Cash Gifts and Universal Credit to Disabled Dependent

PeonyClementine

I have a question regarding my adult disabled child’s (JNB) Universal Credit payments and monies still being received from their father, my ex-husband.

JNB is severely disabled and is in fulltime care. I hold Deputyship for Property and Affairs as they are completely unable to make any decisions for themselves. I manage all of their affairs for them and do my best to ensure that all decisions are in their best interests. I originally received maintenance for JNB from their father who lives abroad which I managed and used to purchase items for JNB’s needs as they arose. I declared this to the DWP at the time that Universal Credit was applied for on JNB’s behalf. They replied that they did not count maintenance that was being received by myself for JNB (18 years old at the time). During my first Deputyship’s annual meeting with the Office of Public Guardian I was advised to move all of JNB’s funds received from their father into an accounts in their name for clarity which I did.

Since then JNB has transferred from a residential school to a specialist residential provision, at the age of 19, and they are currently in receipt of a continuing EHCP.   The regulations in the country which governed the divorce, and where JNB’s father lives, dictates that after divorce children continue to receive maintenance through their first training including education, which could theoretically apply to the continuing EHCP.  However, enforcing this would have required a return to the country’s courts and could have negatively impacted upon JNB’s relationship with their father. As JNB’s father informed me at the end of the school year after their 18th birthday that he would continue to voluntarily pay a reduced amount to JNB this became an informal arrangement between JNB’s father and myself (as JNB’s representative) which continues to this day. I was unaware until recently that there is a cut off age in the UK of 20 years old for a child to receive maintenance.

JNB’s father currently pays this reduced amount (£120/month) referenced as ‘maintenance’ directly into JNB’s account voluntarily on a monthly basis and it is in the region of monies that he would spend on JNB himself if he were able to visit JNB regularly.

JNB is now 22 and I am concerned that I have been unwittingly in breach of DWP regulations. I did originally inform them of the amount of maintenance paid to JNB when I applied for Universal Credit on JNB’s behalf, and this was considerably more than is currently being paid. The DWP are obviously aware of JNB’s date of birth and so their age. If I have made an oversight then they have made the same one.

Additionally JNB will undergo a financial assessment when their EHCP is no longer maintained and if possible I am keen to ensure that these payments from their father remain at JNB’s disposal as this will leave JNB with at least a minimal amount of their own funds to cover their needs.

1. Have I been unwittingly in breach of DWP regulations?

2. If yes to 1. What would be the best way to clear this up? Is a letter/communication necessary given that I have previously made them aware of this, or is the DWP likely to have assumed that these payments will have stopped on or before JNB’s 20th birthday?

3. Am I correct in understanding that gifts of cash from family are not declarable?

4. If yes to 3. Would it be in JNB’s best interests for the amount being paid in to be referenced as ‘gift from Daddy’ as opposed to ‘maintenance’; or even just left blank or with the month as a reference?

5. What, if anything, should I do regarding the amounts that have been paid since JNB’s 20th birthday and were paid voluntarily but referenced ‘maintenance’ on the pay ins.

6. Lastly, I understand that even if the cash gifts do not count as income they need to be declared as part of any capital. JNB’s capital fluctuates, it was £9,800 when I applied for their Universal Credit and is currently in the region of £11,000. How regularly, or at what point do I need to inform the DWP that the capital has increased? Surely they expect some fluctuation.

Please no judging, I am a single Mum trying to do the best for their vulnerable JNB and protect their interests and this is giving me sleepless nights. Considered advice from anyone who has any knowledge or experience in this area would be very welcome.

Spoonie_Turtle

To my knowledge you are correct that gifts from family are not counted as income for UC, regardless of what it's called.  But best to wait for other experienced posters to confirm or correct because my brain is currently mush.

