Inheritance and Pension Credit...

[nobones]

Hi, my Grandfather died last year. Leaving a property which was sold and divided up amongst his children. My mother is due to inherit her share. She wants to distribute most of it to her adult children leaving a small amount for herself. That will leave her with less than £17,000 or so in her account. She's concerned that DWP may see her 'distributions' as fraud in regard to her Pension Credit allowance. And thinks they will consider that as the money was her inheritance and even if she immediately gifted most of it away. That this is still considered illegal and she would lose her Credit? Is she right, or is sharing an inheritance perfectly reasonable in such a situation?

[des8]

It is not "illegal"" but the DWP will consider it as deprivation of her capital and take it into account as "notional capital" when calculating her entitlement.
"Notional capital" is capital you don’t actually have but it is treated as if you do have it.

[Pezza54]

Provided your mother has not received her inheritance she could consult a solicitor about making a deed of variation to the will. The executors and your mother who is giving up most of her inheritance need to sign the deed. A deed of variation can be made up to 2 years after the date of death of the deceased.

[nobones]

Provided your mother has not received her inheritance she could consult a solicitor about making a deed of variation to the will. The executors and your mother who is giving up most of her inheritance need to sign the deed. A deed of variation can be made up to 2 years after the date of death of the deceased.

Yes, this occurred to me too. My mother did say they (the children of the deceased) had signed an agreement to receive the inheritance themselves via the executor (one of the children). I imagine that in these situations people in all innocence dont think through wider consequences. Is that opportunity to vary, irrelevant if she has already received the payment? or can it be provided after the event, given that it can be proven money was immediately passed onto her children

[Pezza54]

Your mother has a duty to notify DWP the moment the inheritance reaches her bank account.
So, in my opinion, if your mother then gifts money to her children, DWP will treat it as deprivation of assets
It is worth checking with DWP whether a deed of variation to the will after she has received the money is treated differently

[des8]

nothing is straightforward:
https://www.weightmans.com/insights/...ted%20benefits.

[nobones]

nothing is straightforward:
https://www.weightmans.com/insights/...ted%20benefits.

I guess its a bit like saying, why pay taxes if you can possible afford to fund a financial advisor to find a way for you not to..