Universal credit child with cancer

Lokoka23

evening all

I was hoping to get some support around claiming for benefits, my 1 year old was diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year and I have been off work since on SSP. This is due to end July and the treatment won’t finish until January earliest.

I have always had a professional role and so the benefits side is a bit confusing to me. We have just been awarded high rate DLA and carers but my husband has been told his role is at risk of redundancy & this potentially opens up other options I think. He is a high earner so previously this meant I was entitled to nothing- which is slightly frustrating seeing as we can’t really downsize our commitments in the midst of a crisis.

I think if he is made redundant we will qualify with savings under 15k but I do have a second house. which was my family home I bought when my parents moved away. My tenants have just given notice for end July and so thinking I could put the house up for sale and this would qualify us?

To complicate it… the house has an annex- which my parents live in when they are back from their home abroad. For tax purposes they live abroad. My mum spends the majority of her year here but isn’t pension age. My stepdad is pension age but spends most time abroad. I understand there is an exemption for housing a pensioner that’s a close relative but I am not sure how that works with this situation? This would be his main home when here but he mainly lives abroad.

Obviously no one wants to find themselves in our situation trying to work out a solution that can help us manage through this period and so I’d appreciate any supportive feedback.

We are currently in a monthly deficit of £2500 and we still have months of treatment left and just trying to figure out a way forward without losing everything we have worked so hard to build.

I did wonder if we can just get support for 6m and then don’t wualify that would help too

Robbie64

Someone will hopefully be able to help you with the UC / housing situation side of things. In the meantime, if your daughter gets DLA care at either rate then you can claim Carer's Allowance as long as your earnings are below £204 per week. You can be employed, you can receive SSP and still receive CA but your earnings have to be below the threshold. Do you get your SSP topped up at all or is SSP your only income from work

huckster

Think your only choice here is to actively try to sell the second property once the tenants have left. And when you apply for Universal Credit ask for capital in second property to be disregarded on the basis you have evidence you are trying to sell.

From UC guidance

Premises person is trying to sell
H2221 Where a person is trying to dispose of premises, they can be disregarded from the calculation of that person’s capital where they are taking reasonable steps to dispose of the premises and those steps have been commenced within the last 6 months (1)
.
1 UC Regs, Sch 10, para 6

Is it reasonable to disregard for longer
H2222 The DM may decide to disregard the premises for a longer period where for example the person has done all they can to sell the premises and the asking price is no more than the premises are worth

May be wise for your husband to seek alternative employment, just in case redundancy does happen. Statistics show that a person currently employed is approximately twice as likely to be offered a new job if they are currently working, rather than unemployed. Unfortunately some employers are of the opinion that if someone is unemployed, it may be that the previous employer wanted them to leave and not just company finances.

KxMx

I'd recommend contacting Macmillan who have specialist money advisors.

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help/macmillan-support-line/money-advisers

Lokoka23

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82040439#Comment_82040439

thank you so much, if we were advertise it for sale and then once she is off treatment we take it off the market in 6m is that allowed?
ideally we don’t want to sell it, it’s my family home I never lived anywhere else as a child. The alternative I guess would be to switch our main residence to there and sell ours maybe but a lot of work. Especially in the midst of everything else.

My husband will get more work, he has a professional job in construction just at the moment volunteering for redundancy is an option that might work seeing as we are in a family crisis but of course don’t want to act with too much shortsightedness! Would his settlement be considered as savings too? Mine will be used to reduce the mortgage which I understand is ok as we are reducing debt.

Of course I can relet the house too once the tenants move but I actually with mortgage payment and insurance I get less than 400 and so it wouldn’t make sense.

huckster

What happens if your Estate Agent receives an offer for sale price or more?

You might not convince Estate Agent that you were looking to sell.

If your husbands redundancy and your other general savings exceeds £16k you cannot claim UC.

Could your husband look for part time work after redundancy?

Have you run your information through an online benefits calculator?

Has your husband looked into New Style Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)for when he is job seeking instead of UC? JSA is based on NI contributions record and is not affected by savings and investments. If JSA is claimed at same time as UC, then JSA would be deduced from UC as other benefit income.

Grumpy_chap

The rental property may be disregarded for a period while marketed for sale. Once sold, or the disregard period ends, the equity will be considered as capital.

teaselMay

Have you worked out what you would be entitled to on Universal Credit, it wouldn't be a great deal and certainly not a good idea to take voluntary redundancy so that you might be entitled to it, especially as you own a second - and possibly third if the annexe is treated as a separate property, house and would have the redundancy payment too.

I suspect your £2500 deficit would be a lot greater on UC

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

TELLIT01

Your husband certainly should not formalise any request for voluntary redundancy as that could affect entitlement to benefits. Let it be known that he is willing to be made redundant, but no more than that.

HillStreetBlues

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041610#Comment_82041610

The only affect on benefits would be the payment, it doesn't matter if the redundancy is voluntary.

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042115#Comment_82042115

Correct, a claimant should not be sanctioned for leaving voluntarily when taking voluntary redundancy. See ADM K3251

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65fd49f9f1d3a0001d32ad8e/admk3.pdf