Declaring an inheritance while on benefits

tomtom256

Mojisola wrote: »

That's a completely different issue - that's deliberate fraud.

If you're on benefits and tell the DWP that you will be getting an inheritance at some point (perhaps a year away, depending on how long it takes to sort the estate out), you run the risk of having your benefits frozen. Tell them as soon as the money hits your account. It doesn't affect your rights to benefits until you actually have it.

But that is what the OP is discussing, hiding inheritence and shopping their family for fraud.

Hence my posts being about fraud.

Mojisola

tomtom256 wrote: »

Once probate has been granted on a will this is when a person legally own's the inheritance and that is the point it needs to be declared.

epitome wrote: »

The inheritance has to be reported to DWP once it hits their bank account, until then, the money is not theirs and DWP does not want to know.

tomtom256 wrote: »

But that is what the OP is discussing, hiding inheritence and shopping their family for fraud.

Hence my posts being about fraud.

Your early post wasn't about fraud - you said benefit claimants had to report to the DWP as soon as probate was granted.

I agree with epitome that it doesn't need to be reported until the claimant actually gets the money.

epitome

Tomtom
But my post, the post you replied to, was informing the OP at what point the DWP would want to be informed of the inheritance. i.e. at what point the OP could inform the DWP of the inheritance.

When the OPs inheritance reaches the OPs account would be a reasonable time to inform the DWP.

However, if it was me, I would wait for a year before informing DWP to allow them to commit the offence to such a level that court action would be inevitable.

Mojisola

epitome wrote: »

However, if it was me, I would wait for a year before informing DWP to allow them to commit the offence to such a level that court action would be inevitable.

This would give them time to spend a lot of the money and they'd only have to pay it back at a few pounds a week.

tomtom256

Mojisola wrote: »

Your early post wasn't about fraud - you said benefit claimants had to report to the DWP as soon as probate was granted.

I agree with epitome that it doesn't need to be reported until the claimant actually gets the money.

Fair point, perhaps I should have been more specific.

Once a person on benefits knows they are getting an inheritance, as in OP's case his family are getting approx £50k each, so all invovled must be aware that probate is sorted and the money will be coming, that is when they they need to inform the DWP, i.e. once they have been told they are receiving the money.

It is then down to a DWP DM to decide on what date the inheritance will affect a benefit claim, not the claimant.

Obviously whilst probate and the estate is being sorted they will not know how much they are likely to be getting or when they are likely to receive it and as such have nothing to report.

Seems we are splitting hairs for the sake of it.

epitome

Mojisola wrote: »

This would give them time to spend a lot of the money and they'd only have to pay it back at a few pounds a week.

But they would no longer be entitled to benefits, (deprivation of capital), so they would have to live off the money they have no longer got. :rotfl:

tomtom256

epitome wrote: »

Tomtom
But my post, the post you replied to, was informing the OP at what point the DWP would want to be informed of the inheritance. i.e. at what point the OP could inform the DWP of the inheritance.

When the OPs inheritance reaches the OPs account would be a reasonable time to inform the DWP.

However, if it was me, I would wait for a year before informing DWP to allow them to commit the offence to such a level that court action would be inevitable.

I didn't reply to your post thought, it merely followed your post, I was replying to the OP regarding his fraud enquiry.

If it was your post I was replying to, I would have quoted it.

Seems like in most topics we both post in you just want to cause arguments.

Mojisola

tomtom256 wrote: »

Once a person on benefits knows they are getting an inheritance, as in OP's case his family are getting approx £50k each, so all invovled must be aware that probate is sorted and the money will be coming, that is when they they need to inform the DWP, i.e. once they have been told they are receiving the money.

It is then down to a DWP DM to decide on what date the inheritance will affect a benefit claim, not the claimant.

Obviously whilst probate and the estate is being sorted they will not know how much they are likely to be getting or when they are likely to receive it and as such have nothing to report.

Seems we are splitting hairs for the sake of it.

Those two comments contradict each other.

Probate is the fist stage in sorting out an estate. If it is complicated or there are houses to sell or the executors take their time, it can take a year or more from the time probate is granted before any money gets distributed.

The DWP doesn't have to be told until the inheritance is actually received.

tomtom256

Mojisola wrote: »

Those two comments contradict each other.

Probate is the fist stage in sorting out an estate. If it is complicated or there are houses to sell or the executors take their time, it can take a year or more from the time probate is granted before any money gets distributed.

The DWP doesn't have to be told until the inheritance is actually received.

How do they contradict. OP's family have obviously been told they are getting £50k and as such probate must have been sorted as they have been notified of their inheritance.

If probate hadn't been sorted and was still ongoing they wouldn't know how much they were due.

As such the notification letter from the executor stating you will be getting xyz on date is enough to notify the DWP.

If probate has only been granted and not been sorted then at that stage they have nothing to declare, as they have no idea what they are due or when they are likely to get it.

Being sorted and sorted are the key words in the alleged contradictory statement.

epitome

I don't like to cause arguments, I only seek for the exact truth to be known to everyone. That is why I regularly correct or question other's posts. I am perfectly happy to be corrected myself, If I am wrong I will come back and say sorry and thank you. What irks me is when I correct someone else with evidence and they don't come back with any acknowledgement that they were wrong. (I am NOT referring to you)

An example (an example of my seeking truth, not an example of someone not responding when corrected) if someone says on a "ESA in Pregnancy" thread that sick notes will be required... I know that is not necessarily the case.... so I add a point of of interest, that there is a circumstance under which sicknotes will not be required....(I am not saying someone should have responded)
Or on the last thread on fraud I was involved with, someone didn't understand what the definition of fraud was. EDIT: oops I just went back to that thread and reaslised that was you LOL.... but it still was not you I had in mind when I said that bit above about not responding.... You just had your opinion, it was wrong, but you were not going to change your opinion.

You followed my post talking about after probate and said it makes no difference when it reaches the account. Clearly you had my post in mind when you wrote that. So......, it may be a flaw in my character, but when I see a reply contradicting me on one issue and saying another comment which links to what I had said (during probate/after probate) I like to make a clarification post... i.e. my post #19


And on the subject of "after probate but before money credits" or "until it credits to your account"
It is obviously not a problem to inform DWP before it credits, but you run the risk of your benefits being frozen (perhaps unlawfully) and not having any money to live on.

IMHO it is perfectly reasonable not to inform DWP until the money actually credits to your account... doing so IMHO you would not have committed any offence.