Grandmother left me her house...£240,000 inheritance

antrobus

cashbackproblems wrote: »

But assets do not count towards benefit entitlement ...

But assets do count towards benefit entitlement.

lawstudent

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Ok i did not realise children cannot own property, so how about putting it in someone elses name who you trust e.g. parents? ALso if they can be the beneficial owner maybe it can still be in your name as the trustee?

The reason you dont want to lose you benefits is as soon as you sell you will simply be using that money to live and quicker than you think you will be back in the same position minus a property and it sounds like you have no job to get a mortgage.

Or you can just live there yourselves..

You do not understand the purpose of the trustee/beneficiary relationship. The trustee holds for all intents and purposes title to the property. The beneficiary is 'hidden' behind the trustee, as they are for some reason or another not able to hold title to the property themselves (for example they are a child) or otherwise they (like the OP with her benefits claim) do not wish to be identified as the person obtaining the benefit from the property.

Newly_retired

OP you do not have an option - you are obliged to inform DWP and HMRC of your change of circumstances. It is not a choice, otherwise you will be guilty of benefit fraud if you continue to claim IS, HB , CTB etc.
I'm not suggesting you are planning to do this, but some other posters seem to think you have a choice.
Your house would not count as capital if you are living in it, but you have sold it ( almost) and have the money in the bank.
If you bought a buy to let property to live off the income then you would have to declare it and lose your main benefits.
This is only right and proper as benefits such as IS, HB, CTB are for those without other resources.
You could use part of the money to buy a home for yourself and the children and live off the rest until you reach a level of capital where you would be eligible again. NB Income support ends when your youngest child is 7.
But it seems to me you have an opportunity to gain some qualifications or find a small business opportunity with the surplus.
Or get a job with prospects, and be able to afford childcare to go with it. You will get WTC and CTC including help with childcare costs.
You can rebuild your life and make a better future for your children.

Meanwhile make sure the cash is safe by putting it in a number of accounts witha limit of £85K in each, across a range of institutions to get the protection of the FSA / FSCS especially in these difficult times for the euro.