Advising HMRC about a death

Savvy_Sue

Hugs Polly, sounds as if you need a few.

Have just been on holiday with Mum and a sister, we were looking in a gift shop and I saw a mug I'd have had to buy for Dad, if he'd been still with us. And mum still checks how his football team is doing, even though she used to moan like anything whenever Dad did so!

Pollycat wrote: »

They've certainly stopped Dad's state pension and Mum has 3 letters (as yet unopened) from DWP which I'll see today.

I'm pondering whether to complete it and send it anyway on a 'belt & braces' approach....

I'm fully expecting to be asked to replay some money, I didn't expect it to take as long as it may do though.
I read on one thread that someone was asked for a repayment of benefits 3 months later.

Could even have been me!

The request for repayment of the overpayment arising since Dad's death arrived quickly. What took time was the request for repayment of the overpayment arising because Dad had been in hospital for 6 weeks before he died - I think that was both state pension and his Attendance Allowance.

What irked me about that was that Mum had written to them when Dad went into hospital, AND I had spoken to them about it when the first request for repayment arrived. I said "I believe we owe more than this, because ..." and the chap said "No, don't worry, if we haven't asked for it, you don't owe us any more."

Fortunately a) I didn't believe him and b) it wasn't a problem. But it's clear from the response to my letter of complaint that no-one actually read my letter of complaint, just sent a generic "we're sorry but we have a duty to ask for the money back if there's been an overpayment." I know that, I don't have a problem with that, I just feel that those manning the phones should be able to check the full situation, confirm exactly how much is due, and expedite the request to repay it!

Anyway, if your dad wasn't in hospital for more than 2 weeks (I think) before he died, then it will only be any payments made after he died that will have to go back, and as I said, they were fairly prompt with that one.

BTW, another tip, make sure you put letters in the right order before you read them, if you've got a batch to work through!

Pollycat

Thanks, Annie & Savvy_Sue.

Got the DWP letters from Mum, we now know where she stands financially.

I'm going to put things down on paper so she can see what money is coming in and what is going out on a weekly basis and how much she will have to live on - I can talk to her until I'm blue in the face and she nods and says 'yes' but I know she's not taking it in, bless her.

NatWest were OK, they just took a copy of the death certificate and we'd decided that it was less hassle to just have Dad's name taken off the account rather than open a brand new one.

They did ring the NatWest Bereavement Service and I gave them my number in case they needed to ring as Mum gets confused on the phone.

They did ask if Dad had left a will and I said he had, had left everything to Mum and named her as executor and quickly added that the Probate Service had told me that we wouldn't need to apply for Probate unless somebody insisted on it and so far, nobody had.

Just looking for the best place for Mum's savings now when we get the money released from the fixed term bond they had it in.

Savvy_Sue, it wasn't your post about being asked for money back, it was somebody on the Pensions board.

Dad did have 3 spells in hospital in the 7 weeks before he died but they were all just for a few days at a time.

I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
It seems that whenever I pop up to Mum's we're talking about 'heavy' stuff, or I'm asking her to sign letters I've typed, or I'm reading letters she's received or I'm phoning people.

It will be good to get back to something approaching normal.

Savvy_Sue

It does all feel a bit heavy in the beginning Polly. But it does get better, gradually. Can you take Mum out for a nice cup of tea or something, just to get out of that 'heavy' mood?

John_Pierpoint

Pollycat wrote: »

Just looking for the best place for Mum's savings now when we get the money released from the fixed term bond they had it in.

When does the bond mature?
What is the interest it is paying?

I would not rush to cash it in if it is paying a good rate.

Three years ago you could get 5% gross (with a risk that the bank would go bust )