Benefits and inheritance

queen_cassie

My husband is in the process of inheriting, he is the sole beneficiary, there is no money or anything in this persons bank it is literally the property. The estate owes debt of around £100,000 and therefore we are going to sell our property and move into the inherited property and use the money from our property to settle the debts on the estate. The inherited property will also need some of the money using from the sale of our property spending on it in order for it to be habitable by ourselves and converted to accommodate my disability. There will be very little money leftover after this. I am enquiring because we are on universal credit, I am unable to work due to my disability and receive PIP and my husband is my full time carer and gets carers allowance and we have 3 children who we get child benefit for. I really need to know if this is going to affect our benefits and what I need to do. Thanks

NedS

Yes, the inheritance will affect your claim for UC.

You will need to notify UC when you inherit the property. You will need to complete a form A64a which can be obtained from the Jobcentre. They may disregard the property if you are trying to sell it (or move into it whilst trying to sell yours).

You will need to notify UC again when you sell your property (when you receive the cash). If upon the sale of your property you have cash of more than £16,000 your claim for UC will end.

If you then subsequently spend some of the remaining inheritance, and your capital falls below £16,000 you can reclaim UC at that point.

HillStreetBlues

NedS said:

Yes, the inheritance will affect your claim for UC.

You will need to notify UC when you inherit the property. You will need to complete a form A64a which can be obtained from the Jobcentre. They may disregard the property if you are trying to sell it (or move into it whilst trying to sell yours).

You will need to notify UC again when you sell your property (when you receive the cash). If upon the sale of your property you have cash of more than £16,000 your claim for UC will end.

If you then subsequently spend some of the remaining inheritance, and your capital falls below £16,000 you can reclaim UC at that point.

I'm trying to learn about this for forgive me if I'm wrong.

If the OP decided to sell the house he inherited wouldn't  the house still be part of the estate until the £100,000 was paid up?
So once sold the estate could be settled and any money over would then go to OP husband and have to declare it.

With what the OP is wanting do to.

Once OP house is sold, then capital would take them over UC,  they would pay the £100K and then estate would be settled.
So inherited house becomes the OP husband's property and once the left over money drops below £16 they can claim UC again.

diystarter7

NedS said:

Yes, the inheritance will affect your claim for UC.

You will need to notify UC when you inherit the property. You will need to complete a form A64a which can be obtained from the Jobcentre. They may disregard the property if you are trying to sell it (or move into it whilst trying to sell yours).

You will need to notify UC again when you sell your property (when you receive the cash). If upon the sale of your property you have cash of more than £16,000 your claim for UC will end.

If you then subsequently spend some of the remaining inheritance, and your capital falls below £16,000 you can reclaim UC at that point.

Hi

Great post

May I add a link that will enlighten the Op further and skim read by me is telling me it is very, very detailed and easy to follow.

https://ukcareguide.co.uk/does-inheritance-affect-universal-credit/#:~:text=If the inherited assets exceed,or receive a reduced amount.


Thnaks

NedS

HillStreetBlues said:

NedS said:

Yes, the inheritance will affect your claim for UC.

You will need to notify UC when you inherit the property. You will need to complete a form A64a which can be obtained from the Jobcentre. They may disregard the property if you are trying to sell it (or move into it whilst trying to sell yours).

You will need to notify UC again when you sell your property (when you receive the cash). If upon the sale of your property you have cash of more than £16,000 your claim for UC will end.

If you then subsequently spend some of the remaining inheritance, and your capital falls below £16,000 you can reclaim UC at that point.

I'm trying to learn about this for forgive me if I'm wrong.

If the OP decided to sell the house he inherited wouldn't  the house still be part of the estate until the £100,000 was paid up?
So once sold the estate could be settled and any money over would then go to OP husband and have to declare it.

With what the OP is wanting do to.

Once OP house is sold, then capital would take them over UC,  they would pay the £100K and then estate would be settled.
So inherited house becomes the OP husband's property and once the left over money drops below £16 they can claim UC again.

Potentially, yes, that may be how things unfold.

peteuk

Check the debt is actually held against the property (Morgage may be covered by life insurance if it is in place) some credit card/loans debt may be written off automatically by the company. (This may only apply if there is a living spouse)

Worth a check.  Either way you may end up with more than £16K so the entitlement to UC may be withdrawn. There is provision for sale of house to be disregarded for 6 months however I’m not sure which is the best house to sell etc.

Spoonie_Turtle

There's also the point that UC is worked out based on circumstances at the end of an Assessment Period.  So if money comes through from the sale and the debt can be repaid and leaves less than £16k all within a few days of the same AP, you can do that and then let them know what happened, without needing to close the UC claim.

Technically entitlement ends if capital goes over £16,000. When it drops below, you can reclaim.  So doing the above has the same effect, just without the hassle of having to actually close and reopen the claim within the same AP.

diystarter7 said:

NedS said:

Yes, the inheritance will affect your claim for UC.

You will need to notify UC when you inherit the property. You will need to complete a form A64a which can be obtained from the Jobcentre. They may disregard the property if you are trying to sell it (or move into it whilst trying to sell yours).

You will need to notify UC again when you sell your property (when you receive the cash). If upon the sale of your property you have cash of more than £16,000 your claim for UC will end.

