Left money by dad no will. Any advice welcomed, I'm on income related ESA

lyndaj12

Hi my dad left 21000 in savings im on esa benefit  I have siblings and dad had his grandkids  he told me to share it between us I decided I'd do as he wanted because I'm on esa income related will it b ok to share as no will left ill b left with 9000 of it thanks for any advice 

Ross_Alumni

Hello there @Lindaj12

Thanks for posting, I hope you are well.

Sorry to hear of your loss, I hope you are coping okay. 

Regarding your question, this isn't something I have a lot of knowledge of, but I hope that others will be able to respond to your query with any insight they have. I did find this page on the CAB website that might go some way to providing an answer to your question though, it's about whether inheritance will impact your benefit.

poppy123456

Savings of more than £16,000 will mean that you won't be entitled to any means tested benefits. If any part of your ESA is contributions based then this won't be affected.

If there was no will how do you know the money was left to you?

If you give away your money then this is likely to be seen as deprivation of capital and you will still be treated as having the money.

lyndaj12

Poppy123456 I was my father's next of kin so the money came to me I have 9000 but nothing in writing that was dads wishes nearer the end of life

lyndaj12

B poppy 123456 my dad eft this money I was next of kin he stated in earlier stages of his illness that this is what he'd like me to do with money I have 9000 not 21000 because its been shared

lyndaj12

teddybear thanks for reply no he was to poorly to write anything im just wondering were I should get advice as I'm sure esa will want to no were its come from

calcotti

lyndaj12 said:..my dad eft this money I was next of kin he stated in earlier stages of his illness that this is what he'd like me to do with money I have 9000 not 21000 because its been shared

The problem is you had £21000 and have now given £12000 away. In the absence of a will or any written record of your dad's wishes DWP may see this as deprivation of capital in which case you will be treated as still having the£21,000 in which case you are no longer entitled to income based ESA. 

It is up to a DWP Decision maker to decide whether or not deprivation of capital has occurred (although you can appeal the decision if you disagree with it).

Your latest post appears to say you have already done this in which case what has prompted you to ask the question now? Your opening post appeared to indicate that you hadn't yet shared the money and were seeking advice before doing so.

lyndaj12

hi no it ain't gone in to bank account yet but that's wsts being paid out obviously funeral cost headstone engravement4500 pound for that n rest shared  whichll leave me 9000 

poppy123456

lyndaj12 said:

B poppy 123456 my dad eft this money I was next of kin he stated in earlier stages of his illness that this is what he'd like me to do with money I have 9000 not 21000 because its been shared

If this is the case and you had £21,000 into your bank then you need to tell DWP because if you don't then they will likely find out at some point. Let a decision maker decide whether it's deprivation of capital or not.

lyndaj12

Ive promised siblings n grandchildren now so can't not give it to them n it what dad smashed me to do complicated

poppy123456

Once you have the money you need to report this to DWP and your local Authority if you're claiming Council tax reduction and housing benefit.

poppy123456

You posted asking for advice, which you've been given. If you have savings of more than £16,000 your entitlement to means tested benefits end. It will be down to a decision maker to make that final decision but you need to report it.

calcotti

Username_removed said:

- you posted this question on a forum. You presumably had no idea of the relevant capital limit? If push comes to shove, put a screen print of this thread in as evidence.
- it cannot possibly be the case that you got rid of capital to keep benefit if you had no idea what the capital limit was in the first place. ..

As I understand it, OP hasn’t yet received and distributed the money and does now know about the capital limits.