universal credit and savings

[Deleted User]

It appears that I will more than likely only receive universal credit based on my circumstances. My mother is elderly and mentioned that she put my name down alongside hers onto one of her saving accounts should she fall ill or worse pass away, so as to make it easier for me to access her account should I ever need to. This wasn't done recently and as it stands have never accessed this account as I don't even hold the account details as it is her money, it was just mentioned to me that should I ever need access to go through her documents for these. Would this affect my application for UC?

[Deleted User]

 Yes it would. You need to declare the amount in your application and depending on how much it is it could reduce or stop you getting anything 

poppy12345

If the savings are more than £16,000 then you won't be entitled to any UC. If they are less than £16,000 but more than £6,000 then your UC will be reduced by £4.35 per month for every £250 over that amount.

Mojisola

poppy12345 said:

If the savings are more than £16,000 then you won't be entitled to any UC. If they are less than £16,000 but more than £6,000 then your UC will be reduced by £4.35 per month for every £250 over that amount.

As there are two names on the account, won't a maximum of 50% be counted as belonging to Daveym?

Jeremy535897

The first question to ask is "who is the legal owner of the account". The answer is mother and son. Then you ask who is the beneficial owner. The answer here appears to be that the beneficial owner is the mother, while she is still alive. I assume OP can confirm this?
If the correct analysis is that the beneficial owner of the account is the mother, then it will not count as capital in the son's hands for UC.
Next, the son has to prove it. It will be helpful if the son has contributed no funds to the account. No doubt UC DMs have access to savings details. If they are awkward, you point them to the guidance in ADM H1 on the subject, which you can read for yourselves at H1070 onwards.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/864936/admh1.pdf