If you then subsequently spend some of the remaining inheritance, and your capital falls below £16,000 you can reclaim UC at that point.

May I add a link that will enlighten the Op further and skim read by me is telling me it is very, very detailed and easy to follow.

https://ukcareguide.co.uk/does-inheritance-affect-universal-credit/#:~:text=If the inherited assets exceed,or receive a reduced amount.

It might be detailed but unfortunately is wrong in many areas.

The savings limit is £16,000 for a claim, regardless of individual or couple.
"the maximum savings limit for those claiming Universal Credit is £16,000 for single claimants and $24,000 for couples."

The highlight contradicts itself.
"If the inherited assets exceed the savings limit, they will not affect the claimant’s eligibility or monthly payment amount. 

However, if the claimant’s assets exceed the savings limit, they may become ineligible for Universal Credit or receive a reduced amount."

Notional capital has nothing to do with PIP or DLA or any other benefit.
"a claimant’s notional capital amount will be reduced if they receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). 

Likewise, if a claimant is a caretaker for an individual who receives a disability benefit, their notional capital amount will be reduced."

No chunks of savings are ignored by virtue of intending to use them for living expenses.

"the claimant may be eligible for Universal Credit if they demonstrate that the inheritance money will be used to meet their basic needs, such as paying their rent or utility bills. "

And I'm only halfway down the page …

Always wise to evaluate the reliability of one's sources.

HillStreetBlues

Spoonie_Turtle said:

There's also the point that UC is worked out based on circumstances at the end of an Assessment Period.  So if money comes through from the sale and the debt can be repaid and leaves less than £16k all within a few days of the same AP, you can do that and then let them know what happened, without needing to close the UC claim.

Good point.

If it was done is the same AP and at the end of the AP had below £6k  then you would have to notify  the change of address. If there was over £6k then capital amount would also need to be included.

As it's based of end of the AP  would you even need to tell them  what happened during that period?

HillStreetBlues

diystarter7

I just had a quick look at
 https://ukcareguide.co.uk/does-inheritance-affect-universal-credit/#:~:text=If the inherited assets exceed,or receive a reduced amount
 
I have to say that  the person who wrote that is mostly clueless about UK benefit law.
It has to be the most inaccurate site I've ever read, it's the Daily Star of benefit advice.

Alice_Holt

diystarter7 said:

HillStreetBlues said:

diystarter7

I just had a quick look at
 https://ukcareguide.co.uk/does-inheritance-affect-universal-credit/#:~:text=If the inherited assets exceed,or receive a reduced amount
 
I have to say that  the person who wrote that is mostly clueless about UK benefit law.
It has to be the most inaccurate site I've ever read, it's the Daily Star of benefit advice.

Hi

As there are two of you saying this now and with respect, I dont known where you got your info from,therefore  I'm still going along with the link as its a well know site.

    If you look at the small print it says:

    "We aim to provide helpful content, but we can’t guarantee that it is always correct. We try to provide the best information we can. However, we cannot guarantee we won’t make mistakes. We can also not guarantee that the information you read is up to date from a legal or financial perspective. So please note that you use the information on our site at your own risk. We advise that you read our information in conjunction with other sources. If you do find any errors, please email us at hello@ukcareguide.co.uk. This is a website operated by People and Technology Ltd (Company Number 13319892).

At times we work with third parties who act as affiliates or partners. We might receive a commission or payment from them if you were to engage with them directly..... "

Which I interpret as being a for profit company, seeking to make money from "commissions"....


My information is based on the Gov.uk site, Citizens Advice site, Carers UK, etc, etc.
Backed up by 18 years experience working and volunteering at my local Cit A specialising in benefits and benefit appeals.
Having undertaken extensive training from accredited organisations and trainers such as CPAG, etc, etc..

I'm not sure this is a "well known site", I think rather than making this assertion (when Spoonie has outlined clearly misleading information in their article) you would be best advised to delete your post and accept that the internet source you have linked to does not give accredited and accurate information.   

Spoonie_Turtle

HillStreetBlues said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

There's also the point that UC is worked out based on circumstances at the end of an Assessment Period.  So if money comes through from the sale and the debt can be repaid and leaves less than £16k all within a few days of the same AP, you can do that and then let them know what happened, without needing to close the UC claim.

Good point.

If it was done is the same AP and at the end of the AP had below £6k  then you would have to notify  the change of address. If there was over £6k then capital amount would also need to be included.

As it's based of end of the AP  would you even need to tell them  what happened during that period?

That's an excellent point which I forgot to make clear.

It's my understanding that you should still tell them because with data matching it could well be flagged up at a later date, that this amount of money went in.  If they've already been informed then they'll have no need to investigate, but if they haven't been informed then it could result in suspension of benefits while they investigate.


@diystarter7 you may be thinking of Carers UK https://www.carersuk.org/ when you refer to "a widely respected carers organisation".  The link you posted has several paragraphs of disclaimer at the bottom of the page, which includes this: "This is a website operated by People and Technology Ltd (Company Number 13319892)."  Of course people rarely read disclaimers which is why these kinds of websites get away with it - although interchanging £ and $ should be an instant clue.

So I repeat, always wise to evaluate the reliability of one's sources.


Edit: cross-posted with Alice_Holt