Major Illness & Help?

Beanynut2 · 20 November 2018 at 10:21AM

Hi

I am hoping someone will be able to advise us on what we can do next - my daughter and her partner have worked really hard since they left school and although in in their late 20s and low incomes saved up a deposit and with the help of the Help to Buy scheme managed to buy a lovely little house in Exeter.

Everything was going well for them until a month ago, her partner who suffers from epilepsy suddenly became very confused, anxious and agitated - almost like a dementia patient. They were visiting me at the time and thinking it was epilepsy related my GP got him admitted to my local hospital.

The hospital have now diagnosed a Functional Neurological Disorder, which I understand is a bit like shell shock and is usually caused by a traumatic event - but strangely he hasn’t had anything traumatic happen to him. Anyway - the doctors say he may or may not get better and that it will be a long time before he is back at work. They are discharging him today.

Unfortunately, due to his low income he will only receive statuary sick pay - not enough to cover his share of the mortgage and it looks as if they may lose their lovely home.

I understand we can apply for PIP but that can take some time - is there anything else they can do in the interim? Any help and advise will be really welcome.

Thank you

poppy12345 · 20 November 2018 at 11:26AM

There's no easy solution i'm afraid. SSP is payable for 28 weeks, once this has finished then he'll be able to claim Contributions based ESA or New style contributions based ESA but you can't claim both SSP and ESA together. Contributions based ESA also only pays £73.10 per week on assessment rate.

I'm assuming the partner works? As they have a mortgage then housing benefit isn't possible. They need to contact their mortgage company, if they haven't already done this.

PIP seems like the only option at this stage, others may have further advice. I wouldn't delay the PIP application but you do need to have had the condition for 3 months and expect it to last at least a further 9 months to qualify. Evidence will also be needed to support a claim.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

Sarahdol75 · 20 November 2018 at 11:26AM

Sorry to hear this.

Have you been to the citizens advice, they are good at finding out what they would be entitled to getting if anything.

pmlindyloo · 20 November 2018 at 11:33AM

Please check whether they are in a full service universal credit area. Use this link:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/Check-if-youre-eligible-for-Universal-Credit/

If they, are then depending on their level of savings they may be eligible for Universal credit. How many hours does your daughter work and what is her salary? What was her partner's salary and hours?

If they are not in a full service Universal Credit area then they may be eligible for tax credits.

You could go to CAB for a full benefit check up.

As regards the mortgage it is certainly worth telephoning the mortgage company and explaining the circumstances. They may allow a payment holiday/interest only/extending the term.

Any family who could help out with things financially?

cantcope · 20 November 2018 at 1:47PM

I think its worth them calling the mortgage company first to see if they can switch to interest only for now.
Also, did either of them take out critical illness insurance? It may be covered on there if they did.
Definitely get the ball rolling for PIP too. I'm of the understanding that new applications can be quicker than reassessments. If you explain that they are now in financial hardship they may hurry it up a bit (we can all hope).

I wish them both well and hope they dont have to lose their home because of this.

Footballmum · 20 November 2018 at 1:51PM

Sorry to hear about this. Did they have any type of income protection or critical illness insurance? Sometimes doesn't pay out for the first 6 months but worth checking.
I would definitely ask for a payment holiday anc see if it is possible to go interest only on the mortgage for a while.

Beanynut2 · 20 November 2018 at 2:36PM

Thank you all for the helpful advice, there are a few options for us to follow now.

I’m not too sure about the critical health insurance as my daughter’s partner organised everything and unfortunately he is unable to remember what he did 5 mins ago let alone anything else. He may not have been covered for anything neurological because of having epilepsy as a pre-existing condition.

The other problem is that it’s all electronically recorded these days so we’re having to wade through their bank account and his email records.

We’ve arranged a 2 month break from the mortgage until things are a little clearer. We hope to have got a second opinion about his diagnosis by then too - as the Functional Neuroloigcal Disorder doesn’t tie in with all of his symptoms.

Thank everyone once again

Major Illness & Help?

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