needing advice on claims to estate.

[Cadence]

Hello,
I am a beneficiary of my late grandmothers will, We have apllied for probate and as far as i know the probate is near completion. The problem is the the DWP have to sign off on nans assets before they will allow the money to be released to the beneficiaries of the will I had a phone call yesterday to say that the DWP have put a claim against the assets and are requesting statements from the bank etc.
I have the understanding that my naughty nan had a little more savings than she should of when she was claiming state pension! Now i am unclear on the process and uncertain what happens, as i know for the last 2 years my nan was in a home and a certain relative that was meant to deal with everything to do with DWP etc did not do as they were supposed to.
All i wish to know is what usually happens in this process? will they take all of the money, how does it work.
Thank you x

[enaid]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Hello Cadence and welcome to beagles.
I am afraid my gran did exactly the same thing although along time ago and yes they will want the overpayments back.
It all depends on what she was actually claiming and if she was in a home did they have no dealings with her income?
The debts must be cleared out of the estate first and in the order below

If there is not enough money to pay all the debts, they must be paid in a particular order:
1. the funeral expenses and 'testamentary' expenses (those to do with dealing with the will);
2. any debt secured by a mortgage on a property;
3. HM Revenue and Customs;
4. the Department of Work and Pensions, who deal with social security (you may have to refund any over-payment of benefits);
5. unpaid pension contributions or wages.
If all the debts can be paid, but there isn’t enough money left to pay everything set out in the will, the legacies (those where a specific amount is mentioned) will be paid first, and the other people mentioned will get what is left over.
If there is not enough to pay all the legacies, the people entitled to the legacies will get a proportion of what they have been left, depending on how much money is available. The other people mentioned in the will, who are supposed to get the remainder, will get nothing.
Enaid x

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Thank you!
I believe that my nan stopped claiming when she moved into the home, But am unsure, as we had to sell her house to get her into a home as we had to get her in a private home due to no room in others, she had no help from social services. Nan went into a home a year before the house sold, so her savings went within that year on her rent basically. So the money left now is what was from her house beng sold.

[Emerald]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Wait and see what they are claiming - state pension isn't means tested so her savings hould be OK for that period. How were her fees paid? When they give you a breakdown then come back and we'll have a look. They did similar with a relative of mine, but they asked for £143 when we were expecting a bill of £000's.

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Of course i shall keep you posted as we are at the stage now where it's write a letter, await reply then respond... I am unsure how many letters it will take but i am hoping it doesn't take to much longer, to b honest i do not care if the money all goes it just feels as though we can't let anything rest until this is done and dusted! I am sure the DWP will be quite quick in taking what is owed to them lol so heres to hoping!

[Angry Cat]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

The following article may be of interest to you:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/pension...6&in_page_id=6

Solicitor, Lisa Morgan of Hugh James [Emphasis Added]

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Thanks for that, It has really helped, As my nan actually spent her last 3 weeks in hospital after having her right leg amputated under the knee.
Now the rest home said they failed to see her foot turn black and die ,where the doctor said it would of took more that 24 hours for this to happen. However my dad is not one to fight and has let it go but me and my sister however still believe she should still be here! I have found out that nobody notified DWP of nan being in the rest home so she was still getting all care allowance and pension, So it looks likely we will be paying back most of the money as she was most likely overpayed. However when we got the solicitors involved literally days after nans death my dad went in to check on progress and said "you will have to ring DWP as i believe nan owes them money" the solicitor then proceeded to say that they had been in touch with the DWP and there was no problems and nothing to sort. As my dad is very laid back he has only just mentioned this and so i don't know what to do as they should have records of ringing DWP . I just feel like certain people in the family who have the main say aren't fighting things that should be checked! xx so at the moment i am AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH needing to scream lol xx

[enaid]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Is the solicitor the executor of the will?
If so then they should be dealing with all the finance issues and should have records of everything concerning it.

[Angry Cat]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Sounds to me, as though a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request, should be made to the DWP!

These matters are extremely emotive but one really does have to be tough!

Very difficult dealing with executors...

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

My half sister is actually the Executor of the will, along with my dad and herself decided to give it to the solicitors to ensure everything is done properly.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Is it advisable to write to the DWP then? asking for info on this matter????

[Angry Cat]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

My half sister is actually the Executor of the will, along with my dad and herself decided to give it to the solicitors to ensure everything is done properly.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Is it advisable to write to the DWP then? asking for info on this matter????

The Executor or, their solicitor should make a FOI request to the DWP.

Also, as prior stated the follwing may be of interest:
http://www.hughjames.com/news_centre...A3165,000.aspx

People, should not have to sell their homes, in order to obtain care in their old age!

[enaid]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

this from CAB site

Overpayments of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, pension credit or employment and support allowance


Recovery from Estates is a section of the DWP that routinely investigates all cases in England and Wales where probate is granted for the administration of an estate of a person who was previously receiving an income-related benefit. Recovery from Estates (Scotland) deals with all cases where the deceased person lived in Scotland. In N. Ireland, the Recovery of Estates section of the Department for Social Development deals with cases in the same way as the DWP does in England.

The Probate Office (the Commissary Office in Scotland) notifies the DWP that probate has been granted. The Recovery from Estates section will then make enquiries and where an overpayment is identified due to undeclared capital or income, it will contact the executors or personal representatives informing them of the amount overpaid. The overpayment notification contains a right of appeal. If there is a recoverable overpayment, this can be paid from the estate. If an executor or personal representative fails to do this, s/he may have to repay the money from her/his own resources.

Therefore if the solicitor is now dealing with the estate totally then he would be the one to deal with DWP and he should have all the information available to you.

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

I totally understand and wish i could fight but unfortunately i have not the money to fight this case, The NHS did give nan carers who came in of a mornnig and evenng but on the condition that nan paid half of their charges. Unfortunately due to my nan being bed ridden after a previous fall, my nan would of been left all day in bed on her own they told my sister in fact that she should give up her job to look after my nan. But when nan heard all this she then insisted that she goes into a home. No one asked for the social services to re assess nans circumstances so my dad found her a home and we sold the house! as usual nothing was checked and if i would of known i would of checked everything was done properly! Its unfortunate i cannot do anything and i am unsure wether my dad would be happy with me undermining his authority.

[Angry Cat]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

[QUOTE] by Cadence:
i am unsure wether my dad would be happy with me undermining his authority.[QUOTE]

Understood and of course, not!

If I were you though, I would let your father have all the facts. At least then, you will have done your best to resolve the concerns.

People, in general do not like dealing with contentious Probate matters relating to a loved one!

IMHO, always best to sort the issues out now, rather than years hence, saying we should have dealt with these. Unfortunately, by then it will be too late.

[Cadence]

Re: needing advice on claims to estate.

Hello all, sorry for the long gap,
just to let you know the dwp requested bank sttements fromm nans accounts for the last 10 years. they have now asked for the Bill of sale toward nans house.
i hope this is near the end now? it is taking the mickey i will keep you posted on what happens if there are anything new on the horizon.
thanks xxx