temporarily moved will it effect my benefit claim

grazzzz

I receive DLA and ESA (income related) due to a diving accident in 2010, my circumstances have changed since last Friday as due to my impending divorce my house was sold and i have temporarily moved in with my son and his friend. Due to my divorce i have received no money from my house sale as this is been held in the conveyancing solicitors account until the financial side of my divorce has been agreed by the court and i have a letter from my divorce solicitor confirming this (for the court to sort this out i have been advised could take up to 10 weeks, i need to ring the DWP to advise them of my change in circumstances as i am due a payment next week but am scared they will stop my benefits immediately and this is the only money i have to live on. the only thing that has changed re my circumstances is my address. I realise once i receive my house sale proceeds i cannot claim ESA however as previously mentioned this could be another 10 weeks before this happens.
i cant be 10 weeks without money to live on
Advice please ?

pmlindyloo

There should be no problem with having this capital disregarded because at the moment you are not the beneficial owner.

The rules state

Beneficial and legal ownership of capital
W1.101 Capital, in whatever form, always belongs to the beneficial owner, that is the person who
stands to gain. The person in whose name the capital is held is known as the legal owner.
Usually, the beneficial owner and the legal owner are the same person, but this is not always
the case. Examples of when the legal owner is not the beneficial owner are when
• a solicitor holds money on behalf of a client
• professional trustees hold property on trust for beneficiaries, under a trust created by a will
or by deed of settlement
• a trust arises as a matter of law
W1.102 In all these cases, it is clear that the legal owner is not the beneficial owner. The legal owner
holds the capital in their name and can deal with it, for example, by withdrawing money from
a bank account or selling property, but they do not own the capital, and the law will hold them
responsible to the beneficial owner for the way in which they deal with it.
W1.103 A person’s capital resources are represented by the amount that they beneficially own. Special
rules apply for capital which
• is owned by two or more people,

You will need to show them a copy of the letter from the solicitor and they will photocopy it (don't forget to get a receipt to show you've done so) This should then be disregarded until it is 'sorted'.

If you intend to buy another house with the proceeds then the money can be disregarded for 26 weeks after you receive it.

grazzzz

Quote
"If you intend to buy another house with the proceeds then the money can be disregarded for 26 weeks after you receive it".


I wont be buying i will have to rent however i have no idea how much i will be getting at the moment it will be in the region of 80K however this is to be decided by a judge !

rogerblack

grazzzz wrote: »

I wont be buying i will have to rent however i have no idea how much i will be getting at the moment it will be in the region of 80K however this is to be decided by a judge !

You will not then be entitled to any means-tested benefits.
DLA should continue.

dippy3103

Just wanted to wish the OP every future happiness- sounds like he had a tough few years.

Sorry, off topic I know