To shamelessly try to milk the system?

[CloudyBayDrainageSystem]

Well, its actually not for me...

My brother is dying. (Gulp. Not often you type that). Stage 4 emphysema, on oxygen, unable to walk more than a couple of minutes. This combined with severe asthma, Crohn's disease, and a host of severe allergies. You get the drift.

He finally gave up work a few weeks ago (self employed builder) and has qualified for DLA, but he (and me and the whole family) is completely new to this...

Is there anyone who can help identify what he can claim? His house is in negative equity (£120k interest-only mortgage), he's applied for housing benefit. He's also applied for a new boiler (last one broke about 8 months ago). I think he has also applied for help with council tax.

Is that it, or is there other stuff? He can drive still so doesn't need a carer yet (he will do at some stage). The benefits office don't seem to help him - but I suspect he's so embarrassed to be there that he probably hasn't asked the right questions.

He's 50, currently pays a small amount of maintenance for 16 yo daughter (he will get a lot of grief if he stops paying) and he lives on his own in 2 bed house.

Any advice? I - and the extended family - will of course fill all the gaps to make sure he is ok, but he's a proud man and would like to not lean on us if he can help it. But we have no idea how the benefits system works and what support he can get... I am hoping someone on here might be able to guide us...

No, not a penny in savings (spent it all in period after he stopped work, and only started asking for benefits help after it all ran out). No insurance either - daft bugger stopped paying it when he started struggling to work full time.

Will ask him tomorrow if its ESA or DLA that he's been given - came through about a month ago. Not sure if it was backdated, but he might be able to claim for that as there was a big break between earning and claiming.

Thanks for theses bits of info - all really useful. HIs interest rate mortgage is far more than 3.6% (self-certified as he was self-employed), so that's a gap that definitely won't get filled. If I know this stuff we can get a plan together to make up shortfall.

Did he stop paying insurance when he became ill? I wonder if some (very clever!) Lawyer could argue in his favour, since the worry could have meant he was not thinking clearly. Did he see anyone from the bank at that point? Anyone advising him should have told him to keep up with repayments.
It's also worth checking the terms of the policy. If he stopped paying after he became ill, height still be entitled to claim, since the condition existed whilst the policy was in place.
It really is worth looking into. It could mean the difference between losing the house and keeping it.