To be gutted at losing my benefit

[Clappingforjoy]

I am going to inherit some money from sale of parents house and have told universal credit to close my claim but I'm gutted about it.
I have always struggled never had 2 Penny's to rub together and it just so happens I will go over the 16000 mark with this money and know i must sound greedy but my income is very low and i am scared this money will all go on living costs.

I am so depressed abt my future

How are people with benefits supposed to do anything to better their credit score or their lives if whenever they get a windfall (Not even a lucky one, from a parent dying) it has to immediately go on their living costs instead? Most people aren't equipped to handle a sudden large sum of money coming in. It's hardly a luxury - be mad at the 1%, not the 99% who are just trying to live a better life than they are now.

OP sorry for your loss. I can empathise with how you feel but see where those voting YABU are coming from. I guess the real point here is where the cut off should be. I can understand that £26k is valuable not just in terms of counting the actual amount but the security it brings.

I don't think your situation is clear cut. People are saying you earn a low wage & therefore claim benefits and don't pay income tax. We are all tax payers, we all pay VAT for a start. We don't know what the OP's job is, she may be a carer or cleaner contributing a lot more than tax money to society. She may be a NMW retail worker, these workers help keep prices down for all of us.

There is a lot of unfairness around inheritance. Personally I don't think it's fair that large inheritances help many onto the property ladder, keeping house prices artificially high and those without this privilege struggle more. I guess that's life though.

Ultimately, the OP's situation is no less fair or unfair than that which many of us find ourselves in. Life isn't fair but we do our best.

What is your total income wages and benefit?

Could you spend some on studying or training for something that could mean you can earn more in the future?

OP has said they have mental illnesses that prevent them from working.

I’m genuinely curious - those who think OP should be allowed to keep her benefits, what cut off would you have? How much should someone inherit before it was fair to stop their benefits? Would it be the same if it was a lottery win rather than an inheritance ?

Please don't be, Clappingforjoy. You need to find someone you can talk this all through with - a counsellor, or a financial advisor, or I'm not sure if the Citizens Advice could possibly help you?
But please look after your health and ignore the horrible comments here. You need proper, intelligent offline advice from someone who knows you or you can confide in.

@Bagamoyo1

I’m genuinely curious - those who think OP should be allowed to keep her benefits, what cut off would you have? How much should someone inherit before it was fair to stop their benefits? Would it be the same if it was a lottery win rather than an inheritance ?

I'm not sure if this is truly genuine but I think there should be something in place (maybe there is, idk) to help people who receive a sum of money like this but have no way to invest it due to credit scores or past debt. Would you rather them just spend it on a fancy car and go back to claiming benefits with said fancy car?

I don't think it should be as cut and dry as 'you've got some money, now until you've spent it all you get absolutely no help anymore even though your situation is still the exact same'. If somebody's in poverty, 16 grand isn't going to get them out of poverty for very long.

Where the cut off should be - it's a difficult one and I'm not sure as to the answer. I think it should depend on whether the person has any chance of working again or not in the future. Someone who has a permanent disability for example meaning they can never work again - I don't think there should be a cut off there as that person will never have a chance to work and earn decent money, so if they come into inheritance they should be allowed to enjoy it.

@Bagamoyo1 - i think the comments about this being unfair is not about the cut off point. but the fact that poor people are jumped upon the minute they get a bit of cash i.e. secuirty but the mc in RL and mumsnet are positively encouraged to lose all sorts of loopholes and not pay tax....thats the problem. We would get more review from companies/rich people paying taxes than squabbling over ten grand when it comes to someone working as much as they can but still not earning enough and having to claim benefits.

The point OP is making is that by having savings she could substantially improve her life - and in the long run thats probably also better for the economy

when people talk about free cash - why don't we tax capital gains on property prices? paying yourself dividends rather than taxes if you have a company etc? off shore accounts etc - i mean literally so so many other things that the mc has accesses to that deprive the treasuring i.e. you and me from cash

It's the pettiness thats unsavory here and also the small midedness. it's easy here to point and criticise rather than think more deeply about the economy, taxation etc

The OP can still use the funds to improve her life. Paying for courses or improvements to her home which will aid her ailments will not be seen as deprivation of assets.

also keeping the minimum wages low for example positively acts as a form of taxpayers subsidy to large multinationals. why dont people get pissed off at that.

Why are companies allowed to pay people so little that the tax payers have to fit the bill. a lot more money goes on that than on the few people that get a small inheritance once their parents die

So lovely to sit with a nest egg in the bank and claim benefits for your living expenses whilst others can’t save as their wages need to pay rent etc. Of course YABU and ridiculous, mind blowing.

I totally understand your feelings OP and see how frustrating it is, even though I understand why the system is this way and there have to be limits and all that. What people are allowed to inherit and actually keep hold of after their parents die is in large part down to circumstances, which they themselves should neither take credit or blame for, as it's just the way things have turned out. However a lot of people prefer to see it as reflective of some being more 'deserving' than others.
It's clear that you're worried about long term financial security rather than chasing a luxury lifestyle. There's been some good advice here. Do some research on the best way to use the money. @BetterCare had suggestions as did others. I would look at what you could spend on small upgrades to make life better, e.g. newer and long lasting white goods, laptop, shoes and so on.

