Savings in my name stopping Universal Credit despite low income

[slowingdown1]

can anyone more financially savvy than me help?
Recently divorced, ex DH pays minimum child maintenance. Have a low
income due to home working in low demand role so I can care
for 2 x disabled children. Yearly
salary is £31k before tax, I save £100 monthly into pension. I claim Scottish disability payments for both kids which go on private treatment / therapies. Each month I scrap by and have a constant low credit card debt despite my best efforts. I have savings that were gifted to me by my mum as long-term financial security of £80k. Although the money is legally in my name, I have made a firm promise to her that I will not use it, so morally I do not feel able to touch it until she is no longer with us.
My current income is low, but because these savings are in my name, they are preventing me from applying for Universal Credit as above
the threshold.
I understand I can’t eg transfer the savings into trusts for my kids as this would constitute deprivation of capital. I can’t ask my mum to eg take it back for the same reason.

If a spouse is living in the marital home the house is disregarded. See my previous post about downsizing and sharing equity.

I saw it.
The post was for aimed at another poster.

"However, if the care home is private, they may have to repay the fees eventually - out of their assets when they die."

Same answer to this.The surviving spouse would not have to pay the dead spouse's care fees. The house is disregarded unless another property is purchased while the spouse requiring care is alive, then any equity would be 50/50.

Your kids need help now, it’s not up to the taxpayer to fund your life whilst you sit comfortably on £80k making interest everyday. I genuinely cannot believe you expect UC with this amount in the bank. Mind boggled

CF comes to mind, you want to claim whilst having all that ! Unbelievable.

She doesn't 'want to claim' She was either given absolutely shit advice by the CAB or didn't hear it properly. She is completely able to use that money for 'living' without it being deprivation of assets. Now, she knows the reality, she an start using it to pay bills, mortgage and day to day expenses. I'm astounded a CAB advisor said that. Ok, there may be a bit of 'not fair' that I have to use money I didn't ask for or want - I think we'd all feel a bit like that, but to me, it boils down to not understanding the rules

Just because you don’t recognise it as fraud doesn’t mean it isn’t.

Youre coming across as arrogant and greedy. This is not what I pay tax for. Both you and your mother have done the wrong thing. Don’t act like you couldn’t have transferred it back 🙄

The OP, and presumably also her mother, is in Scotland where continuing health care doesn't apply. Instead, it is Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care, and this does not apply if the person can be cared for in any setting other than a hospital. This would not apply to someone like the OP's mother with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

Yes, that's a completely different scenario. Contrary to the common belief on MN, a married couple do remain financially independent individuals - this becomes very important when it comes to one having to self-fund care. Joint accounts and assets are split down the middle. Accounts and assets in the name of the person needing care are ring-fenced for that care.

The OP's mother has given away money after receiving a diagnosis which means that her need for care is very predictable.

The OP has said that if her mother needs care then her brother has said he'll pay for it. That suggests that the mother doesn't have much left.

OP - the main problem you have here is that the transfer of money from your mother to you will be considered to be deprivation of assets should she need the council to fund her care in the future. She transferred the money in the knowledge that she has been diagnosed with an illness which makes future care needs very likely. And - she asked you not to spend that money until after her death, which suggests that she was fully aware of what she was doing and was making sure that if found out, the money would still be available to pay for self-funded care. As it is deprivation of assets, she'll be treated as if she still has that money.

I know you've said that your brother has said he'll pay for care if needed, but it's likely that he doesn't realise how expensive it will be and no one knows how long any care has to be funded for.

I think you should have a conversation with your brother and ask for his assistance in getting professional legal and financial advice on this - as currently it is a mess, and it could get worse for you and for your mother.

Absolutely.

The reason you don't qualify for UC is because they expect you to use your savings to cover your month to month expenses. Once you no longer have those savings, UC is there as a safety net.

They also understand that people need to pay for big expenditure from time to time. Buying an £80k car will raise eyebrows (i.e. have questions asked) but replacing a banger with a new to you used car is fine.

If your child needs a wet room for independence, then go for it.

If you want to replace your 2yo bathroom, then maybe think twice.

Basically use the savings to cover what you need.

Using the money shouldn't be classed as deprivation of assessts for UC purposes (Google it) and would make you better of as it would give you a greater monthly disposable income plus you'd still be entitled to claim UC based on your 31k salary and individual circumstances .

You can also use the 80k to pay off any other debts (including mortgage) without it being classed as deprivation.

Is your ex-husband unemployed or on an extremely low income? £110 per month child maintenance for two children with additional needs is a pitifully small amount especially as he can never look after his own children because of his history of abuse towards his own child.

I'm very sorry for you OP. Your life must be extremely hard.

Exactly

Ah ok, I did miss that the OPs mum was in Scotland so thats my error.

It does sound like an even more complex situation than just needing help with UC and given the potential issues with deprivation of assets for both the OP and the Mum, I think it sounds like they need some legal advice.

It does appear like there was a situation where the Mum tried to dodge paying for care and as a result, with the OP now needing UC, its caused a complex issue and just moving the money back would also complicate things.

Sounds like advice should have been sought before any money was moved the first time but I would certainly be getting advice now before spending or moving anything as it sounds a bit of a mess honestly.

I thought your comment was general not specific to OP sorry:

When I worked in benefits you had to show intention when considering deprivation of assets; you clearly are aware of the savings limits so I would expect them to grill you if you claimed when under the threshold.
Your mum doesn’t want you to “fritter away” the money, I don’t consider covering essentials for you and your children as essential. Use the money cautiously, but definitely use it would be my choice

On top of ADP?

You have 80,000 - you are not poor

It doesnt matter what your DM wanted - you have savings

He’s unemployed since the abuse charge.
thank you for your kindness, life does feel unbearably hard.

I didn’t say I was poor. I have said I struggle with my care expenses as a sole low earner.
I wanted to know how to manage the lump sum from my mum so that when its not there (and some great advice here on how I could potentially use it towards mortgage/ wet room/ credit card debt)
I will be able to claim UC as I will on paper be entitled to given my income / carer status. As the thread has detailed, this is not simple because of the risk of my soending it being seen as deprivation of assets.

OP - you and your brother, who's your DM's POA, should seek professional advice as your mother's transfer of the money to you after a diagnosis of Alzheimer's (and asking you not to spend it until after her death) would be seen as deprivation of assets should she require funded care in the future.

The reason it isn’t simple ISN’T because of deprivation of assets from YOUR possible spending. It’s the fact your a MOTHER may be in trouble for deprivation of assets by giving you the money in the first place.
If it was your money without any history there would be no deprivation of assets AT ALL by you spending it on bills etc. But it wasn’t given to you cleanly.

As someone else upthread said I think your mother gave it to you to avoid care fees. And had your life stayed the same there would be no issues. But now you’re struggling. If you spend it and your mother gets investigated then your mother is in trouble. If you don’t spend it you can’t claim anything and you’re getting further and further into debt. THAT is the catch 22. Not the fact you simply have 80k in the bank.