Benifit cheat :/

Grendel45

I have just discovered that my mum, was claiming all kinds of benifits rent,disability,council tax etc for the 30 odd years I lived with her, I was always in employment and I had no idea this was going on as she was a very private person when it came to money and bills i don't even think she told the council etc I was there. She has now passed away and I am worrried that I could be liable for all of her wrong doing? Can anyone advise on this.

dandelionclock30

No you wont have to pay anything so dont worry.

midnight_express

You are not liable. However, if she left any money or assets a claim could be made againgst her estate.

dandelionclock30

How do you know the claims were not legitimate anyway?

Grendel45

She died poor, enough money for the funeral that's all.

dandelionclock30

Sorry if Im missing something here.Why do you think she was a benefits cheat? Just because someone dies poor doesnt mean they are swindeling their benefits.

princessdon

Are you saying that she was legitimately on benefits - but didn't delare you living there?

If that was the case then yes she would have had a small amount of benefits less and she should have declared having a none dependant child living at home who works

But it would come from the estate and if there isn't any then that is it.

Grendel45

Sorry yes that is what I meant she never declared me being there. So I assumed that if I was declared she would not have been entitled to the benifits she was receiving. I was worried I would be getting some huge council tax bill.

Thanks all

dandelionclock30

She would still have been entitled to a fair bit of it even if you paid her some board.As her son you would not have been expected to support her financially. But she should have declared all adults in the household etc.
If I were you I'd forget about it and get on with my life.
Whos to know you were there anyway if she didnt declare it?

McKneff

Stop worrying about it, youre mum would have been entitled to her benefits, just get on with your life and forget also about her being a benefit cheat, I think you are overthinking.

Youre wrongly tarnishing your memory of her. Remember how good a mum she was and get on with it as she would want you to do.

BigAunty

Disability benefit is paid on top of other benefits - it never gets affected by other family members income, even if she worked it was not a problem.

When there is a non-dependent in the household, an adult child in employment, for example, there is at most a modest deduction from their housing benefit and council tax, for example, which varies according to the income of the non-dependent. Your local council website will have a table that shows the non-dependent deductions.

I expect that she did declare that you lived there and either accepted the small shortfall in her CT and HB or made it up from the keep that you paid her.

Did you actually come across DWP and local council paperwork that gave you concrete evidence that she never declared your occupation? Did she get full HB and CT discount?

She's the tenant, therefore her housing benefit and council tax claims have nothing to do with you, you are not directly responsible for any (accidental?) fraud on her part anyhow - you will not receive any bills directly. As others have indicated, at most, the DWP/council can make a claim on her estate but if there's nothing in the estate, there's nothing they can do that affects you.