Inheritance Q and A

Marcon

Savvy_Sue said:

[Deleted User] said:

I suppose the big question is do I want to live alone in 3 bed house out in the Welsh sticks.

And that is indeed the question. Obviously I neither know nor need to know what benefits you're on, and why, but if you have any physical limitations then do bear in mind that these are likely to become more of a problem as time goes by. Even if living out in the sticks is OK now, how will it be in 5, 10, 15 years time? 

Remember, the one thing you can absolutely not change about a house is its location!

I couldn't agree more with this sentiment, having seen friends of mine move to a remote rural location in Wales with virtually no public transport (station miles away, one bus a day) and a taxi service which was one man with an elderly car covering a huge area! They were fine while both still in good health and able to drive, but a completely different story when one of them died and the other became too infirm to drive. No neighbours to help out and a large garden which quickly resembled a jungle.

I can completely understand the issue about benefits, but some prices are too high to pay for other reasons.

kaMelo

[Deleted User] said:

km1500 said:

I think you need to tread carefully here 

I can see what you are trying to do but there's no getting away from the fact that currently have 45k in cash and you need to declare this the DWP otherwise you risk committing a criminal offence

Well, i dont have £45k in cash and nobody as of yet has benefited from the will.  I cant declare something that i dont have.  But i dont know how the DWP works.  As far as im aware you cannot be forced to accept an inheritance if it affects you in a negative way financially and since im 1 of 2 beneficiaries there should be some leeway, but like i said DWP may think otherwise.  If i had won 50k on the scratch cards and declined the winnings because i would lose all benefits they may consider this DoA and close my case.   This is why i reached out on here for some advice, as i dont want any DWP headaches or drama.   

No one can force you to accept an inheritance, you and your brother are free to do anything you wish. However, if you're asking for help from the state in the form of means tested benefits then the DWP are going to look at your means to calculate whether you qualify for help. In doing so they can decide that you have deliberately deprived yourself and assess you as having received the inheritance irrespective of whether you had or not. A deed of variation does not change anything in this regard.

The important factors are what exactly does the will say and whether any subsequent actions taken were taken deliberately in order to maintain or enhance benefit entitlement.
Thinking about what you currently want to do, would you take exactly the same course of actions if there were no such thing as means tested benefits?  If you can't answer this with a solid yes then, to a certain extent at least, your actions are being taken with an eye on maintaining or enhancing benefit entitlement. 

kaMelo

That's why what was written in the will is important. When there are specific monetary amounts mentioned or if it states all assets must be sold and money split between beneficiaries then it can become complicated. If the will simply says to share the estate between you and your brother then, although it may be questioned buy DWP, given your answers I don't actually foresee any problems if you split things in the way you've mentioned as it seems both practical and logical.

[Deleted User]

kaMelo said:

That's why what was written in the will is important. When there are specific monetary amounts mentioned or if it states all assets must be sold and money split between beneficiaries then it can become complicated. If the will simply says to share the estate between you and your brother then, although it may be questioned buy DWP, given your answers I don't actually foresee any problems if you split things in the way you've mentioned as it seems both practical and logical.

Yes, the will was quite simple. No mention of any particular assets or house or jewellery.  Basically it says whatever was mine is now my sons. The house & bank accounts are the only things that have her name attached to it.   

Morglin

If you don’t wish to accept an inheritance then a Deed of Variation might work best:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide/changing-will-after-death

poppy12345

Morglin said:

If you don’t wish to accept an inheritance then a Deed of Variation might work best:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide/changing-will-after-death

That's not going to help for means tested benefits purposes and will likely been seen as deprivation of capital. 

peteuk

Sarahspangles said:

Sorry about your loss.

I understand why you’re focussing on the benefits position right now. However do you also have an opportunity here? Either to let the house for income, or to live there yourself with a lodger or as an Air BnB. Is there a way it could lift you out of UC altogether? Probably not one for this board though.

