Inheritance, deprivation of capital, mental health

preciousillusions

Deleted as feeling somewhat exposed & anxious about replies vs thread views.

pmlindyloo

Have you any idea how much the inheritance is going to be as this is going to make a difference to some of the suggestions made? Remember you can have up to £16000 in savings. Anything over £6000 is deducted at the rate of £1 for every £250 over the £6K.

Next, is any part of your ESA contribution based? Check your ESA award statement. If it is then this part is not means tested and you would still receive the contribution part of the ESA.

More help when you've answered these questions!

pmlindyloo

Have just looked at your other posts and it seems that you were transferred from IB to ESA which probably means that you are on contribution based ESA with an income based 'top up' (the DWO usually call this an income based claim) because of your disability premiums.

But please check and answr the question about how much the inheritance is.

pmlindyloo

I know you have gone offline but am hoping you will return!

I am assuming that you have a contribution based part to your ESA and will retain this once/if your capital goes over the limit. In any case, even if your ESA is entirely income based then you can follow the same advice.

The information about Notional Capital (Deprivation of Capital) is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/689995/dmgch52.pdf

52795 onwards.

Of particular interest is 52795 which talks about repaying debts. Number 4 says that it might be reasonable for the claimant to repay them if the debts have large interest rates.

Perhaps more importantly is 52843. This says that if you tell (ASK) the Decision Maker about your intentions - repay debts, medical treatment, holiday etc and the Decision Maker says this is reasonable to do so then you cannot be seen as having deprived yourself of capital.

You do not have to tell the DWP about your inheritance until it lands in your bank account. (Do not put it in your mum's account - that is very likely seen as deprivation).

Once you have the decision from the decision maker (get it in writing) then you can spend the money as agreed.

Your post contains much of the information that the decision maker needs - your medical history (provide proof), your debts (provide proof of the high interest rates) etc.

If the DM gives you the go ahead for everything then you need to consider priorities.

Debts first I would suggest.

If the DM says that the debts cannot be paid off then I suggest you get some help from Stepchange or another free debt advice organisation. It may be another DRO or a debt management plan.

Could you put anything on Ebay to sell?

Lastly, you may want to consider getting some help with your spending habits - could your mum become your appointee and manage your financial affairs for you?

Hopefully others may have some suggestions about moving forward to prevent further financial problems.

Good luck!

preciousillusions

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Have just looked at your other posts and it seems that you were transferred from IB to ESA which probably means that you are on contribution based ESA with an income based 'top up' (the DWO usually call this an income based claim) because of your disability premiums.

But please check and answr the question about how much the inheritance is.

Yes you are correct.

Really not certain about inheritance amount and need to speak with my brother but I think he said it will be about £20k each, so yes I will lose the income related part of my ESA but more significantly my housing benefit which currently covers my rent in full.

Thank you so much for your replies.