Hi, my name is LadyTraveller! Scared about deprivation of capital after my son received compensation

Hi

My adult son gets PIP and Universal Credit. He lives with us. He is severely learning disabled, has epilepsy, autism and complex medical needs. I am his benefit appointee.

We recently acted for him in a legal claim which has resulted in a small amount of compensation (but enough to be a threat to his benefits) We had thought about puting into a personal injury trust, but the cost for this is extremely high (around £3K) and his LD nursing team and our lawyer tells us that we should use this money for his benefit instead of "wasting" it on fees setting up a trust which will leave not much more than £11K over the lowest threshold allowed for benefits. Specifically, I would like to improve his bedroom with custom made furniture, a new bed, fitting foam flooring and converting another room to a den/sensory/games room for him. To be honest, we were going to fund this from my husbands pension pot, but the LD team are telling us it would not be unreasonable to use his compensation for the improvements. We are terrified that the DWP will say its a deprivation of capital to avoid losing his benefits, but we do see the LD teams point, and if we can use his money, we should.

I am looking for advice. Who do I speak to about this? Is the DWP likely to be able to reassure me that if I spend my sons money on a new bedroom, converting another room and replacing his spa (which we bought and is housed in a summerhouse but is now needing replaced) that they wont come after us for deprivation of capital/misappropriation of funds.

My son doesnt have any other savings or capital. He lives very well, and wants for nothing, but I do agree that his compensation for his suffering should benefit him and not be used to stop his benefits.

Thank you