More on delays but not just probate

Keep_pedalling

trueblue27 said:

It’s disgusting that bereaved families are being subjected to this, my late mother had just over £16,000 in monetary assets when she died, we were unaware that she had claimed pension credit and unsure who applied for this for her as she had dementia for the past 5 years of her life, I can only assume that this was applied for back in 2011 when her partner passed. So therefore an investigation is going back over 12 years. She owned her own home which she left to myself, however the solicitor is unable to even transfer this into my name until the investigation has finished..its not about the house or the money, its about the fact that I need closure, the house is sat empty and untouched, still full of all her belongings and still raking up utility, insurance and council tax bills, which is slowly dwindling the money the solicitor holds..if the dwp want any monies owed then why don’t they just pull their finger out and sort this so we can all move on, instead of putting us all in a state of sadness and limbo.. my mother would never of wanted this..hang your heads in shame dwp!

This should not stop the solicitor from dealing with the house especially If you are planning on selling it. Did you appoint them or were they named as executors in the will?

Jowwie

I have had some response from DWP at the start of this month but I am still waiting. They have asked for some information, but it is information I have already provided! The person on the case might not have seen it, or might be using this to bounce it to someone else because it is not a straight forward case.  I have sent it again. Suspect I will have to wait a few more months now.

Their system would be better if they gave executors a worst case figure early on. We could at least then release some of the funds to the beneficiaries. A DWP delay would not have been such an issue for us though if the probate process had not already taken six months. DWP don't start until after HMCTS. They should be allowed to start earlier in my opinion.

Based on my experience, if your case is simple, you could expect get a figure from DWP around 4-5 months after you sent bank statements.

Mawm

WhiteCircle said:

Jowwie said:

I have a response from DWP! This is from the bank statements I sent them four months ago.

Unfortunately it is only an acknowledgement that I have sent them what they were after. I am now in the system awaiting a decision maker. 

Progress though.

Have you heard back from DWP yet? I'm still waiting so wondered what your timeline was in the end? Thanks

Hi, Has anyone got anywhere with the DWP yet? Such a frustrating process! Tia 

Jowwie

Since I sent them another letter end of January I have heard nothing at all. I don't know if I am at the back of the 4 month queue again or if they are now trying to work out a figure. Our case is not straight forward though so I can understand it taking a bit longer than others.

Over 10 months now since probate was granted, approaching 18 months since the death, and I still can't distribute anything to the beneficiaries or finalise the estate. Feels like state funded torture to the executors although I suspect it has more to do with this department being either insufficiently funded or inefficient. I would have thought they would be able to justify more staff based on ability to recover money from estates in a timely manner.

BooJewels

I've just said in another thread that most of these Government departments seem unfit for purpose at the moment.  My aunt died mid February 2023 and I got 2 letters from DWP in early Feb this year asking for a week each back of Pension and Pension Credit, overpaid in the gap between them paying it to her and getting notice from Tell Us Once.  No idea why something so fundamental took almost a year to sort out - we have already distributed the estate and thought it was all done with.  I also know that this particular item doesn't actually need to be paid - although I have.

So I truly wish you well if you're waiting on something more complicated - it's really unacceptable that grieving people are treated in this manner and can't get closure - or in some cases, even move forwards - on estates.  My father's was held up for 9 months just for CGT after everything else was sorted - then they demanded that I paid it within 14 days from the date of the letter - which of course took about 10 days to actually reach me.

Mawm

Thank you both, it does seem you go to the back of the queue each time they request information. I hope you get a resolution soon, I will let you know if we get anywhere. 🙂 

ProbateNewbie

My Mum died in November 2023 & we received a letter in early Jan dated 25(!)/12/2023 stating an overpayment of pension had been paid (true).

So it seems they were fairly quick at notifying us of the funds needing to be repaid, compared to some of the posters on here.

I haven't paid I back yet but will be doing so.

Haven't received any reminders from DWP at this moment in time.

Mawm

WhiteCircle said:

I just spoke to DWP Debt Management. They told me that they are working on bank statements that were received in August 2023.

I sent my late mother's statements beginning of Nov 2023. They told me it'd be February 2024 at the earliest before they'd be looked at. My mother died January 2023. 

Just wondering how you're getting on with DWP, your time is similar to ours and we are still waiting. Tia

Jowwie

Latest I have is Recovery from Estates is they are currently reading mails scanned 5th January. As my letter was scanned beginning of February it will be another month before it is read, and possibly another month after that before I can expect any further response (which could of course be another request for information).

When you respond to a letter you do appear to go to the back of the four/five month queue again.

1 year now since probate was granted.

Mawm

Jowwie said:

Latest I have is Recovery from Estates is they are currently reading mails scanned 5th January. As my letter was scanned beginning of February it will be another month before it is read, and possibly another month after that before I can expect any further response (which could of course be another request for information).

When you respond to a letter you do appear to go to the back of the four/five month queue again.

1 year now since probate was granted.

Good news here, all settled and under £200 was owed. Solicitors delt with the DWP so I'm unsure of dates of letters sent but they started the investigation in September, probate was granted the July before. I hope you get it sorted soon