Inheritance protected so that benefits can still be claimed

[JustACountryMusicGirlInCowboyBoots]

Can inheritance of around £200,000 be somehow protected so that benefits can still be claimed if provision is made in a will to hold that inheritance in some kind of trust? The claimant will never work for various reasons.

Some of the comments on this thread are really depressing and I think posters underestimate or have no idea of the work that carers do.

The previous poster saying that if you can't live off of the interest on £200k, then there's a problem. On a 5% interest rate, that's about £683 a month (after tax if tax is due). Hardly millions of pounds. I wouldn't begrudge someone trying to protect the inheritance of someone who is disabled at all.

Why should it be means tested.

It is literally work (hard work at that) that NEEDS doing and that would cost the state an absolute fortune to employee professionals to do if carers went on strike.

Imagine if any other employer decide not to bother pay their employees based on their savings.

Of course inheritance can be ringfenced into a trust to protect a disabled person on benefits.

I've got some more news too - if you win a PI claim of millions - it can go into a Trust or Deputyship and it WON'T be counted for benefits purposes. You can have 7.2M and still get your ESA.

Disabled people need all the help they can get!

OP, can you confirm whether the beneficiary is disabled or whether they are caring for an disabled adult child. I thought the latter, from your OP.

OP, there would probably be experienced and knowledgable posters on the SEN board if you give them the actual details

Disabled people receive some non-means tested benefits regardless of their personal wealth. It’s not the revelation you seem to think it is and nobody has issue with that.

The issue here is that the inheritance is the carer’s and not the disabled persons, and that the carer would like to put it somewhere so it doesn’t affect their own access to means tested benefits (you know, the ones you only get if you are in financial need, which someone with £200k is not).

It is not clear who they want to be the beneficiary of the trust - themselves or their disabled child - but this is obviously relevant information.

As the person receiving the 200k is a carer, I think they should be allowed to invest it as a form of income rather than just spending it straight on living costs.

Based on that the usual benefits rules apply, so the carers allowance will be means tested as it is for any other carer with or without an income.

£12k, not £3k.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

My sibling is in this territory. Disabled and set to inherit. My worry is she’ll be massively vulnerable if anyone finds out she has money. Lose it- then be screwed

You are joking? 🙄

Christ, some posters really want to race to the bottom.

This. Sometimes all you get on mn is bitchy judgement rather than any actual useful information. God forbid anyone ever claims any benefits how dare they 🧐 no wonder we have a Tory government and the UK is in a dire situation! I wouldn’t begrudge paying someone benefits (that they are entitled to) regardless of any inheritance. I don’t think the two are linked and I don’t share this unnecessary meanness that seems to exist towards other members of society!!

200k at 6% interest which is a top interest account would be £9,600.

But the person would be using that money to live on as well (at least a chunk needs to be accessible not savings).

200k would be 170k after 1 year, 140k after 2 years, 110k after 3 years etc... based on spending 30k per year which is hardly extravagant.

170k at 6% is approx 8k
140k at 6% is approx 6.5k
110k at 6% is approx 5k
and so on

Your very wrong in your assumptions and completely deluded in your cost of living awareness.

Wow, some pp are awful. It is not fraud though, is it?
It's more expensive living as a disabled persons. I myself have severe physical and mental health needs and for that reason I cannot work at the moment. I'm now 29 years old and I haven't worked for 2 years. I worked as a senior carer for 7 years. I was paid a wage for that (obviously) but was still rubbish for the amount of work and responsibilities I had due to being a senior.
People are seriously underestimating how hard and debilitating it is to care for another disabled person! There is nothing wrong with saving the inheritance for when the carer (unfortunately) passes away. The judgment on this post is unreal and I hope the pp posting horrible comments never find themselves disabled/ill or having to care for a disabled person living on state benefits!

