Inheritance & DWP Universal Credit concerns

captrico

I recently lost my mother and she left her paid off house and savings to myself and my brother.  We are both executors but i will be managing the probate since he lives and works in the states.  Her savings were around 90k and the house has a value of 250k or so.    The 3 banks have not required a grant of probate because the amounts required for probate fall below their threshold.   So technically the liquid assets could be withdrawn at any time.    

My question is, i am on benefits that are means tested and come in monthly at around £750.  I also get housing benefit as well.   I had planned on moving into the house after the probate goes through.   The issue is the 90K in savings which will obviously affect all of the benefits i receive and i wondered if i was to forfeit the liquid assets to my brother and just keep the house , would that be an issue with the DWP who may see that as deprivation of assets?  As it stands, hes not really interested in the house and is letting me handle the probate and overseeing the property and the personal belongings, etc.   If i or my brother was to release the funds from my mothers accounts and the banks directly payed  it to my brothers american bank account, then technically the money never was in my possession or my account.  The will didnt really indicate who gets what, and was simply made out for my brother and myself to be the sole recipients and executors of the estate.

I ask, because im not wanting to create any future headaches with the DWP and am quite happy just taking over the house and keeping it simple. I believe i can keep the house as my main residence and still keep the DWP happy as long as im transparent with everything beforehand. Are there any things i need to consider before doing it this way? And is there a more simple way of doing this since its my one and only time doing probate and so far it hasnt been too complicated.  

RAS

If you do what you are thinking about in order to avoid loss of benefits, then it is deprivation of assets.

How much is the house worth?

Ayr_Rage

What does the will say ?

Keep_pedalling

RAS said:

If you do what you are thinking about in order to avoid loss of benefits, then it is deprivation of assets.

How much is the house worth?

I do not think that is the case here if the OP is getting a larger portion of the house (or even all of if the brother is feeling generous) in exchange for the brother getting the liquid assets. They are not giving up an inheritance but taking all theirs in bricks and mortar. 

The same would apply if the house was sold the proceeds split and the OP spends her share on a smaller house, although benefits would be lost until the purchase had gone through but could be claimed again (with the exception of housing benefit) once the purchase had completed.

Is your brother happy for you to live in what will be your jointly owned house?

RAS

I'm not suggesting that the OP can't receive the house, and I'm aware that previously people have been allowed to buy accommodation within a short time of inheriting but the DoP rules look at intent. Not sure on the exact take these days.

So buying/acquiring a property to provide a secure home and reduce benefit dependency is acceptable, not taking cash to avoid loss of benefits is DoP.

p00hsticks

You'll need to get the house properly valued for the probate application. 
Even if the banks don't want it for the savings, you'll need to it in order to sell the property or get it transferred into your name. 
Once you have a proper valuation of the house then you can take it from there. 

If your mothers will simply says that she wanted her estate divided equally between you and your brother, and you want to move into the house, then providing both you and your brother agree it's perfectly valid for your brother to have all the savings and you to have the house.

But your brother would need to be willing to either forgo part of his share of the estate (as the house is worth more than the savings) or you would have to get a mortgage to enable you to buy out his share of the property. 

If it's the first, then you could do a deed of variation to effectively agree to alter the terms of the will to leave you the house and your brother anything else

I'm not an expert but I don't see how that could be taken as being a deprivation of assets by DWP as it's your brother who is being deprived of assets, not you - you actually gain financially overall from the arrangement and if it's going to be your main residence then it would be disregarded for UC purposes (you'd obviously lose your housing benefit though). 

captrico

Keep_pedalling said:

RAS said:

If you do what you are thinking about in order to avoid loss of benefits, then it is deprivation of assets.

How much is the house worth?

I do not think that is the case here if the OP is getting a larger portion of the house (or even all of if the brother is feeling generous) in exchange for the brother getting the liquid assets. They are not giving up an inheritance but taking all theirs in bricks and mortar. 

The same would apply if the house was sold the proceeds split and the OP spends her share on a smaller house, although benefits would be lost until the purchase had gone through but could be claimed again (with the exception of housing benefit) once the purchase had completed.

Is your brother happy for you to live in what will be your jointly owned house?

My brother does quite well so isnt really interested in the house, which needs alot doing to it, repairs etc.  He asked if i wanted to keep the place and live in it and for the most part doesnt care about being a joint owner of it.  Hes not really interested in the liquid assets either from what i gather, but we havent discussed that yet.   He may just want to cut down the middle to keep it simple, or he may walk away from the whole thing.  I just wasnt sure how the DWP looked at these things.  When i did probate online it just asked for value of estate, and there was no mention of cash amounts, just a gross value of everything combined.    The house doesnt even have to be deeded into mine or anyones name immediately from what i understand, and the banks are quite happy with the money staying in my mothers accounts when i asked about withdrawal time limits. They said it can stay there indefinitely.  So for the most part nobody is really getting anything anytime soon. And im fine with it that way.  However im sure once probate is granted DWP will be informed about it and will want to know what the story is.  Just trying to get some input for something that im not too familiar with.

captrico

Ayr_Rage said:

What does the will say ?

The will was just me and my brother as sole beneficiaries. Everything she owned. We are both listed executors.  Simple will, through the solicitors.

captrico

RAS said:

If you do what you are thinking about in order to avoid loss of benefits, then it is deprivation of assets.

How much is the house worth?

Not trying to hide money, just trying not to shoot myself in the foot.  The house is prob 200k with about 20k in repairs needed.  I dont have the money anyways. Its in the bank, in my mothers name.   

p00hsticks

captrico said:

Keep_pedalling said:

RAS said:

If you do what you are thinking about in order to avoid loss of benefits, then it is deprivation of assets.

How much is the house worth?

I do not think that is the case here if the OP is getting a larger portion of the house (or even all of if the brother is feeling generous) in exchange for the brother getting the liquid assets. They are not giving up an inheritance but taking all theirs in bricks and mortar. 

The same would apply if the house was sold the proceeds split and the OP spends her share on a smaller house, although benefits would be lost until the purchase had gone through but could be claimed again (with the exception of housing benefit) once the purchase had completed.

Is your brother happy for you to live in what will be your jointly owned house?

The house doesnt even have to be deeded into mine or anyones name immediately from what i understand, and the banks are quite happy with the money staying in my mothers accounts when i asked about withdrawal time limits. They said it can stay there indefinitely.  So for the most part nobody is really getting anything anytime soon. And im fine with it that way.  

If I were you I'd want to get it formalised if your brother genuinely is happy for you to have the whole house though - if you don't then you'll always have the potential worry that at some point in the future he, or those who inherit after he dies, or people who he owes money to, will start to demand 'his share' of the house. 

You (and your brother) also have a duty as executors to ensure that the will is actioned in a timely fashion. 

I'm not an expert but I believe that you have two years from the date of death to enact a 'deed of variation' in which beneficiaries can agree to give up some or all of their inheritance in favour of others.

I'd suggest you and your brother look into getting one done to say that you alone will inherit the house, then you'll have the authority to get it transferred into your name.    

Savvy_Sue

I'm sorry to ask what may be an obvious question, but ... 

If the house needs about £20K worth of work doing to it, and you're on benefits, how are you going to pay for the work that needs doing? That's assuming you're able to stay on benefits less HB without falling foul of the DWP.

I know there is often a sentimental attachment to what may have been the family home, but is it actually the right house for you, at this stage? Will it remain the right house for you? 

Or would you do better to sell up, split the lot, and either remain where you are without benefits for a while, or buy something that's really future-proof and hopefully affordable?