Inheriting a house but still claiming income support

beckett110

One of my neighbours father has recently died and has inherited his house which is fully owned but one thing that annoys me is that apparantly she is planning on selling the house and putting the money in her sons bank account which she can still access. She is a single parent on income support so she gets things like rent and council tax paid for her. Is it legal to have this money in a childs bank account whilst still living off the money herself?

Personally it winds me up as me and my wife struggle on the money that we are living on but people can inherit a house then sell it on and still live on benefits. Dont get me wrong I sympathise with her but to me it is cheating the system and people shouldnt be allowed to do it. What does everyone think about this?

Mumstheword

Report her.

Social security benefits are there for those who need them. If she's claiming fraudulently then she ought to be caught.

I dont know whether she would still be entitled to anything, and it may be the case that until she sells the property, then she can still claim as she doesnt actually have any money to live off. However once it's sold, if she does try to hide her money and claim ours that we all contribute to, then REPORT the incident!

thesaint

She has not actually done this has she?
Her father might have left it to her son or the local orphanage. It seems like neighbours making assumptions to me.
I think it is premature to report her to the DWP yet at this harrowing time in her life.

Welshlassie

It would be classed as fraud if she actually does that, but until she does she is entitled to continue to claim.

Mumstheword

thesaint wrote:

She has not actually done this has she?
Her father might have left it to her son or the local orphanage. It seems like neighbours making assumptions to me.
I think it is premature to report her to the DWP yet at this harrowing time in her life.

The OP says she has told people this is her intention.

It is a harrowing time for her, but if she intends to defraud us all, then as soon as she does so, put the wheels in motion to stop her!

With any luck, she'll think about it and do the right thing for herself.

plumduff-2

Hmmm... well firstly I assume that she would have to transfer the deeds into her name to make the house legally hers... If she then sells it, a solicitor would be involved and to put the sale proceeds into her sons account, may implicate him in things, so Im not sure how a solicitor would go about with an issue like this...

If the son is a dependant though, part of the IC S claim form asks if the dependants have more than £3 in the bank account, although she could lie here, and she probably wouldnt have to provide sons bank statements to claim IS / HB etc... when she does get found out, they will chase her for everything owed... and even if she then went bankrupt, she would still have to repay DWP overpayments, as they not written off in BR...

If you wanted to alert the DWP about this, after it has happened.. then you can write to them anaonymously...

thesaint

Mumstheword wrote:

The OP says she has told people this is her intention.

It is a harrowing time for her, but if she intends to defraud us all, then as soon as she does so, put the wheels in motion to stop her!

With any luck, she'll think about it and do the right thing for herself.

I thank-you for your point.

But, the O.P. did not say that. The woman has said no such thing.

hobo28

Such a move would be classed as disposal of assets and the DWP should be told. Its our money at the end of the day!

Until then, she's perfectly entitled to claim.

beckett110

Just to clarify, she has said to my wife that this is what she plans to do. She is currently on income support as she is on her own so I imagine no checks will be made. I feel for her as it cant be an easy time for her but in my opinion she shouldn't try to continue claiming income support when the house is sold. I expect it will take some time to sell the house though as he has only recently passed away so there will be lots to sort out.

I really hope that she made the comments in the heat of the moment and that she just wasnt thinking clearly but as soon as I heard it I just couldnt believe that somebody would do that.

seven-day-weekend

If she has had the money and then put it in her son's account it will be classed as still her money.

Why doesn't she just live in the house? She can still claim Council Tax Benefit if she is on IS.

Mumstheword

thesaint wrote:

I thank-you for your point.

But, the O.P. did not say that. The woman has said no such thing.

Hi,

No, I've re read and he didnt actually say that. i took it as implied though.

he has however confirmed my suspicions later on.