DWP ESTATES RECOVERY(Scotland)

fantasticman

My brother died in 2024. There was no will. Confirmation/Probate was obtained. My 84 year old father was next of kin and the Estate Representative. The estate was distributed in 2024. DWP come along a year and a half later (Sept 25) to say they want to check if benefit overpayments occurred as the capital amount on the Confirmation are more than what they were on the benefit application form. I sent the information requested but they never got it and now they write again requesting the same. I've now had time to contemplate this issue and I'm rather angry that they:

Took 18 months to contact a bereaved family where all the pain was dragged up again. Is there a deadline where DWP cannot approach for estate recovery?

They ask for 14 months of my brother's bank statements. I think this is extreme and very intrusive of his personal life. Even we, his family have not seen his statements and would not feel right going through his transactions over many months of his life, this was his private affairs. We have been asked to explain transactions over £500 and explain any credits into his account, which we know nothing of obviously. Is this acceptable?

My father now age 87 has Alzheimers and will be unable to deal with this as the request for info required for DWP was addressed to him as the Representative. I called to explain this and was told I need to deal with this as his daughter. Is this correct? That I am now to be responsible for this task? Does anyone know if the Representative no longer has capacity or, say they have died, then what does DWP do? I dont feel I should be responsible for this.

If the DWP require bank statements then why have they not requested them from the bank themselves ? I believe they would need consent for this. I dont think the bank are allowed to give them the statements unless an EVN Notice(Eligiblity Verification Notice) is issued and then the banks need to comply. Does anyone know?

Is it right that the DWP assume that my father and myself had any knowledge or insight of my brother's private affairs? We knew nothing about his money or benefits. We had no access to any of this information. He was very private and we were locked out of everything as we had no passwords for any of his online affairs. How does DWP expect me to explain his transactions and his capital? And if I cant then this is very unfair as they will make their own assessment which will be uninformed and in the dark, just like me. Is this legal?

For some context. My brother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His SSP ran out after 6mths. He applied for UC. He had no capital according to his welfare officer. Due to the nature of his cancer he was very ill every day and he could not speak or take/make phone calls or deal with DWP. His benefits were all over the place. He refused help from me or friends. I cared for him and every day was a struggle so there was no time to sort out benefits. The money he received was not spent as he could not eat, speak or socialise so not many bills or purchases. His money must have mounted up and thats why he had a bit of capital, not even a year salary min wage.

I feel this is a final insult to us all. He was the most honest person ever and was due the support. I understand the DWP objective and will obviously do my best to help but I do object to their timing on this and the need to invade someones private affairs by giving personal bank statements.

Can anyone advise if I have any legal rights here

Thank you.

Kimi87

You can speak to a local welfare rights organisation for advice, or some solicitors offer a free half hour consultation so you can be advised on the legal position.

https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/

DWP in Scotland have 20 years to persue any money they are owed via estate recovery.

Universal Credit are not interested in capital under £6k.

£6k+ would see a deduction of £4.35 for every £250 over or part thereof, once capital reaches £16k there is no entitlement to UC.

Live claimants have to put up with giving them bank statements & answering questions about transactions, it is horribly intrusive I've been through one of those reviews myself.

I lost my Mum end of February and it's fallen to me to sort out her estate. Part of my job is to make sure no money is owed before distribution. Even simple estates can take a year before everything is finalised.

All but one DWP department contacted me, so last month I contacted the one that didn't to get confirmation nothing was owed (I'm getting to a point now where I need an estate valuation).

For the person dealing with a loved ones estate, going through bank statements might feel like an invasion of privacy but is completely normal when you are dealing with their affairs, especially if you didn't have much information about their finances overall (I knew most things about Mum's). They are a vital part of making sure the representative does everything correctly.

I'm sorry to say it seems like your father didn't administer his estate correctly, which of course is beyond your control and now leaves you in a potentially difficult position - I'd definitely get proper advice on whether you do in fact have to take over, or legally if you can just walk away should that be your choice to do so.

fantasticman

Thank you very much for replying. Yes it seems my father distributed estate too soon. However bank told us my brother had no regular/consistent outpayments and they could only give us his bank statement for last 10 transactions which showed us nothing. Nobody told us, not even the court when we visited to arrange Confirmation, that DWP might query the capital and the estate. Having never done this before we had no clue what benefits my brother got or wait till DWP came around. The bereavement tesm at the bank i think should have warned us. Thanks again