Inheritance affecting benefits and deprivation of capital...

HappyMJ

easy wrote: »

Thanks, I know nothing of this, having never been in the situation myself.

But who decides what is allowable or not? Do DWP staff have a prescribed list, or is it down to you own advisor or office manager? As I say, as someone who knows a little bit about cars I would tend to spend more on a decent recent model, as that tends to mean you'll spend less on maintenance (and as the OP has a disabled wife, a reliable vehicle should be a priority), but I can see some DWP jobsworth who doesn't understand the logic getting snotty about that.


So if I owned a house with a leaking roof, was on benefits, but happened to come into some money, would I have to ask DWP if I was allowed to mend the roof ??

There is no black and white, there is no list. If you need a new car then buy one. If you feel you need a holiday then go on one. If your roof is leaking then fix it. Worry about the consequences later but try and keep £6,000 aside just in case the decision maker does not agree your spending was reasonable.

rogerblack

easy wrote: »

Thanks, I know nothing of this, having never been in the situation myself.

But who decides what is allowable or not?

As others have said - there is no list, the list of 'approved' stuff is really short.
Normal day-day spending - if you were on benefits before getting the capital, and continue to spend after is fine.

Paying off immediately repayable (they are sending you nasty letters) debts is fine.

Paying off really high interest rate loans or credit cards may be fine.

Any other significant purchases, if they could be thought to be made for the purposes of getting more benefit, may be questioned.

The only completely safe way is to ask the DWP first, that way they can say yes or no first, and they can't backtrack after.

Otherwise you run the risk (exactly how large this risk is is questionable) of having to appeal a decision that you are not entitled to (so much) benefit.

Mikazaru

easy wrote: »

Erm, no experience of the benefits aspect of this, but frankly if I needed to buy a car, and hadn't had a holiday for several years, I would be spending more than £5K in total on these 2 things.

Surely, there is NO point in the OP buying a crappy old banger, which will cost him a fortune in repairs over the next 2 years .... If I came into £25k, I would be looking at £5k or so for a decent 3 or 4 year old vehicle.

You can get perfectly reliable cars for £3000, leaving you £2000 for car related costs and a holiday.

I might spend more than that on a car if I came into some money, however if I was not working, reliant on benefits and knew I'd have to live off those savings for a good while I wouldn't be spending it on a newish car and an extravagant holiday.

Miroslav

My friend has spent £17k in 18 months, which includes rent, council tax, living costs (Bills, food, clothes etc) and she is being denied ESA even though her savings are now running dry.

Their appears to be no exact formula for how they say what is fair and what is not and it depends on who is dealing with the claim. She was told however that cars and holidays were not permissable unless she could prove it was a need as opposed to something she wanted to do.

They now want to see every receipt for everything she has bought in the last 18 months (including groceries, coffee shop receipts - the lot) which is impossible.

Their is no black and white and you may have to provide evidence of everything you spend.

cparry

Thanks for asll your replies so far on this. Some interesting viewpoints. I have chosen a few

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Are either of you looking for work? I'd have thought one of you would be expected to, leaving the other one free to care for the child.

My partner isn't really able to work and claims the DLA. She got turned down for a volunteer charity shop job the other day as they said they could not insure her and she was a liability (in so many words). I am able to work (was made redundant 2.5 years ago but after a year on JSA, we were expecting a baby, I moved in with my partner and decided we would jointly claim IS). I have been looking after my partner and daughter for the last year and a half as both have had health problems and working has just not been an option.

I am hoping to go back looking for work after our February wedding - my partner and daughter's health permitting.

salau2 wrote: »

What rates of DLA is your partner claiming? If it is Middle or Higher Rate Care you may be able to claim Carer's Allowance which is not affected by savings.

She is on middle rate DLA. We considered Carer's Allowance but it does not work out any better financially.

Miroslav wrote: »

My friend has spent £17k in 18 months, which includes rent, council tax, living costs (Bills, food, clothes etc) and she is being denied ESA even though her savings are now running dry.

Their appears to be no exact formula for how they say what is fair and what is not and it depends on who is dealing with the claim. She was told however that cars and holidays were not permissable unless she could prove it was a need as opposed to something she wanted to do.

They now want to see every receipt for everything she has bought in the last 18 months (including groceries, coffee shop receipts - the lot) which is impossible.

Their is no black and white and you may have to provide evidence of everything you spend.

I have also been told that all receipts will need to be kept but I find it ridiculous that they will want receipts fo coffee shop visits, newspaper or magazine purchases and trivial things like this.

Why they cannot provide a clearer understanding here is beyond me - and they wonder why there are so many benefit cheats - it's because of situations like this. If they cannot be bothered to make the system clear when benefit claimants are in receipt of inheritance then what do they expect from certain people. I am not one of these people but I can see why people don't inform the DWP, council etc about inheritance now as it is such an unclear andf grey system - there is just no excuse why this system cannot be sorted out to make it easier for benefit claimants who come into inheritance.

Mojisola

Miroslav wrote: »

They now want to see every receipt for everything she has bought in the last 18 months (including groceries, coffee shop receipts - the lot) which is impossible.

This is such a ridiculous request that I would be asking to speak to the advisor's supervisor. It is totally unreasonable.

Miroslav

Mojisola wrote: »

This is such a ridiculous request that I would be asking to speak to the advisor's supervisor. It is totally unreasonable.

I agree and i've offered to help and support her as she's not as forward as I am in asking these things, so I am hoping she will let me.

Does anybody know what a fair request would be regarding receipts? £100+ purchases? More? Less?

As far as I know and what she had told me, the only single item purchases of over £100 are the mobile phone and the paying off of the primary debt. She has made purchases of over £100, but for multiple items and even then from looking at the statements she has shown me they are only just over £100 and/or rent. These are bank statements that the DWP want to see going back 18 months. The only other items are £300 withdrawals from the bank, several weeks apart for which she has used to pay for groceries etc. It's not like she has withdrawn £300 daily, but literally five or six weeks apart and has spent 17k in 18 months inclusive of all bills/rent/CT etc and I think that is reasonable.

I'm sure their is nothing to worry about for her, but the request for all receipts, especially when she pays cash for groceries and then bins the receipt once she has checked for discepancies, is a bit much.

lovetowinacar

Make an appointment with your benefits advisor, take along the quote for the car purchase and holiday. Tell them exactly what you will inherit and how much you intend to spend.

This way you will get it right and you will have been seen to be upfront and honest.

Enjoy your holiday.