Dwp investigation into sisters estate

Mystaputt

My sister passed away 8 months ago. Our lawyer informed us the DWP will be carrying out an investigation into her estate 4 months ago. We heard today that it will be another 3 month before they can conclude their investigation. She left a sizeable sum which is considerably more than any repayments that will have to be repaid to the DWP. Her money is being retained by the lawyers and no one in the will has to be paid out until the investigation is complete ... Surely this can't be right....HELP

CIS

If DWP think there are monies which weren't declared then they will open an investigation in to the estate for possible recovery of state benefits and until they've done their assessment then they won't know how much, if anything, is due.

Whilst there's anything that could affect the monies the solicitor would be at the best negligent in paying out the estate and at the worst possibly committing an offence (they also have to consider their own practice certificate) if they paid out. They should be able to advise you whether any amounts can be paid from the estate in the meantime.

meritaten

This happened when my mum passed away last August - it worried us sick, as she had received an inheritance a couple of years previously. we were concerned that she had mistakenly received benefits she wasn't entitled to. The DWP however just asked us a few questions and within weeks the matter was resolved and they were satisfied that she wasn't claiming fraudulently. They were very decent and very quick to be fair.

TELLIT01

No solicitor or executor of an estate will release monies whilst an investigation is going on. Not if they have any sense anyway.

[Deleted User]

What benefits if any did your sister get?

sorry for your loss

konark

To be frank, when a solicitor is administering the estate you'll be lucky to see any money within 10 months of probate anyway. They have to wait that long to satisfy any potential creditors and lost relatives.

TELLIT01

konark wrote: »

To be frank, when a solicitor is administering the estate you'll be lucky to see any money within 10 months of probate anyway. They have to wait that long to satisfy any potential creditors and lost relatives.

That's a massive, and incorrect, generalisation. Solicitors administered the estate for both my mother and my brother. Both were finalised and all payments released within about 4 months.

woody_56

We have just had the same problem with the DWP


on my mothers estate.
Some 5550 k was held by the solicitor for over 9 months.
Evidently she had been overpaid a benefit.
She was 90 when she died,and had been assessed by help the aged
for the benefit .
She had evidently been overpaid £1200.00 only yet the solicitor said in our interest it was best not to release any monies to us.?
This on top of an inquest was not what we needed at the time.






































*The one thing I will say and to this day can't understand is the Pittance the interest accrued on that amount when the estate was finalised by the solicitor.* some £430 pounds.
The solicitor told us it had been in a business account with Nat West
which only paid a minimum interest.?
We where glad to finally have a horrible year out of the way.
So we did not persue,i will let you make your own minds up.