To ask about money in trusts and benefits?

[DuckAndPancakes]

If my children are left money as inheritance, to be held in trust for a house deposit when they are adults, will it be considered as part of our savings with benefits?

It is looking like DP and I will never own our own home, increasing house prices and "poor choices" just put it completely out of reach. We've both lost grandparents in the last year and lots of talks about inheritance, money, wills etc. Is there a way that we can legally, above board, have money left for the children instead of us, so they get a chance when they are adults to own a home?

If we received lumps of money in savings, it would cancel our benefits and we would essentially have to live off that money, with no way to use it to actually better our lives or buy a home. I'd rather we were skipped and written off, so we can see them prosper.

There's just been a lot of talk about inheritance, wills, "lump sums" and its hard to know what any of it will mean in the long run. It isn't exactly the easiest of conversations to have with people in real life, either.

In that case, I wouldn't stress about this right now... It sounds like you've got so much on.

DH has the same - his parents vaguely mention inheritances and things every now and again - but until it's a real amount, and a timescale, there's not much you can do to plan for it.

I do sympathise with you, honestly - I'm the first in three generations of my family to own a home, and to be honest, it was more luck than anything else - my sisters inherited my mums severe MH issues, and I didn't, so I could work 80 hour weeks and pick a career in banking to make enough to save a deposit. My one-bed flat is now worth £180k in the Midlands, and I'd never have been able to reach that by myself. I have friends in good jobs who also just can't buy, because they're not with someone, and there's no way they can save or borrow enough as a single person. And that's without the benefits trap, so to speak.

Anyway this was a long-winded way of saying that this is always a controversial topic, and you sound so down, and if there's potential that your DH will earn more before the inheritance comes anyway - I'd try not to worry about it too much yet. I'm great at overthinking things and the situation almost always changes so half of the things I envision don't happen.

All the best.

Thank you.

We feel very much in the minority when it comes to our family and home ownership. It often feels like we are the only ones not doing home improvements, extensions, renovations etc. In fact, just financially in general, we are the black sheep. It's a running joke that our car is rubbish (basic model 13 year old vauxhall) compared to everyone else's and that we don't have a social life.

I tend to be painfully overanalytical over everything, so I'm almost certainly stressing myself out and opening myself up for negativity by worrying about what ifs! We really don't have any idea WHAT situation we will be in when anything happens. We are fortunate that I already know that whenever we do try to buy a house, my mum will contribute an amount towards the deposit.

Also, just to add, I DO want to work. Youngest DC started school in September, before that his nursery start got delayed at first due to allergies and wait for specialist appointment for epipens etc, then due to the pandemic. Trying to find work in the last 18 months hasn't been easy, especially with zero childcare and the expectation to home school for a large proportion. I'd always hoped that once both children were in school, I'd have been able to ease myself back into work part time during school hours, then increase as was appropriate with wrap around care if it were financially feasible.

Not that many people are keen on employing someone with a patchy work history due to child rearing and mental health problems.