Estate distribution suspended - DWP letter

oldham07

Hi

Out my depth - please could anyone help. Dealing with a will for which I am a beneficiary (one of three) although not executor. House that the deceased owned is now on the market having had the probate application completed. Was really looking forward to resolving the estate and moving on but now the solicitor has written attaching a letter from DWP that too much pension credit and housing credit may have been paid.

I'm really stressed and upset that this may delay everything. It has been eight months since he died and only recently did we have probate confirmed and the house on the market for sale. I don't have any other information. He was renting a flat but also owned a house and rented it out to tenants. I didn't know that he claimed any benefit.

Can they reclaim all of the money that he may have claimed during his lifetime?

What are my options? Do I need to leave this with the solicitor? Should I ask how much he'll be charging to sort it out with DWP? Can I ask a different solicitor to sort it out with DWP? Our solicitor has been very slow with the probate application.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks

Mojisola

oldham07 wrote: »

Can they reclaim all of the money that he may have claimed during his lifetime?

Yes.

What are my options? Do I need to leave this with the solicitor? Should I ask how much he'll be charging to sort it out with DWP? Can I ask a different solicitor to sort it out with DWP? Our solicitor has been very slow with the probate application.

Is the solicitor the executor?

bryanb

The executor must deal with this, but may instruct a solicitor.

oldham07

Hi. Thanks for replies.

The executor is another beneficiary

NAR

Wait until you have heard from DWP. Unfortunately they have the right to reclaim any overpayment from the estate.However the executor may challenge the DWP if there are grounds to do so.

dancingfairy

Unfortunately estates can be complicated and take some time to wind up so I would not put undue pressure on yourself/the other person for it to be rushed through and try and accept that it is an administrative exercise and not get too stressed out by it (try and seperate it from the actual grief of the death if you can ).
All the executor can do is follow the process and deal with things as they come up and keep the beneficiaries informed. Sure they can give dates when they expect things to be settled/dealt with but everyone will need to be patient I'm afraid
I'm not sure if you can overturn the decision to appoint the executor at this stage (and indeed if it would be wise to do so).
df

daska

The DWP can reclaim any overpayment that they can prove. His entitlement died with him so there is a strong possibility that he may have been overpaid pension by a week or 2 etc.

What you say about Housing Credit is confusing? If he owned a house and was getting an income from it then was he entitled to any at all?!

Mee

My sympathies. I dealt with an intestate estate which was subject to a DWP overpayment investigation. I supplied bulding society statements and supporting (very sympathetic) covering letters from the B/S. After all the stress and worry, the DWP said there was no case to answer 9 months later. I appreciate that they are entitled to claim back overpayments, but the whole episode has left me with a bitter taste if not hatred of the DWP. Answer their questions, ensure that you supply the information requested and keep all the correspondence and the case closed letter.

Best of luck

getmore4less

If the executor has handed over to solicitors and not managed then they are part to blame for any delays.

IT may have been it took the solicitors time to collect the information 6+months is not excessive. If there were some suspect benifit claims that may have contributed to the time involved.

It is a good idea to do most of the work yourselfs and just instruct the solicitors for the legal stuff you don't understand.

The executor(with help from others) could deal with the DWP or instruct the solicitors and expect a bill.

The house sale can continue and could well take longer than the DWP investigation.