Dad died DWP already asking for money

[tossedsalad]

My Dad died on the 22nd Nov. He was overpaid his pension credit to the sum of £5,000 which they are now trying to recover from my mum who he was seperated from for 16 years. Can they do this? My mum has dementia and is panicking.

What a horrible, sad time for you. Did your Dad leave a will? If not, your mother inherits from your father, not you and your siblings. Do you have power of attorney for your Mum's affairs? When my Father died my siblings decided his estate would be settled their way. It then took 14 years and considerable expense to resolve- and see a penny. When my mum died, DWP were very quick to get in touch and reclaim over payment. It wasn't optional. It felt callous and intrusive.

I do understand estate law thank you.

And the op has acted very unwisely and she knows it. It was not her money to take.

I’m going through probate now with my recently bereaved mother’s estate.

Her active bank accounts have been paid to me but I have moved them to another account while I sort everything out. Sending out death certificates, contacting credit card companies, utilities

There is clear guidance on what to do when someone dies when you register the death. There is a even a checklist in the registration docs.

Op- I am sorry for your loss but you must return the money. It’s nothing compared to the memory of your late father x

P.S- who’s the idiot now OP? Because it certainly isn’t the DWP

Yeah her dad just died. Let's throw her words back at her and call her an idiot. Lovely.

I won't pile on to what everyone else has said, OP, but I'm afraid they're correct. Get in touch with the DWP, they're not as mean and scary as they sound, they were incredibly compassionate when my mum died in September and I was left to deal with a similar situation. I'm sorry for your loss.

It's not a lot of money and I'll be damned if those idiots are getting it!
Those idiots pay other peoples pensions as well you know

as its not a lot of money, there wont be a problem paying it back?

Thanks for answering my question OP.

Some people on here have been unnecessarily harsh. You are very recentky bereaved, after all. However, the fact remains that the DWP can and will claim that money from you and your sister when it becomes clear what happened to it. They have a responsibility to the taxpayer. The good news is that they cannot and will not claim it from your mum. Also, they will probably be amenable to a repayment plan if it has already been spent.

If you think that their calculations are wrong, you can appeal. Perhaps he wasn't entitled to it at all because he had savings?

Work with the DWP, OP. That's my advice. This isn't going away.

Best wishes.

So sorry for your loss

Unfortunately you and your sister will have to pay the £5000 back. All debts need to be cleared first, before the estate can be split between beneficiaries.

If I were you, I would settle the debt as quickly as possible and move on. Don't enter into a battle with the DWP, you will lose and exert a lot of unnecessary energy.

Be kind to yourself during this sad time.