Inheritance for child when the parent is on benefits

[moneyisnotfunny]

Nc and some details changed for this. My young daughter is going to inherit around £30K from her late father once the estate is sorted out through probate. I am a single parent carer on benefits and am concerned about how to handle this situation. The money will be very much my daughter's and I have been told that it is to cover her maintenance up to when she reaches adulthood. Because it is maintenance, there needs to be a way of releasing the maintenance amount per month to me for her every day living expenses. If the full amount went into my account then my benefits would stop and the money would run out long before Dd hits 18 and we would because off as a family. I hope that makes sense.
How can I keep her money safe and in her name but released monthly to help for her day to day things? Is this possible? It's around £300 a month that she got and this is the rate it would continue at afaik. I will be asking for it to be paid into an account in her name. Multiple Junior ISAs? Premium Bonds? She is 8 and any account will have to be overseen by me as her only parent/guardian.
TIA.

Your dd might be eligible for a part of his pension if his other DC are.

Your DD may be due a dependant’s pension until she is maybe 18 or 21.

You need to ask whoever is administering/executing the estate to check this or provide you the details of who the pension is with (employer/insurance company etc.) so you can contact them directly on your DD’s behalf.

If you can’t get anywhere and I’m definitely no help with any suggestions could you put it in premium bonds in your child’s name until you can make sense of it.

I've just been reading more.. Gov.uk says that all beneficiaries should see and sign a copy of the full estate accounts before the assets are distributed.

I think at this stage OP, you need to demonstrate to them that you are aware of how your child should be treated fairly. From the sounds of things I don't think they have a clue themselves.

I haven't read the whole thread but when a distant cousin of my Dad's died without a will or any immediate family the pension company had discretion to allocate the pension other than the person named as the beneficiary on the pension plan. It might be that you can request the £300 a month that your daughter's Dad was paying to be paid from his pension until your daughter is 18. It's worth discussing with his executors.

Aside from the inheritance/house issue etc.
it is likely that pension has a clause for children in education when a parent dies.
if it’s a government pension it will have, that money can only go to your child and is paid every month.
it was paid to my mum but in my name and taxes as though I was the recipient/earner.

I don’t know what not being on the birth certificate means tho.
for me many years ago it was £600/month.

your dd gets legal aid as a child for these things - it’s not about you affording a solicitor. You can’t afford not to have advice for her. It’s a life changing amount in pension alone.

May I put my pennyworth in, more as a summary than anything else

1. As your daughters representative it is imperative that YOU are satisfied that the estate has been properly distributed otherwise you could be liable to your daughter for any loss.
2. As has been said the estate needs to be distributed according to the Intestacy rules. It is possible for an adult beneficiary to waive these BUT not you in behalf of your daughter
3. As the representative of a beneficiary you can have an input into who is the executor. In this case I suggest a Solicitor would be a very good idea
4. You need to be very careful about what is due to his ex wife and that anything she gets from the sale of the house is in accordance with the financial settlement on the divorce
5. The Executor can release money for your daughters benefit while she is a minor at their discretion but your daughter cant have the money until she's 18
6. You may wish to look at the options at that point so an 18 year old doesn't end up with a large amount of money they then spend on wine men and song
7. And for all readers of this thread MAKE A WILL WITH PROPER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE!!

I would ask that they set up a trust with one of the other relatives as trustee. The solicitor handling the estate should be able to help with that. Having someone else serve as trustee makes it clear that this is not your money, it is meant for the maintenance of dc. Any principle left when she comes of age will revert to her.

Whereas I think they have every clue.

If he had no will then your daughter is entitled to a third of his estate.

His children should be sharing that equally.

CAB can't give legal advice. They can give general advice and may have specialists in certain areas but not probate but, apart from general advice on what intestacy actually is, for any advice on what is due to your daughter and the implications of any trust which will arise you would need to consult a solicitor.

I would invest the cash for her university fees or house deposit. Don't fritter the £30k 9n daily living expenses, speak to a financial advisor and invest wisely.

If you're unsure, put the money in her name in a stocks and shares ISA and or premium bonds for a year. This gives you time to think about what to do. Then do not touch it until she needs it for university fees.

As others have said you really need a solicitor to represent your daughter’s interests here. Even things like pensions and life insurance, any death in service benefit from the workplace may have clauses providing for your daughter as a minor at the point of death.

I don’t know about the rules re trusts if someone does intestate but when my children inherited, we had a lot of freedom as parents to use the money to benefit the children- the way the will was written meant we could touch it rather than it being locked away entirely until 18. We did however have to provide documentation when we set up some accounts to show that the money was the child’s and not us trying to avoid paying tax by saving in our children’s names.

If there is no will and its coming from his family as maintenance can they not just send it to you each month rather than lump sum?

You may ultimately need a solicitor, but for now, you have so few facts that a solicitor is unlikely to be able to help. This is what I would do now:
1 Find out who is handling the estate.
1a If it's a solicitor, write to them and tell them about your daughter. The solicitor will let you know what your daughter is entitled to.
1b If it's the two other children or some other unqualified person acting for them, register your daughter's interest with the Probate Registry as others have suggested. They will eventually let you know the size of the estate.
2 When you know how much is involved, start thinking about whether you need legal advice on how it should be paid.
3 In the meantime contact the pension trustees and let them know about your daughter. The next step will depend on what they say.

I would not be assuming any ill intent on the part of his family. No-one thinks straight when they are bereaved. Still less do they think up cunning and complex plans overnight. The indication is that they are trying to do what they see as the right thing. I would work on that assumption till it's disproved. If this was straightforward there wouldn't be so much conflicting advice on here.

My heads hurts! This is a lot to take in. Until this thread I had no idea she was entitled to anything at all. I'm too tired to repeat myself for those who can't read my OP or updates but to those of you who have, thank you.

I know that the house is jointly owned 50/50 but I do not know if that is tenants in common or the other one. They bought the house after they were married if that makes a difference.

The pension is from a huge employer so I expect it is a healthy pot.

Once Dd is back at school I can start making some calls and appreciate the posts highlighting who to call.

The OP has stated several times, there is no Will

here it is:

Just to be very clear:

There is no will

Dd is not named in anything.

Having just looked at the pension scheme I am assuming he was in because of who he worked for then the amount that Dd would be eligible for is significant until she is either 18 or 23. So even taking the house out of the equation Dd is looking at a significant amount. My mind is blown really. It's a lot to take in.

With respect if you are in any doubt seek a legal opinion. Most pension companies will only deal with the informant or administrator. A solicitor would be better placed to offer you with the first step in protecting your daughters interest. I don’t mean by engaging in a legal battle with the family but merely being equipped with the right knowledge so that you know what process they should be following.

If you know the address of the house you can download the title deed for £3 online, if it was held as tenants-in-common you will see written:

“No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court.”

If there is no will then the rules of intestacy will apply. If he was married, his spouse will inherit everything. If not, his children will receive it all split equally, any under 18 will only be able to access it at 18.

@Dotto it just says the names of ex and his exW and nothing like what you have put above in your comment.

Sorry @Dotto, so that means the exW now owns the house if I've understood correctly. If so that makes sense given her statement about only wanting out what she put in. She is protecting her daughter's future by ensuring she gets part of the house. What I think they are thinking is that the exW takes what she wants and the remainder goes to the dc. The eldest is not the exW's child just for clarity.

If the property doesn’t have the restriction then it is likely to go to the surving party as it wasn’t owned as tennants in common.

This makes more sense in terms of the family wanting to ensure Dd has something because the house won't come under intestacy rules.