Money Left In Will

purplegrapes

I've been to see a friend's solicitor today who passed away in December. I was rather shocked to find this person has left me £15,000 in their will, along with the wise words use it well.

I know exactly what part of the money will fund and that is private surgery that the NHS has refused to do for the past six years.

This will cost me approx. £10,000 dependent on which hospital or surgeon I use.

I am claiming ESA and in the support group, so guess I need to declare this money, the same with housing benefits and council tax support.

Will spending a lump sum on private surgery be seen as deprivation of capital though? The surgery can change my life and should in time mean I can cease claiming sickness benefit and return to work!

TELLIT01

Interesting and unusual question. I'm not asking what the surgery is for, but it's almost certain that the DWP will ask that question and will make a decision regarding deprivation based on the information provided.
If it can be shown that the surgery may have the effect you say, then it's difficult to see how it should be treated as deprivation. I would suspect that medical reports etc would be required to back up your claims.

pmlindyloo

purplegrapes wrote: »

I've been to see a friend's solicitor today who passed away in December. I was rather shocked to find this person has left me £15,000 in their will, along with the wise words use it well.

I know exactly what part of the money will fund and that is private surgery that the NHS has refused to do for the past six years.

This will cost me approx. £10,000 dependent on which hospital or surgeon I use.

I am claiming ESA and in the support group, so guess I need to declare this money, the same with housing benefits and council tax support.

Will spending a lump sum on private surgery be seen as deprivation of capital though? The surgery can change my life and should in time mean I can cease claiming sickness benefit and return to work!

Deprivation of capital is not an issue if you get written permission from a decision maker to use the money as you suggest.

It would help your case if you had a letter from your GP explaining why they are unwilling to do the surgery. Also a quote from a private source as to the cost of the surgery.

Basically you would need your request to be reasonable and have the evidence to explain why it is reasonable in your circumstances.

marliepanda

purplegrapes wrote: »

I've been to see a friend's solicitor today who passed away in December. I was rather shocked to find this person has left me £15,000 in their will, along with the wise words use it well.

I know exactly what part of the money will fund and that is private surgery that the NHS has refused to do for the past six years.

This will cost me approx. £10,000 dependent on which hospital or surgeon I use.

I am claiming ESA and in the support group, so guess I need to declare this money, the same with housing benefits and council tax support.

Will spending a lump sum on private surgery be seen as deprivation of capital though? The surgery can change my life and should in time mean I can cease claiming sickness benefit and return to work!

It will probably depend on whether the surgery is medical or cosmetic. It is not a given that it will be accepted, especially if the NHS has been so far unwilling to do so.

purplegrapes

It will be used to fund weight loss surgery, a gastric sleeve. The NHS will not fund it as I don't meet their criteria, my HbA1c is too high (diabetes bloods) and I won't return to use insulin to lower it as it makes me gain more weight, massive amounts of insulin will do this. There would be no problem with GP and Diabetic Consultant supporting me having it privately as diabetes will almost reverse overnight once surgery is done, the NHS know this but use the high HbA1c as a marker for turning down surgery as it makes me a risk.

marliepanda

purplegrapes wrote: »

It will be used to fund weight loss surgery, a gastric sleeve. The NHS will not fund it as I don't meet their criteria, my HbA1c is too high (diabetes bloods) and I won't return to use insulin to lower it as it makes me gain more weight, massive amounts of insulin will do this. There would be no problem with GP and Diabetic Consultant supporting me having it privately as diabetes will almost reverse overnight once surgery is done, the NHS know this but use the high HbA1c as a marker for turning down surgery as it makes me a risk.

I feel this may be a fuzzy one as its almost 'choice' that you are not having this done for free due to your refusal to meet certain medical requirements...

No one here can guarantee a yes or a no though. You need to speak to DWP.

However, if you are so certain it will change your life, do it anyway. Even with benefit reduction you still have 5k, a small amount of benefits, and your health and ability to work will return and you'll be better in the future.

purplegrapes

marliepanda wrote: »

I feel this may be a fuzzy one as its almost 'choice' that you are not having this done for free due to your refusal to meet certain medical requirements...

No one here can guarantee a yes or a no though. You need to speak to DWP.

However, if you are so certain it will change your life, do it anyway. Even with benefit reduction you still have 5k, a small amount of benefits, and your health and ability to work will return and you'll be better in the future.

I would not say it was choice to choose not to control my diabetes. I have successfully lost six stone through diet and exercise over 4 years, but for three years my weight has remained the same and my diabetes got worse. On insulin, I gained back 3 stone in three months so opted not to continue because it had a real knock on effect on my mental health, so much things were so bad I overdosed on insulin to end things. Now I am considered a high risk if I go back on insulin either way.

I've done everything asked of me, attended appointments, seen psychiatrist, psychologists, dieticians, all agree WLS is the way forward, but NHS cutbacks and restrictions mean I simply do not meet the criteria for it with them, yet the NHS will happily be glad I save them £7000 a year in varying medications if I pay for the surgery privately.

I am going to push ahead and book a consultation. I think my mental and physical health need to come first over what the DWP think.

Topcat1982

I am going to push ahead and book a consultation. I think my mental and physical health need to come first over what the DWP think

I really think you should write to them and ask first. Be careful, you could be left with no benefits.

Ames

Do you have any other savings?

Even if they do decide it's deprivation, if you have no other savings then they'll say you have £15k, so your current benefits will be reduced by £45 per week. If you still get some income based ESA then you'll still get full housing benefit/council tax support.

If you already have savings and the inheritance takes you above £16k then means tested benefits will stop.

All this is assuming that you're ESA is income based. If it's just contribution based then it won't be affected by savings. If you get contributions based with an income based top up then you'll still be entitled to the contributions based part.

Also be aware of universal credit. If you're in a full service area then if you have to come off income based ESA you'll have to go on UC when your savings reduce, and the rates of UC don't include disability premiums so will be less than you're getting now.

I agree with other posters, you need to write to the DWP and ask for permission to spend the money on surgery. Remember that if permission is given then the DWP have to abide by that - they can't suddenly decide it was deprivation, so keep the letter very safe!

[Deleted User]

purplegrapes wrote: »

It will be used to fund weight loss surgery, a gastric sleeve. The NHS will not fund it as I don't meet their criteria, my HbA1c is too high (diabetes bloods) and I won't return to use insulin to lower it as it makes me gain more weight, massive amounts of insulin will do this. There would be no problem with GP and Diabetic Consultant supporting me having it privately as diabetes will almost reverse overnight once surgery is done, the NHS know this but use the high HbA1c as a marker for turning down surgery as it makes me a risk.

I'm confused (it is friday), if the NHS see it as such a risk why is it not a risk if done privately?
If I were you I would seek clarification in writing from the DWP regarding deprivation of capital.

Alice_Holt

As others have said this will come down to the judgement of the DWP Decision Maker.

However, in determining if it is deprivation of capital (D of C), the principle that should apply is whether the intention (primary or secondary) is to deprive yourself of capital in order to become eligible for an award, or a higher award, of benefits.

I would doubt that your intention in having surgery is to maximise benefits.
If the DWP do decide it is D of C, then you always have the option to appeal to the Tribunal Service and have the DWP decision reviewed by a tribunal.