Although this is a great idea, renting the whole property will mean an end to your benefits, as it will be classed as a second home and with no mortgage then you’ll have £200K+ of capital.

Living in it and renting a room/air b n b wont as it will be your main property,

[Deleted User]

poppy12345 said:

Morglin said:

If you don’t wish to accept an inheritance then a Deed of Variation might work best:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide/changing-will-after-death

That's not going to help for means tested benefits purposes and will likely been seen as deprivation of capital. 

I have had a chat with the Citizens Advice and they said that as long as no liquid assets are transferred into my account and i choose to inherit the house and my brother chooses to keep the savings, that there is no issue with DoA.  This is because the will did not designate any particular asset to any one beneficiary.  Since the house value outweighs the savings value, there is no conflict regarding "avoidance of inheritance".     Also it was noted that if i choose to sell the house at a later date I am allowed to keep the cash from the sale in my bank for 6 months before declaring to DWP that i have excess savings. This is allowed for the purpose of buying a new residence within those 6 months.  

Muttleythefrog

[Deleted User] said:

poppy12345 said:

Morglin said:

If you don’t wish to accept an inheritance then a Deed of Variation might work best:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide/changing-will-after-death

That's not going to help for means tested benefits purposes and will likely been seen as deprivation of capital. 

I have had a chat with the Citizens Advice and they said that as long as no liquid assets are transferred into my account and i choose to inherit the house and my brother chooses to keep the savings, that there is no issue with DoA.  This is because the will did not designate any particular asset to any one beneficiary.  Since the house value outweighs the savings value, there is no conflict regarding "avoidance of inheritance".     Also it was noted that if i choose to sell the house at a later date I am allowed to keep the cash from the sale in my bank for 6 months before declaring to DWP that i have excess savings. This is allowed for the purpose of buying a new residence within those 6 months.  

Just to clarify on the last point.... emphasis may be wrong. My understanding is you will need to declare sale proceeds on receipt of them and ask for it to be disregarded for (up to) 6 months on the grounds that the intention is to buy a new property to live in with those sale proceeds. They may ask for proof both of the funds or intentions to buy although recently when I went through the process they took my word for everything. They can extend the 6 months further on request if for example the purchase is yet to complete. (I assume you will have no other property)

[Deleted User]

Muttleythefrog said:

[Deleted User] said:

poppy12345 said:

Morglin said:

If you don’t wish to accept an inheritance then a Deed of Variation might work best:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/probate/probate-guide/changing-will-after-death

That's not going to help for means tested benefits purposes and will likely been seen as deprivation of capital. 

I have had a chat with the Citizens Advice and they said that as long as no liquid assets are transferred into my account and i choose to inherit the house and my brother chooses to keep the savings, that there is no issue with DoA.  This is because the will did not designate any particular asset to any one beneficiary.  Since the house value outweighs the savings value, there is no conflict regarding "avoidance of inheritance".     Also it was noted that if i choose to sell the house at a later date I am allowed to keep the cash from the sale in my bank for 6 months before declaring to DWP that i have excess savings. This is allowed for the purpose of buying a new residence within those 6 months.  

Just to clarify on the last point.... emphasis may be wrong. My understanding is you will need to declare sale proceeds on receipt of them and ask for it to be disregarded for (up to) 6 months on the grounds that the intention is to buy a new property to live in with those sale proceeds. They may ask for proof both of the funds or intentions to buy although recently when I went through the process they took my word for everything. They can extend the 6 months further on request if for example the purchase is yet to complete. (I assume you will have no other property)

No, i dont have any other property.  Im renting until the probate goes through, but i visit the house to do repairs and check on it, stay a long weekend, etc.  I would assume if the new property was of lesser value (caravan, houseboat) you would need to pay back the 6 months, since you will have excess savings going forwards.  Could be tricky trying to find a place that consumes all of the assets from selling your primary home and spending the same amount on your future home.  Could go under or over. And if under you're buggered by having too much excess in the bank.  If over, then youre buggered trying to find capital for a mortgage.  3 bears syndrome.