Claiming housing benefit after the sale of a house

Kazzaroo

smileyrach wrote: »

if needs must my son comes first i can starve as long as he has a meal a roof over his head all the things he needs etc

Precisely,I dont have the knowledge on how paying non priority debts might affect HB claim but i would assume (using common sense) that even if you hadnt had paid them off from sale of house etc then the debts would still have had to been paid out of whatever amount the pot would have been, there may have been 4k more in the pot but the debts would still be there and need to be paid so personally i would say that you made the right decision to pay them off and if it does affect your HB i would explain that you never intended to claim HB so you didnt think about the potential impact it may have,we all know what councils and "red tape" can be like but there are sympathetic HB depts that can spot a genuine claimant from one wanting everything they can,i just hope your local council is one of them,If i can help anymore i will try my best.

[Deleted User]

Rather than listening to the informal advice given on here, I'd highly recommend you go your local CAB. They will be able to advise on all the difficulties you are dealing with as well as what benefits you may or may not be entitled to.

I hope that you won't face the difficulties you have been warned about.., but I'd check with someone more qualified to advise you.., like the CAB or a Welfare Rights organisation.

You also need to look at if you are a carer for an adult, will that release you from the need to sign on every two weeks if you should need to claim income support at some point.

Personally, I would keep the £4k your husband wants until you HAVE to pay it (instructed by a court). I'd also use some of that money to see a solicitor and at least get a legal seperation organised. The last thing you want is your husband getting a solicitor and demanding large sums of money off you because you sold the house when you could by then be benefit dependent.

Understanding fully your situation (getting qualified advice) can only help.

Kazzaroo

deannatrois wrote: »

Rather than listening to the informal advice given on here,

isnt the point of the forum ? to get unofficial/informal advice ?

deannatrois wrote: »

You also need to look at if you are a carer for an adult, will that release you from the need to sign on every two weeks if you should need to claim income support at some point.

on income support you dont "sign",only on jobseekers do you attend fortnightly to "sign on", Single parents with a child under 5 are on income support and the only requirement im aware of is 1 appointment every 6 months to ensure situation hasnt changed or to ASK (theres no pressure to look) if you are looking for paid work.

BigAunty

Dunroamin wrote: »

If you have used some of your capital to pay off non priority debts, particularly those in joint names, you may well have problems if is it's considered that you've deprived yourself of capital to claim benefits.

Deprivation of capital is a complex area which is reviewed on a case by case basis.

However, the onus is on the DWP/local council to demonstrate that the benefit claimant intentionally spent/gave away their capital in order to qualify for benefits and therefore the Decision Makers are encouraged to find proof, such as a claimant being turned down in the past for having too much capital which demonstrates that they know about the limits, for example.

I have looked at the DWP DoC docs and the term 'non priority debts' is never used. This is a term that is usually used in debt management strategies, to help debtors understand which debts they can stall on paying and which ones will have serious consequences if they do not pay (such as rent or council tax which can lead to eviction or prosecution, for example).

I repeatedly see potential benefit claimants who have come into capital being told not to pay back their 'non priority debts' which would include things like credit card debts, for example, but I have never ever seen any official DWP literature that supports this assertion.

What the guidance for decision makers (DWP staff) says about debts is something like they should ignore any debts legally due from the claimant in their analysis and calculations.

What can cause problems, though, is when a claimant pays back a loan ahead of its required term, for example (but even then, someone who was made redundant who used their redundancy money to pay down their mortgage won an appeal - the judge thought it was sensible for a mature person to do this - so the unemployed home owner could still claim benefits).

Hopefully the housing benefit officer who posts on the forums will advise but to be honest, this thread is in the wrong section and needs to be moved to the Benefits forum.

smileyrach_2

how do i move the post please?

BigAunty

smileyrach wrote: »

how do i move the post please?

You can't - the mods can but they are few and far between.

You could perhaps start a new thread in the Benefits forum and link back to the information here, make it known it is a duplicate.

smileyrach_2

notanewuser wrote: »

Why didn't you take any of the advice given to you in May?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4601865

because it is my choice wether to follow anyones advice and maybe at the time it wasnt right for me so why attack me for it and on my previous posts?

DTDfanBoy

smileyrach wrote: »

because it is my choice wether to follow anyones advice and maybe at the time it wasnt right for me so why attack me for it and on my previous posts?

notanewuser wasn't attacking you, they were merely asking a completely valid question.

You were given plenty of sound advice in your last thread, sadly you seem to have ignored all of it

sharingiscaring_2

OP - why didn't you continue living at your mum and dad's house? That would have saved you at least £500 per month in rent, and you are caring for your mum 35 hours a week, so there was no commuting involved.

You ex should be paying CSA and by staying with your folks you would not need to claim HB for a rented property.

I have sympathy for you and your son because nobody should be treated like that in marriage, but there are many other people in much worse situations than you that do not have a family to stay with or £16k in the bank.

smileyrach_2

sharingiscaring wrote: »

OP - why didn't you continue living at your mum and dad's house? That would have saved you at least £500 per month in rent, and you are caring for your mum 35 hours a week, so there was no commuting involved.

You ex should be paying CSA and by staying with your folks you would not need to claim HB for a rented property.

I have sympathy for you and your son because nobody should be treated like that in marriage, but there are many other people in much worse situations than you that do not have a family to stay with or £16k in the bank.

I understand that i was just asking advice