dwp potential claim letter.

BEAT_THE_DEBT

The solicitor has informed us of a potential claim by dwp as my late father was in reciept of pension credit. My father provided social services with bank statements and they have awarded him the credit.
He had a bond for life insurance with scottish widows and over the years other policies may have been taken out so i don't know if the solicitor has found a sum of money? My question is dad was told he could claim pc and was awarded it and now because of a potential dormant policy he may have been over threashhold ? If he has to pay the whole amount left we won't even be able to recover the funeral costs we occured? Please Help?
tia
btd

Yorkshireman99

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

The solicitoe has informed us of a potential claim by dwp as my late father was in reciept of pension credit. My father provided social services with bank statements and they have awarded hin the credit.
He had a bond for life insurance with scottish widows and over the years other policies may have been taken out so i don't know if the solicitor has found a sum of money? My question is dad was told he could claim pc and was awarded it and now because of a potential dormant policy he may have been over threashhold ? If he has to pay the whole amount left we won't even be able to recover the funeral costs we occured? Please Help?
tia
btd

That sort of policy does not usually form a part of the estate and in any case should not affect the amount of any Means Tested Benefits. Hence there probably will be no repayment due to the DWP.

Keep_pedalling

Anyone dealing with the estate of someone receiving PC whose estate ends up going through probate, is likely to to get hit with such a query from DWP, although if the estate mainly consisted of a property then there would be nothing to claim back.

As far as I am aware you don't provide bank statements to claim PC and SS would only want to see them if they were providing a care package. If your father's liquid assets were above the savings threashold then there may indeed be a claw back, and even if not this is going to slow down the distribution of the estate especially with solicitors involved.

Yorkshireman99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Anyone dealing with the estate of someone receiving PC whose estate ends up going through probate, is likely to to get hit with such a query from DWP, although if the estate mainly consisted of a property then there would be nothing to claim back.

As far as I am aware you don't provide bank statements to claim PC and SS would only want to see them if they were providing a care package. If your father's liquid assets were above the savings threashold then there may indeed be a claw back, and even if not this is going to slow down the distribution of the estate especially with solicitors involved.

Are you saying life policies would count in calculating entitlement to benefits by the DWP?

BEAT_THE_DEBT

His saving were sub 15k bouncing around 9-10. He had a scottish widows bond and another policy which i don't know what is was but it was never asked for. All they wanted was savings account which he gave them,the social worker did it with him. Can they claim more than the estate is worth? We still have some funeral costs to pay

BEAT_THE_DEBT

I feel stupid as last going off my sisiter and i had poa and his scottish widows letters came to me but i just gave them to him as he said they are for his death and we wouldn't have to worry about the funeral xx

Keep_pedalling

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Are you saying life policies would count in calculating entitlement to benefits by the DWP?

No, I am saying that the total value of the estate would trigger this, which in this case presumably includes a house. With the level of cash savings the OP mentioned It seems he was entitled to PC so there should be nothing to pay back, but the DWP will need to be satisfied that this is the case.

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Thanks all i feel sick he wouldn't have wanted anything he wasn't entitled to. He was in a residential home for 5 years and then the last 2 months of his life in a care home where there was prob an overlap in his pension stopping which is fair enough for them to claim that. Don't social service check viable assets apart from savings accounts??
Thanks for all your help.
They say not to be alarmed on the letter and that it is pretty standard if deceased in receipt of credit. It will take several months as in a queue so any money that is pending is losing interest i presume?

BEAT_THE_DEBT

no house involved

Yorkshireman99

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

no house involved

It does not sound as if you have much to worry about. The DWP do take ages though.

Keep_pedalling

If there is no house involved, and just a small estate, I am supprized that there are solicitors involved or that probate is actually required. Have the solicitors actually included the bond and insurance policies as part of the estate valuation?