someone they care about.