can I use my inheritance to buy the house I live in?

Dr._Shoe

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

How can owning your own home be classed as "deprivation of capital"?

duchy wrote: »

It isn't.......

That's what I thought.

benniebert

GirlFromMars wrote: »

I still think that's a very different way of presenting the story to the DWP than writing to them in advance to ask for advice.

And as "they" had already been refused ESA, had the capital and hadn't actually paid off the mortgage with a subsequent decision to pay the mortgage could easily be looked at as a way of increasing benefit entitlement instead of securing their home.

My advice is still to get written advice in advance from a Decision Maker.

Many thanks. I am sorry but I don't quite follow what you are saying.


They couldn't pay off the mortgage as it was made clear to them that unless they used the capital to live off, no one else was going to help them financially. The DWP also made it clear that paying off the mortgage would be seen as Deprivation of their capital.
How else do you think it could be approached so far down the line? Yes I can see how the DWP would look at it - they want some/most of their mortgage paid off with what remains so as to get rid of the capital thereby securing full benefits. In truth they want to secure their home as you say as at the moment it is anything but secure. The whole idea apparently was always to use the insurance policies to repay the debt which would have been fine had it not been for poor health hitting them and the need to rely on the state.


I feel that it comes down to what the DWP will believe. Is it being done to protect the wealth in the property and be able to claim benefits saying that they have no savings or, that the insurance monies were always there to pay off the debt but poor health got in their way.


Personally I would go for the former, if I was looking at the case from a distance.