ESA Application, partner has had inheritance (spent) will this cause problems?

littleheadspin

Hi,

Quick run down. I have had cancer for 5 years, I am on chemotherapy. I have been awarded DLA til 2016. I used to have ESA in the support group in 2012 and my Wife's father passed away and left £90,000 in 2013. Five months later (after ignorance and realising i'd left it five months and terrified to tell them because of the delay, I got the courage to end the ESA, and that was that.. nothing happened, the ESA was stopped).

With the Inheritance we purchased a house as we thought that would be better than spending it on rent and my wife got a job to apply for a mortgage. The money is spent.

Fast forward 12+ months since cancelling ESA, my health has deteriorated, I recently had my right lung removed and I have moderate morbidity. We are deciding on my wife becoming my full time carer, and I applying for ESA again to be able to afford to live.

Do you see any problems arising from this previous inheritance?
I am terrified of being locked up in prison because we've had that money before but I'm stuck at a crossroads with my health.

duchy

You aren't going to be sent to prison for a 5 month claim -the cases you hear about are for years of claiming - worst that is likely is that if it gets picked up on you may be asked to repay the five months.

poppy12345

littleheadspin wrote: »

Hi,

Quick run down. I have had cancer for 5 years, I am on chemotherapy. I have been awarded DLA til 2016. I used to have ESA in the support group in 2012 and my Wife's father passed away and left £90,000 in 2013. Five months later (after ignorance and realising i'd left it five months and terrified to tell them because of the delay, I got the courage to end the ESA, and that was that.. nothing happened, the ESA was stopped).

With the Inheritance we purchased a house as we thought that would be better than spending it on rent and my wife got a job to apply for a mortgage. The money is spent.

Fast forward 12+ months since cancelling ESA, my health has deteriorated, I recently had my right lung removed and I have moderate morbidity. We are deciding on my wife becoming my full time carer, and I applying for ESA again to be able to afford to live.

Do you see any problems arising from this previous inheritance?
I am terrified of being locked up in prison because we've had that money before but I'm stuck at a crossroads with my health.

If you told them about the inheritance they will ask where all the money went to, if you didn't tell them and just ended your ESA then your ESA claim will go straight through because they didn't know and you've spent all of it. Having said that because you're having chemo when you claim ESA you'll be fast tracked straight into the support group, you'll have to fill in a form and get something from your GP to say you're currently having Chemo. I'm not exactly sure what form it is, but i do know you'll be fast tracked straight into the support group. Good luck and best wishes.

rogerblack

Some things are not clear.
If, for example, you inherited the money, and then it was immediately spent on a house - you will only have not been entitled to ESA for a week or two.
Money spent on a house you subsequently live on in general does not count as deprivation of capital.
If you were on ESA due to your contributions - the inheritance made no difference.
If you phoned ESA, were on ESA(C) to advise them of the inheritance, and were told to end the claim, you may be due some compensation due to the bad advice.

You will now not be entitled to ESA(C) - if you ever were - and only ESA(IR).
Any pension or other earnings will be taken into account.

If the majority of the cash was spent on the house, it seems very unlikely anything will happen.

bloolagoon

rogerblack wrote: »

Some things are not clear.
If, for example, you inherited the money, and then it was immediately spent on a house - you will only have not been entitled to ESA for a week or two.
Money spent on a house you subsequently live on in general does not count as deprivation of capital.
If you were on ESA due to your contributions - the inheritance made no difference.
If you phoned ESA, were on ESA(C) to advise them of the inheritance, and were told to end the claim, you may be due some compensation due to the bad advice.

You will now not be entitled to ESA(C) - if you ever were - and only ESA(IR).
Any pension or other earnings will be taken into account.

If the majority of the cash was spent on the house, it seems very unlikely anything will happen.

Their other thread shows only a £45,000 deposit earlier this year when they purchased the house - it was this summer it was purchased.

edwink

I thought if you were in the Support group contribution based it would not make any difference if you had an inheritance or am I wrong about this???


I was under the impression that you only had to declare any monies in your bank account etc. over 10k or 16k if you are on income based!!


My sis in law has to send in her bank statements, I think when she is re-assessed or when she gets new forms to fill in. I think she said her savings have to be under 10k. Maybe she has got it wrong. I am only going by what she has said in the past. I may have to correct her on this if she is wrong. She has no where near that amount though as far as I am aware!!


Anyone have any thoughts on this!!


Ed

rogerblack

edwink wrote: »

I thought if you were in the Support group contribution based it would not make any difference if you had an inheritance or am I wrong about this???

It doesn't.
People can be mistaken and terminate claims because they thought it did, or they can get incorrect advice from the DWP.

littleheadspin

rogerblack wrote: »

Some things are not clear.
If, for example, you inherited the money, and then it was immediately spent on a house - you will only have not been entitled to ESA for a week or two.
Money spent on a house you subsequently live on in general does not count as deprivation of capital.

If the majority of the cash was spent on the house, it seems very unlikely anything will happen.

Hi, we did not purchase a house right away, we had to find one and then get a mortgage. It was some time after.

I was told by my clic sargent I had to cancel it. He told me not to mention inheritance because i might get in trouble and just cancel it, which is what I did.

it was all spent but if they look at my claim in detail I really hope they don't punish me/mywife for having it.

bloolagoon wrote: »

Their other thread shows only a £45,000 deposit earlier this year when they purchased the house - it was this summer it was purchased.

Hi, I forget about that thread, but in the end Lloyds wouldn't give us enough so we had to increase the deposit to £65,000 and at that time we had already spent money living. We had around £8k left to get my father to decorate and install a bathroom. That money is gone now but just clarifying in case it doesn't add up to some :beer:

LostAndAshamed

Does your dad run a registered decorating business? Did you collect various quotes for the 8k?

And to clarify, you didn't tell them about your inheritance when your ESA stopped, you just ended the claim for no reason?

rogerblack

littleheadspin wrote: »

I was told by my clic sargent I had to cancel it. He told me not to mention inheritance because i might get in trouble and just cancel it, which is what I did.

Were you, in the three years prior to claiming ESA, employed?

littleheadspin

Hi. I told them my wife would soon be starting full time work, which was the case. I did not mention the inheritance we had at the time.

to rodger, hi i was diagnosed at 16, i have never been in work.