Repayment of Attendance Allowance on award of NHS CHC

Robert_McGeddon

Hi.

My Mum died in March 2020 after a year in a nursing home. She was a self-funder and received Attendance Allowance for most/all of that time. About a year ago we were successful in appealing a refusal for NHS Continuing Healthcare funding and about 3 months' worth of nursing home fees were paid to her estate.  I assumed the AA would need to be repaid and twice wrote to DWP but did not receive a response.

I have just learned that a second appeal has been successful meaning that the bulk of the remaining fees will be paid into Mum's estate. The AA issue just got bigger! I'd like to resolve it in order to wind up the estate.

I have seen several references on the internet that repayment of some benefits cannot be enforced if there was no misrepresention in the claim - this is the case here as Mum was paying nursing home fees whilst claiming AA, had she been getting NHS CHC from day 1 no claim for AA would have been made.

Can anyone say if reimbursement is mandated or not?

TIA

lisyloo

When you say wind up the estate , do you mean distribute to beneficiaries?

if that’s the case can you hold back an amount equal to the repayment and distribute the rest.

Robert_McGeddon

lisyloo said:

When you say wind up the estate , do you mean distribute to beneficiaries?

if that’s the case can you hold back an amount equal to the repayment and distribute the rest.

Yes - distribute to residual beneficiaries.

But the question is - does the estate have to repay the AA?

lisyloo

Here's the official line

Benefit overpayments: When repayments have to be made - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Benefit overpayments: Repayments when someone has died - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Robert_McGeddon

lisyloo, thank you for taking the time to reply.

The first link you provided mentions repayment if misrepresentation has occurred whilst the second link (post-death) strangely doesn't. Yet if no misrep occurred why would the post-death situation be different to pre-death? 

I have seen a post on another forum stating DWP cannot demand repayment of benefits after death unless misrep or failure to notify occurred - but AA wasn't mentioned nor was authority for the statement.  In another post someone said DWP will often write once to the executor but not chase up. In my mother's case she made a valid claim at the time and received the AA she was entitled to up until her death. There is therefore an argument that no overpayment occurred!

So I still have some uncertainty on this.

lisyloo

do you have any legal cover on your home insurance that allows you to speak to a legal professional free of charge?

What we did when we weren't certain was held back some money but distributed the majority to the beneficiaries.
No-one had any issue with that.

Robert_McGeddon

I'd need to check on the legal cover.

I've done 2 interim distributions so far - now keen to finalise!