Yes, we have made this arrangement for my son. Let's call him Toby. You need to set up a trust with a number of beneficiaries, and a letter alongside explaining to the beneficiaries what your wishes are (ie, that the money is for Toby). By naming several beneficiaries the government cannot demonstrate how much of the inheritance is specifically for Toby.

Those people on this thread who think this is immoral have no idea.

In my Toby's case, his reliance on benefits is due to his profound autism. However he is "theoretically" intelligent in that he has no learning difficulties. He has profound difficulties dealing with people, however, and severe communication difficulties. I had to be his appointee to advocate for him to get benefits. If he inherited 200k outright, and lost his entitlement to benefits and paid for career support, he would be ok in the short term until the money ran out (except he would not be able to rehire his carer paying for her himself, as he wouldn't be capable of arranging this; he would probably then live in squalor and forget to pay his rent, not open any letters about it, and end up on the streets). He would also then literally starve to death once the money ran out as he would not be capable of restarting an application for universal credit.

It's not about depriving the state of assets. It's about keeping the societal protections we have set up for him in place after our deaths.

How on Earth do you get £9,600 from 6% on £200,000?

Even if you don’t “get” numbers, you must know that that’s not right.

Not on waiting lists for benefits. But for surgery, for assessment, for other support - there are SO many calls on taxpayer money beyond benefits.

As a nation, I can't in good faith fight for the right of people to protect large inheritances, while 31% of children live in poverty, others are stuck at home due to crumbling schools, older people totally lost mobility due to being stuck on hip replacement lists for over a year (ironically enough, likely adding even more to our NHS and care costs)... of course there's inefficiency in govt spending, but not enough to allow every child of a baby boomer to keep their benefits when their parents start passing away and leaving them their large homes - which is starting now.

There are other options for the family with trusts, with property purchases, or with using it and relying on non-means tested benefits until it's back to £16k.

@JustACountryMusicGirlInCowboyBoots You need to clarify please WHO has inherited the money? Is it the disabled adult child or his Father? Makes a huge difference to the answer to your question

And who is the money in Trust for? Same question. The adult child or the Father?

It literally isn’t benefit fraud what’s wrong with people

£200k at 5% would be 10k pa.
Round here that wouldn't even cover rent on a 2 bed flat.

Yes you can, there are many loopholes for this. Please see a solicitor.

There wouldn't BE 200k because they need at least a standard income to live on per year.

The money would constantly be depleting.

You do also understand the concept of tax right?

You do get its not in anyway 200,000 / 100 = 2,000 x 6 right?

You horrific over simplifying and lack of logical thought and understanding is cringy.

This! In spades.

Not saving but it is income dependent.

I care full time for my disabled dh. He had a stroke and suffered serious brain damage 4 years ago. I have to do almost everything for him. If I couldn't care for him or if something happens to me he would have to go into a nursing home. He was the main earner but could no longer work, we lost our home and our lives changed drastically. He'd only just been given the all clear from cancer of the blood, so it was a double blow. I accept we are just unlucky. We claim UC, ESA, PIP and Carers allowance, we also get our council tax paid. I am extremely grateful for all these benefits but we only just get by. His dad is 91, if we were to inherit anything it would be about 30k at the most. It would actually cause us more problems, as we'd lose UC, ESA and council tax support. These benefits make up the bulk of our income. It's been a nightmare getting all these benefits in place and I dread to think about having to reapply for them all again. If you've never tried to claim PIP it's hard to get your head around just how gruelling the process is. The 30k would last us about 2 years living frugally. We only have state pensions to look forward to, when he first became I knew nothing of the benefits system so cashed in our 2 small private pensions to live off whilst we sold our house. If we could keep the 30k as a nest egg for our retirement or just to make our lives easier that would be wonderful. Again, I am so grateful for the benefits we receive that are paid for by the taxpayer, a system we both paid into for years but never imagined we would claim from. Obviously, I don't want his dad to pass away because we love him, but I also don't want the stress of having to come off benefits then reapply for them all again a short time later. I hope I don't sound greedy.