Help with advice on my deceased parent and Attendance Allowance

answeryou

Hi all i am new to all this and i am looking for help or advice on my deceased parent and Attendance Allowance. My father passed away 8 months ago and claimed Attendance Allowance but had spent some time in and out of hospital before he died we then filled in the once form and registered the death and thought that was it now i have received a letter from the Dwp asking for dates dad was in hospital and a lot of others forms asking for my bank details national insurance number was there a will or probate.Dad passed away with no will and no probate and very little money in the bank so we had to use that money to help towards the funeral costs and pay the rest myself. So my question is as a next of kin am i legally responsible for Dads over payment if there is any and do have to fill in the form as there is nothing in Dads account as it is closed and no will or probate.

MW123

@answeryou

Welcome to Scope!

As next of kin, you are not personally liable for any Attendance Allowance overpayments incurred by your late father. The DWP can only recover debts from the deceased's estate, not from family members. Since your father had no will, probate, or remaining funds, the DWP has no legal grounds to pursue you for repayment.

answeryou

Thank you for your quick response so do i have to legally fill in the forms they sent me as i am not happy signing a document with my bank details and national insurance details on

Kimi87

With your Dad's estate funeral costs have first call.

If there is nothing left in the estate, then there are no means to repay any overpayment.

You are not personally liable.

MW123

@answeryou

You do not need to provide your bank details or National Insurance number to the DWP in this situation. Since your father’s estate has no assets (no will, no probate, and the bank account is closed), there is nothing for them to recover, and they cannot legally demand your personal financial information.

Write to the DWP (keep a copy) and clearly state, your father passed away with no estate (no will, no probate, no remaining funds). His bank account was closed, and any money was used for funeral expenses. You are not liable for any overpayment, and you decline to provide personal financial details as they are irrelevant to his estate.

The law is clear, under the Social Security Act 1998, overpayments can only be reclaimed from the deceased’s estate, not from next of kin. The DWP should close the case once they confirm there’s no recoverable estate. Stay firm, you have done nothing wrong.

answeryou

Thank you i spoke to the dwp on the phone and they insisted that if there was a overpayment that the next of kin would be liable for payment a very worrying time as i do not want threatening letters coming through the letter box its still very raw from Dads death

Kimi87

See point 7.3

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-overpayment-recovery-staff-guide/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide#chapter-7--recovery-from-estates-rfe

mix_dage

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/132908/help-with-advice-on-my-deceased-parent-and-attendance-allowance

Hi @answeryou,

Are you sure it is an overpayment situation rather than they may owe you/your Dad money?

answeryou

No i am not sure all they said that if there was overpayment i would be liable for payment but would not confirm until i filled in the forms i have never had dealings with Dwp but from i have read i do not trust them