Applying for Universal credit and child’s DLA amount over £6000 remains in mothers account

murphyslaw2020

Friend is about to apply for universal credit, her child gets disability living allowance high rate for both. 

There is excess child’s DLA money in the mothers bank account, would that money, seeing as it is going into mothers bank account, be included with her working income, taking her over the threshold for universal credits? How does DWP separate the two amounts of money eg. Child’s money/mothers money?

calcotti

DLA is ignored as income. If any DLA is left over after 4 weeks it becomes capital and this will, I think, belong to mother

murphyslaw2020

So even though the money is there for the child’s use and disability not hers, the money is included with the mothers money/wages?

Would it be better for her to take child’s DLA out of account each time it comes in and put it aside for the child’s use and equipment that the child needs?

murphyslaw2020

She has saved some of it for the disability vehicle deposit from motability for her child.

calcotti

murphyslaw2020 said:…the money is included with the mothers money/wages?

As advised DLA is not treated as money/wages, it’s added to capital if anything is left over after the period it is paid for.

murphyslaw2020

Thank you for your advice calcotti 

Alice_Holt

Note that the UC threshold is £16k not £6k (as in your title).

£6k would more than cover the advance payment for a motability vehicle. For instance the advance payment on a VW T-Roc ranges from £850 to c.£2500. (Note also the this advance payment is not refundable- it's not really a 'deposit' in that sense).

If your friend has accumulated more than £16k from DLA  payments, she may want to explore the feasibility of putting her child's DLA money directly into a JISA . This may, or may not, be possible - but worth looking into.

HillStreetBlues

Alice_Holt said:

If your friend has accumulated more than £16k from DLA  payments, she may want to explore the feasibility of putting her child's DLA money directly into a JISA . This may, or may not, be possible - but worth looking into.

Can a person just save the DLA money?
Wouldn't it be expected that some of the money would go to the child's current needs?

Could it be classed as circumventing the capital issue. The DLA money goes into savings, so the mother spends all her money on the needs of the child, so then allowing the mother to claim income related benefits  with no deduction on the capital?

Alice_Holt

HillStreetBlues said:

Alice_Holt said:

If your friend has accumulated more than £16k from DLA  payments, she may want to explore the feasibility of putting her child's DLA money directly into a JISA . This may, or may not, be possible - but worth looking into.

Can a person just save the DLA money?
Wouldn't it be expected that some of the money would go to the child's current needs?

Could it be classed as circumventing the capital issue. The DLA money goes into savings, so the mother spends all her money on the needs of the child, so then allowing the mother to claim income related benefits  with no deduction on the capital?

      Worth looking into.   

    Generally money in an JISA would be separate from the parents capital, and not accessible by the child until they turn 18. (But the parent would need to be careful that this capital did not then disbar their adult child from needed means tested benefits) 

     DLA income is for the benefit of the child (not the parent), so the income is disregarded. The capital side could be viewed as a bit more muddled and less clear, re benefit rules. 

    Parents not reliant on means-tested benefits, may wish to put money aside for a disabled child's future needs, and can do so.
  For those on means-tested benefits, it's arguable that the rules around capital should acknowledge that the disabled may have greater need of capital (but may be less able to earn and accumulate that capital). But I'm straying into benefits policy, here. 

  I'm not aware of any DM guidance (or case law) around this, and whether this would be classed as deprivation of capital. 
One would hope not, as the intention is to help the future life of the child, not to gain current benefits.

Anyway I've strayed away from advice, so.....