Advice needed please

michelle21

I am my sons appointee and he is on income related esa.
I received inheritance as the sole beneficiary, in a different account to which our sons esa goes in.
Will my inheritance affect his esa when we are living in the same house & would I have to inform his esa?
I came off my benefits except carers when I received my inheritance 

poppy123456

If the inheritance is yours and not his then it will not affect any of his benefits. 

michelle21

Our sons esa goes into an account which is in my name & my husbands but is not the account my inheritance went into. I was going off the booklet about changes to inform esa about. It states if our son or anyone in the household receives a large sum of money ie inheritance to inform esa

poppy123456

Household refers to yourself or your partner. It doesn't refer to your son. His benefits entitlement is for him and not for you. Although you are his appointee he's still the claimant. As I advised, unless he's also had an inheritance of his own then yours will not affect any of his benefits.

michelle21

michelle21

So I would have to inform esa that I have received the inheritance but our son was not a beneficiary 

poppy123456

No, not at all. Where it says household, is very misleading. Your son’s entitlement to ESA is based on his circumstances and not yours or anyone else’s in the household. 

For this reason you do not need to report anything because as you said, it’s inheritance for you and not him. The fact that you’re his appointee is irrelevant because he’s still the benefit claimant. 

michelle21

I I understand what you are saying, as it says household which is me & my husband, it is making me think I do have to notify esa even though our son was not a beneficiary but myself as part of the household did. I’m worried if I do not tell esa I will owe money back as I have responsibilities for managing his esa

poppy123456

Although he is part of your household this doesn’t apply for his ESA. Part of your household means yourself and your partner. The same applies when you were claiming benefits, your entitlement didn’t affect his ESA. 

For instance, I live with my daughter and I claim Income Related ESA and she claims Universal Credit. My circumstances do not affect her entitlement to her benefits and vice versa. 

I don’t know what else to advise other than what I already have. 

michelle21

On his original form in 2017 which I was sent a copy for his first claim, it has me as head of household. In updated renewal forms it has me down as his carer on his claim as I’ve also photocopied all previous forms before sending.

poppy123456

I’m sorry but you are not correct, you are not part of the household for his ESA claim. Your savings/ capital, earnings, benefits do not affect the amount of ESA he’s entitled to. 

I’m going to flag the thread so a member of the scope team can confirm that my advice is correct. 

poppy123456

I’ve been trying to look for some confirmation that my advice is correct. I’ve just found this here. 

As you can see it doesn’t mention other members of your household other than your partner. This is because for benefits purposes your son isn’t part of your household.

To be honest it would be rather strange indeed if other members of your households savings affect your benefits. 

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/how-savings-can-affect-benefits/

Whose capital counts? 

For couples, both the claimant and their partner’s capital will be taken into account. For benefits purposes, people count as a “couple” if they are married or in a civil partnership, or two people not married to each other or in a civil partnership but living together as if they were.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @michelle21. From what I understand, if your son wasn't named as a beneficiary, your inheritance shouldn't affect his claim and you don't need to report it.

As Poppy mentioned above, even though you are his appointee, carer, and live in the same house, the ESA claim is based on his income and finances, not yours.

Financially, he is seen as his own household with regards to his claim even if the money is going into an account with your name on it. If he had a partner and they received some money, that would need to be reported as they would be seen as being a household together. As he is your son, you're not technically a household on his claim. 

I can see why it might seem confusing, but hope that makes sense! If you're really worried about it, Citizens Advice might be able to put your mind at ease and confirm things either way

michelle21

citizens advice seem to think I would have to inform our sons esa, which is probably why I am confused about it all

poppy123456

michelle21 said:

citizens advice seem to think I would have to inform our sons esa, which is probably why I am confused about it all

Can you post a link to where you seen that please? I've had a look but can't see it. If it's referring to "household" then as I keep advising, he's not part of your household for benefits purposes. This is your inheritance and not his. You are his appointee and not the actual benefit claimant. 

michelle21

Link to??

poppy123456

I was talking about what you said here. 

michelle21 said:

citizens advice seem to think I would have to inform our sons esa, which is probably why I am confused about it all

Or did you mean you got advice from them and they told you it would affect his benefits? I would certainly hope that this isn't what you were advised, if it was then that's shocking. 

michelle21

I rung citizens advice Friday, wasn’t too happy with the advisor to be honest. He did say it does seem like I should be notifying our sons esa and it comes across that I am part of the household which includes our son. To be honest this is all making me ill. I notified all my own benefits a week before I received my inheritance as it was over the £16k. I rung all mine & sent letters from the solicitors & executors to benefits for my own. I find it unfair if they take our sons away as I am the sole beneficiary not him

poppy123456

They will not stop his benefits because they are his and not yours. You do not need to report it for this benefits.

I keep advising that for benefit purposes he's not part of your household, this is why your benefit didn't affect his when you were claiming them. The same applies for savings/capital and earnings. Your household includes yourself and a partner you live with (if you have one)

This isn't the first time I've heard that Citizens Advice have given incorrect information and it's quite concerning. 

chiarieds

Please be advised by poppy, as some from Citizens Advice do unfortunately get things wrong with benefits advice. Your inheritance does not affect your son's ESA claim, so you do not need to notify them as far as his ESA goes; he will not lose his ESA.

michelle21

My income support had an extra amount because I am caring (carer) for our son but because mine & husbands income support has now been stopped. This has also been stopped. Do I need to inform our sons esa about this?
im worried they will ask why has my income support been stopped & then say our son is not entitled to his.