In terms of capital, it needs to be updated at the end of every assessment period if it has changed past a multiple of £250.  E.g. if at the end of AP 1 it is £9950 then the end of next AP is £10200, that's gone past a multiple of £250.  The same if it goes down.
This is because the deduction from UC is calculated based on every £250 or part thereof of savings between £6,000 and £16,000 (the deduction is £4.35 per month for every £250/part £250).  So there may be some relatively small overpayments needing repaying if you've not informed them of any changes since the beginning of the claim.

elsien

Universal credit will have  different rules around income to local authority financial assessments though. I’m not up to speed on the details of those, but I think that is something you should try and check out further.
So I’m wondering if they  have any regular bills/payments which he could take over directly instead, should it come to that. 
That would  then leave them the standard £25 a week personal allowance and PIP mobility (if they gets that) to meet needs. 

Albermarle

Does he also get disability related benefits ?

PeonyClementine

Spoonie_Turtle: I have never been informed of Assessment Periods or been asked for an update on JNB's funds, and was just left with no real information or guidance. I understand the multiples of £250 affecting UC, but I have never had any explanation of when I should inform them of the funds going up and down, or when JNB's Assessment Periods are. How would I find out? And how far back would I need to go?  It's so obscure and I'm trying really hard to do the best for JNB without falling foul of regulations (which seem to be designed to trip you up).

Elsien: JNB's EHCP currently covers his care costs. They are very disabled and vulnerable - 2:1 during waking hours and 1:1 at night - expensive enough for taking over bills to not be an option. I regularly need legal support to ensure this is maintained and this is currently only sustainable with the UC and PIP that JNB receives. I am really concerned that once the EHCP ceases I will not be able to fight for them legally to ensure that they continue to receive a care package that JNB needs to keep them safe and happy. If their monies from their father are lost along with the UC and most of the PIP it leaves JNB very exposed to the LA pulling funding even when the level of care is long established and it is not legal. Typically what happens is that although the legislation exists to protect individuals such as JNB, LAs routinely and deliberately do not follow them forcing parents/deputies to fight. Inevitably where the parents/deputies do fight they win - but you need the funds for legal representation in the first place, and the LAs are always legally tooled up.

I've tried to get advice on LAs approach to financial assessments but not had all that much success, not helped by the fact that it appears different LAs take different approaches. For now I've broken it down into 2 stages:- 1)  I'm trying to sort the current situation out re: maintenance v family gifts, and any potential unwitting backlog of UC overpayment. 2) Then I'll be in a clearer position to tackle the post EHCP finances. JNB may be eligible for CHC, but this is far from certain.

Albermarle: JNB receives PIP but only retains the mobility portion as the living portion goes towards the costs of their care.

Does anyone have any guidance on the maintenance v family gifts? Or the possible overpayment of UC as outline by Spoonie_Turtle?

Thank you so much.

Spoonie_Turtle

PeonyClementine said:

Spoonie_Turtle: I have never been informed of Assessment Periods or been asked for an update on JNB's funds, and was just left with no real information or guidance. I understand the multiples of £250 affecting UC, but I have never had any explanation of when I should inform them of the funds going up and down, or when JNB's Assessment Periods are. How would I find out? And how far back would I need to go?  It's so obscure and I'm trying really hard to do the best for JNB without falling foul of regulations (which seem to be designed to trip you up).

The assessment periods are rolling months, starting from the date the claim was submitted.  Each UC statement will say something like 'for the period 8th February - 7th April' so checking a statement will give you the dates for JNB's.

Every assessment period in which savings over £6,000 cross a £250 threshold, it needs to be updated (ideally on one of the last days of the AP, in order to be as accurate as possible).  Unfortunately this means you need to go as far back as when savings started fluctuating from the initial amount declared.

Any Cost of Living Payments received are disregarded if they remain unspent, and benefits payments are not classed as capital until what's left of them (if anything) by the end of the assessment period after the one in which they were received.  [But this will not apply to gifts from their father as those are not counted as income to start with.]

I'm sorry you weren't given the information you needed about this at any time during the claim so far, as if you didn't already have enough to juggle with everything else.  Although looking at the difference between then and now it's possible most of it may be accumulated CoL payments, which fall to be disregarded and would therefore be immaterial.

elsien

When I said taking over bills, I was thinking more of picking up someone's phone contract for them, any regular subscriptions, things like that. The extras that can eat into the personal allowance. It doesn't sound as if that is likely for JNB though. Do they have regular therapies - foot or hand massage, snoezelen, those sorts of things that could be paid for directly as a gift instead of the money going into their account?