DWP claim deceased estate

Bwc

My mother died November 2016. She had been living in a Nursing Home for the last couple of years of her life.

Due to a range of health issues she was in receipt of DLA. My brother and I were sworn in as Executirs in December. Due to some mistakes by NatWest bank it was several weeks later that her estate had been consolidated into an Executors account. The total amount in the account was a little under £18,000 with around £1,000 of debts to be paid.

Having informed all the required bodies about the finances of the estate, we were about to distribute the estate when we received a letter from the DWP advising us not to do that until we had more from them. After not hearing any more from them for some weeks, my brother wrote back to say that if they had not made contact again within 30 days we would continue to distribute the estate.

On the 30th day, they wrote to advise that there was a ceiling of £10,000 in the bank at which point DLA should no longer be paid. As my mothers bank exceeded that, they wanted to investigate when that £10K limit had been reached in order to claim back any DLA payments from that time.

My question is, as that £10K included the proceeds of the sale of her furniture when she moved into the home, should that still be taken into account.

Also, as it is now 1st June, is there any time limit in which the DWP gave to inform us of their decision. This has been going on for over 4 months!

My son has spoken to someone who has suggested that the DWP is now under the banner of the Crown Prosecution Service and as such, if ever called in to be interviewed by the DWP you would be interviewed UNDER CAUTION and as such, should take a solicitor with you!! That all seems a bit extreme and, to be honest, a bit scary!

Is this the case? I look forward to any advice you might be able to offer.

p00hsticks

I'm not an expert but as far as I'm aware DLA isn't means tested, so the amount of her savings shouldn't matter, although she might have been getting overpayments if she hadn't kept DWP aware of her change of circumstances when moving into the care home - is this the only benefit she was claiming ?

Mojisola

Bwc wrote: »

On the 30th day, they wrote to advise that there was a ceiling of £10,000 in the bank at which point DLA should no longer be paid. As my mothers bank exceeded that, they wanted to investigate when that £10K limit had been reached in order to claim back any DLA payments from that time.

My question is, as that £10K included the proceeds of the sale of her furniture when she moved into the home, should that still be taken into account.

Like p00hsticks, I've never heard of DLA being means tested.

£10k is the savings limit for Pension Credit.

The proceeds of anything sold when she moved into care is taken into account - it's available capital.

IAmWales

As above DLA is not means tested. Was she receiving any other benefits, or assistance with care costs?

The sale of the furniture would count towards the capital amount, yes.

It's not for you to impose a time limit on the DWP. They take as long as they take, do not distribute the estate until they have confirmed they do not have a claim.

The DWP are not part of the CPS. They do have investigatory powers but they would only be used if fraud was suspected. If they did decide an interview under caution was necessary they would tell you this in advance. Nothing you write suggests this would apply to you.

mad_spaniel

Was Mum in receipt of Pension credit and did she have an indefiniteassessed income period`? I can't begin to explain what the rules for the latter are. But I've heard on here someone say that for those on an indefinite assessed income period, increases in capital over £10k don't attract the tariff income rule. However when a person goes into nursing home, capital over £10k counts as £1 for every £250 over £10k. It might be better for you to move to the Benefits section so someone who can explain it clearer can advise.

Owain_Moneysaver

Disability Living Allowance is not means tested so savings amounts should be irrelevant.

However, having been told there may be debts due by the estate you must not distribute estate assets until those debts are settled, or at least until you know exactly how much they are.

You should clarify with the DWP Bereavement Unit exactly what benefit(s) they are investigating for repayment. That should give you an indication of the maximum amount of repayment that might be due to DWP. They are usually fairly helpful but they do not move quickly.

You are not personally liable to the DWP for any repayment due. They'll claim back what they can from the estate assets. However, you may be personally liable as executor if you pay out to beneficiaries whilst there are still debts due which should have been settled from the estate assets. Therefore you do not pay out estate assets until the debts are paid.

With assets of only £18k I assume that there is no property to be sold and it's just a case of making payments from the exec's account to beneficiaries if/when able to do so.

You would only be interviewed under caution if you were being investigated with a view to prosecution for benefit fraud.

Yorkshireman99

Bwc wrote: »

My mother died November 2016. She had been living in a Nursing Home for the last couple of years of her life.

Due to a range of health issues she was in receipt of DLA. My brother and I were sworn in as Executirs in December. Due to some mistakes by NatWest bank it was several weeks later that her estate had been consolidated into an Executors account. The total amount in the account was a little under £18,000 with around £1,000 of debts to be paid.

Having informed all the required bodies about the finances of the estate, we were about to distribute the estate when we received a letter from the DWP advising us not to do that until we had more from them. After not hearing any more from them for some weeks, my brother wrote back to say that if they had not made contact again within 30 days we would continue to distribute the estate.

On the 30th day, they wrote to advise that there was a ceiling of £10,000 in the bank at which point DLA should no longer be paid. As my mothers bank exceeded that, they wanted to investigate when that £10K limit had been reached in order to claim back any DLA payments from that time.

My question is, as that £10K included the proceeds of the sale of her furniture when she moved into the home, should that still be taken into account.

Also, as it is now 1st June, is there any time limit in which the DWP gave to inform us of their decision. This has been going on for over 4 months!

My son has spoken to someone who has suggested that the DWP is now under the banner of the Crown Prosecution Service and as such, if ever called in to be interviewed by the DWP you would be interviewed UNDER CAUTION and as such, should take a solicitor with you!! That all seems a bit extreme and, to be honest, a bit scary!

Is this the case? I look forward to any advice you might be able to offer.

DLA is not means tested. However your mother should have notified the DWP when she went into care. Unless she was self funding most of the DLA will have to be repaid.The source of the funds within the estate makes no difference.

Newly_retired

Not good news. DWP are notoriously slow. They took over a year to finalise their claim on my MIL 's estate, with numerous requests for the same information. Eventually it was agreed that nothing was owed. In your case you may not be so fortunate, As Yorkshireman99 explains.

pmlindyloo

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

DLA is not means tested. However your mother should have notified the DWP when she wnet into care. Unles she was self funding most of the DLA will have to be repaid.The source of the funds within the estate makes no difference.

This is the crux of the matter. Nothing to do with savings unless she was claiming Pension Credit.

The OP does not say whether their mother was self funding/on deferred payment/fully funded or receiving Continuing Health Care

If she was self funding or on a deferred scheme then she should have retained both care and/or mobility of DLA and there would be no overpayment.

If she was fully funded then she should have only received the mobility part of DLA.

If she was receiving CHC then she would have retained the mobility part of DLA if there were no doctors at the nursing home from whom she received treatment (usually there are none) akin to being in hospital.

OP needs to find out, as already said, exactly what benefits they are talking about and then ask for a breakdown of any overpayment.

TonyMMM

DWP does not come under the CPS in any way, and they would only be involved if there was any element of fraud investigation going on, and nothing at all in what you have said suggests that.

As others have said - you cannot impose your own timescale on the DWP and distributing anything until their case is complete would be very foolhardy.

But - you should keep pressing them for a decision/explanation at regular intervals.

Yorkshireman99

Just curious as to when non declaration becomes fraudulent? Each claiment annually receives a letter setting out how much the weekly rate for the next year will be. Accompanying that letter is a leaflet in large print making it very clear that moving to residential care, or other changes of circumatances, must be reported to the DWP ASAP. One year, two years or more? I am assuming the claiment still has their mental capacity.