UC and inheritance

dp1

Hi I have a third share in the house my parents lived in which hopefully will be sold this week, my share will be about £48000. I work part time and also receive Universal Credit, with LCWRA…my current assessment period runs from 25th August to 24th September. I know I have to tell UC credit as soon as the money goes into my bank account, but I can choose when it goes in- should this be the last day of my AP or the first day of the next one?

Also can anyone advise if I am permitted to spend approximately £6000 on dental work? Not for vanity reasons, it would make eating a lot more comfortable and it's the only time I'll ever be able to afford it. I have no other major plans for spending it, other than paying a decorator and paying a couple of thousand pounds off a credit card….I'll live off it as long as I can.

Thanks

JIL

It is capital, so will be treated as such from the day it's received, therefore as it will exclude you from receiving UC, for a number of months, does waiting for a future date, just push that new date forward if that makes sense?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-money-savings-and-investments

There's a part in here that may cover the dental treatment.

Reducing your money, savings and investments on purpose

If you knowingly reduce your money, savings and investments, or transfer them elsewhere to get or increase your Universal Credit, this is known as ‘deprivation of capital’.

You have not knowingly reduced your money, savings and investments if it has been used to:

• pay off or reduce a debt
• pay for goods and services that were reasonable in your circumstances

I would consider closing the UC claim, keeping all receipts of spending alongside bank statements, until your capital reaches £16,000 and then make your new claim.

Altior

My understanding is that it should be counted as capital as soon as you have the right to access it. ie you can't collude with other parties to delay receiving the amounts into your actual own named accounts in order to try and get more benefit, as that's technically fraud. It might be hard to prove, but not worth the risk in my opinion.

Capital that materially impacts the benefit calculation should be updated on the last day of the AP.

As far as DoC goes, the rule of thumb is to act in the same way, regardless of means tested benefits. Most people inheriting £48K could be expected to spend some of it on big ticket items. It's a lot safer to spend it on them long before any expenditure takes you under one of the threshold amounts ie qualify for UC again.

Are you eligible for ESA?

Spoonie_Turtle

Are you eligible for ESA?

ESA is a good shout, even if not eligible for payments @dp1 you can claim NI credits and if there's no gap it will keep your LCWRA status without automatically needing to be reassessed.

dp1

Thanks I was just unsure when to declare it so I didn't owe DWP any money back.

I applied for ESA, on your advice Spoonie Turtle, about 6 weeks ago.

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82131649#Comment_82131649

This is correct. For something such as a house sale, you should declare the capital to DWP on the day the house sale completes. If your solicitor takes longer to distribute the cash to you, then that is on you.