Can dwp claim back money from deceased father

scottay2hottay

Hi father died at the age of 69 on the 12th March 2012, I hadn't seen him since I was 13 ( I am now 31). I had been searching for him for many years, and it turns out he was living hundreds of miles from me.
I received a letter in the post saying that he had passed away and I was the sole beneficiary of his estate.
I have just recently been contacted by his solicitor who is the executor of the estate, and she said that probate has been granted and she has just received a letter from the DWP which requests details of my fathers estate. The letter is effectively a claim against the estate and no distribution will be possible until they confirm that they are happy that no overpayment of benefits have been made to my late father.
My father was a betting man and he had various betting accounts in his name. He lived alone and suffered with severe COPD, he was unable to get around without a mobility scooter for ten years. I know he was claiming housing benefit and DLA and possibly other benefits.
I have received a statement of his account

Lloyds TSB £7,974
NS& Premium Bonds £4,220
Betfred betting company £3,002
Bet 365 £1,157
Sun Life insurance £1,527
plus various other assets which amount to a total of £18,055.70

His liabilities came to a toal of £4,740.55 and that left a total estate of £13,315.15 not including solicitors costs.
Was my father breaking the law by having that amount of money if he didn't declare it (I'm assuming he didn't) and if he was would you expect the DWP to make any deductions from this estate? Will I be left with anything? Do betting accounts count as capital?
Sorry for all the questions, I would appreciate any help that you are willing to give me.

mynameistallulah

Betting accounts do count as capital, yes.

Whether he was claiming more than he should will depend on what he declared, benefits work on a tapered system so he may not have been receiving full benefits. Once the DWP have made their enquiries they will provide you with a breakdown of any overpayment so the solicitor can check whether it is accurate. If it is, then the overpayment will have to come out of the estate.

cattie

Sorry you lost your father before you could get to know him again. At least you know he was always thinking of you to make you sole beneficiary.

Yes, if your father is found to owe DWP or the tax man money, it will be taken from his estate.

Now your father has died, breaking any law or committing benefit fraud does not come into the equation as many older people die and are found to have more money than they have admitted to when claiming a benefit. So the relevant bodies are quite used to this.

princessdon

Over £6K in savings (at any one time) is to be notified. They will look at the accounts and work out if they are owed any money in the form of over payments.

Not 100% sure on the betting accounts though - as these are not "bank accounts" - some may know more, the bonds it depends on if he had access and the insurance I assume was payable on death so it may not be the figure you quote ^^ there.

The DWP know what they are doing - give them the information and let them sort it out

Sorry for your loss

scottay2hottay

Thank you for your prompt replies and kind words, I just wonder if there will be any money left after the solicitor and dwp are finished. Not to mention the fact that the solicitor had given the keys to my dads flat to an auction company, and they sold all his belongings at auction for peanuts without my permission.

mynameistallulah

princessdon wrote: »

Not 100% sure on the betting accounts though - as these are not "bank accounts" - some may know more, the bonds it depends on if he had access and the insurance I assume was payable on death so it may not be the figure you quote ^^ there.

Yep, definitely counted as capital, as is money held in a Paypal/ Neteller etc account.

princessdon

mynameistallulah wrote: »

Yep, definitely counted as capital, as is money held in a Paypal/ Neteller etc account.

Thank you - wasn't sure on that one

rogerblack

To add to the above.
Capital is anything you have that you can sell, or that you can sell the rights to others to sell in future. Even if you need to apply to the courts to get it.
For benefits purposes, some things (for example, house and personal posessions) are diregarded.

Another point is that if you have 16K in one bank account, and a 15K overdraft in the other, then you do not have 1K capital, but 16K.

(except in certain circumstances where the bank has the right to offset this)

scottay2hottay

[FONT=&quot]In other news, i just received an email from the solicitor "[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I would be unable to distribute until 6 months after the Grant in case your sister does make a claim. The date of the Grant is 10th July 2012. The claim by the DWP is also a valid claim against the estate and I would also be unable to distribute until their claim is finalized."
I forgot to mention that I had a sister who wasn't named in the will ( i met her for the first time at my dads funeral) and she hasn't tried to contest the will.
Is the solicitor able to keep the money "just in case" she makes a claim against the estate. I didn't think it worked like that
[/FONT]

rogerblack

scottay2hottay wrote: »

Is the solicitor able to keep the money "just in case" she makes a claim against the estate. I didn't think it worked like that

If she does not sign to say she does not want it, then yes, probate can be delayed.

scottay2hottay

She has expressed no interest in the inheritance, so does she still need to sign?