I want to work but only a certain amount of hours

Don’t we all 😂😂

@Suzi888

It’s not depreciation of assets. It’s deprivation of capital and it depends how much and how long it took and what was bought. If your property needs work then you absolutely can spend money wisely. Things like cruises/holidays/huge monetary gifts to children are frowned upon and you will be treated as depriving yourself. Deprivation as a whole is difficult to prove in law.

It's not helped by the lack of clarity in regulations about what sort of spending is acceptable and what is regarded as intentional deprivation.

In my experience (benefits adviser) replacing an old car with a newer one is fine as long as the newer one isn't extravagant, so (eg) a 3-year old Fiesta would be fine, a 3-year old Maserati probably not. Same with furniture and stuff - Heals prices may raise a few eyebrows at DWP, but mid-range stuff is likely to be ok.

You can also use capital to clear debt, that is perfectly acceptable. So pay off any credit/store cards, rent arrears, loans etc, which will save money in the long run.

I also won a deprivation case appeal where the claimant had given each of her 4 children £5k each, because that is what she had promised her husband she would do with his death in service payment. The tribunal regarded that as a financial commitment that should be honoured, which surprised me, so passing money on to adult children isn't always a no-no.

Do you get PIP, OP? Because that remains in payment regardless of of capital. And it sounds rather like you should be getting PIP, so look into applying if you don't get it already.

OP try and get a shared ownership house x 16K should be enough xx

@Liking80

OP sorry for your loss. I can empathise with how you feel but see where those voting YABU are coming from. I guess the real point here is where the cut off should be. I can understand that £26k is valuable not just in terms of counting the actual amount but the security it brings.

I don't think your situation is clear cut. People are saying you earn a low wage & therefore claim benefits and don't pay income tax. We are all tax payers, we all pay VAT for a start. We don't know what the OP's job is, she may be a carer or cleaner contributing a lot more than tax money to society. She may be a NMW retail worker, these workers help keep prices down for all of us.

There is a lot of unfairness around inheritance. Personally I don't think it's fair that large inheritances help many onto the property ladder, keeping house prices artificially high and those without this privilege struggle more. I guess that's life though.

Ultimately, the OP's situation is no less fair or unfair than that which many of us find ourselves in. Life isn't fair but we do our best.

we might all pay vat but we all are not net taxpayers!

@Bagamoyo1

I’m genuinely curious - those who think OP should be allowed to keep her benefits, what cut off would you have? How much should someone inherit before it was fair to stop their benefits? Would it be the same if it was a lottery win rather than an inheritance ?

Many people inherit something from family - a sum of money, part of a house, or even a whole property.

They're not forced to give up their wages until that money goes back down to £16k. They pay inheritance tax if it's a very large amount, but otherwise they simply get an unearned gift that their loved ones wanted to pass on. Some people inherit huge amounts, some people inherit almost nothing, or just debts. It's not at all fair. It's random.

So I wouldn't personally put any limit on it at all. It's also pretty random and complicated as to who is susceptible to mental or physical illness, who is able to work full-time, who is able to earn what wages. I know people who were working a day job and a night job too on minimum wage simply to try to get out of renting (and who were young and well enough to do it for years), and also people working for half the hours and ten times the salary. It's all unfair.

The OP has declared the inheritance. She's doing the right thing. And she's being penalised because of her current illness. So I wouldn't begrudge her her inheritance at all.

@Brieminewine

I want to work but only a certain amount of hours

Don’t we all 😂😂

I'd also want to work a certain amount of hours if I was both mentally and physically unwell.

@LokiOdinson

Could you spend some on studying or training for something that could mean you can earn more in the future?

OP has said they have mental illnesses that prevent them from working.

I think the OP said she could only work part time, not not work at all so could potentially earn more per hour

OP I agree with looking into the possibility of PIP if you don't already get it

Buying shares in your HA home might not be the best way to use your money, it often means you become responsible for repairs.

I also wouldn't declare the money until its actually in my bank account, just in case there was a delay.

May be see a solicitor. In most cases you can vary a will after death if all the heirs agree - they did it when Princess Diana died and the Milliband family did it too. I don't know anything about the benefits system however and it may be too late for the money to go to your child/children direct on one of these formal will variations but should have been part of the financial planning immediately after the death.

@rockhopper20

also keeping the minimum wages low for example positively acts as a form of taxpayers subsidy to large multinationals. why dont people get pissed off at that.

Why are companies allowed to pay people so little that the tax payers have to fit the bill. a lot more money goes on that than on the few people that get a small inheritance once their parents die

Quite! It's ludicrous that someone in f/t work can't earn enough to eat and keep a roof over their head, even if they're single and child-free.

Someone produced some figures once which showed that private landlords were the biggest beneficiaries of housing benefit.

There’s some really nasty people on this thread. The shitty media really has a lot to answer for. Use your brain please instead of lapping up the crap you’re reading.