Inherited money- benifits - help please...

MrMaus

Hello,

I have inherited £17,000 and am on benifits. I have 3 children and single parent with two being autisic. I was wondering am I allowed to spend some of this money on essential items I need i.e my car has broken down & the repair way out weighs it;s value, I have no carpets in my living room or landing, I have no curtains in my house, I need a shower for my son's autisic needs ( freaks out at baths), need a laptop and printer for my son's school work via e.mail from school. Can I replace them with some of the money I get ? I need a car desperately for constant hospital trips linked to my childrens problems - thank you

MrMaus

Income support & housing benifits..

TELLIT01

You need to inform IS and HB immediately. Assuming you can show that any expenditure is genuinely needed and not just done to retain benefit there shouldn't be any great problem although you may need to reclaim benefit once your capital drops below 16k again.
The only item on your list which might be considered non-essential is the laptop for school work. If the school says it is essential then that shouldn't be a problem either. Just don't go crazy with the spending.

MrMaus

Sorry I ment to put £14,000 - having a mad day :-( do I still need to inform on this ? I was going to spend about £8,000 on car so that it cuts down on repair bills ( maybe a 2011 car ) - thank you for replying Keith53...

Indie_Kid

Keep every receipt so that you can show where the money has gone.

DWP need to know about money above £6k as this will affect the amount of benefit you get.

MrMaus

OK thank you..

letthemeatcake

I was wondering if you have applied for DLA for the children. Then this money can be used to help with his sensory needs such as the shower ( I know you'd have to save it all up for a long time).


They may ask why you didn't choose to have a hand held shower over the bath rather than a shower installed so if you know anyone who can back you up that will help.