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.

I can’t understand your catch 22

you have 80k in the bank -
use it
live on it -

then if / when you are genuinely in need of state help - claim legitimately as opposed to looking for a loop hole when u are not entitled -

what if I said - I’ve squirrelled away 80k - but I got plans for it, so I’m not gonna use it to live and I’ll expect to claim benefits while it sits in my bank and earns some interest - lovely jubbly !

Gosh.. i would love to have £80k in the bank and claim benefits to help me pay my bills.

I must be missing something because i am absolutely bewildered at this post.

If this is a troll well done youve wound me up
If this is genuine then im really shocked.

You are asking for tax payers, who, by the way are struggling aswell, to help you make ends meet when you have £80k in the bank....?!

Nah honestly this has to be a piss take

This
if you’d been sensible your mother could have paid it direct to the lender to pay off a chunk of your mortgage

For goodness sake! You use it to live on!

Would both these options be excluded from deprivation of assets? Thank you so much

She didn’t ask me or tell me before she did it. Wish she had, wish she and I had discussed it with someone knowledgeable first but too late for that.

Probably not - excluded, that is.

Is that true?

i'm also quite shocked by this post to be honest

EXACTLY!!!

Once its gone by way of 'making ends meet' as you keep saying you need UC for THEN you can ask the tax payer to help you out.

I cant
I really cant.

It’s what the advisor showed me, I’ve no reason to think he wasn’t being truthful as he inputted my income and level of disability of the kids and that was the figure if I didn’t have the savings.

Either way there are people genuinely struggling and you have £80k in the bank to “fall back on”
think yourself lucky you are not destitute, stop moaning and have compassion for those less fortunate than yourself

I understand 💕. But who would look bad too? For your own peace of mind, ask her when you're fairly sure she's having a good day and answer you properly.

your mum is surely the only one that matters with regard to how it looks??

Have you spoken to your brother about it? How well do you get on with him? What does he think?

But the advisor told me spending it will be deprivation of assets so advised against that.

Sadly if your mum needs care (which with 2 disabled children you will not be able to provide) you may well be having the same problems over the same £80k.

Yes, they are all excluded.
Choose one and go with it.

To be fair,with the amount of UC credit you might get 😮.... Realistically you'd have made that 80k back in 4 years anyway

Not moaning at all, simply asking for advice, I have compassion for anyone struggling in life, it’s not easy.

You are on the wind up.🙄

paying bills /mortgage etc isn’t frittering it away

speedy cars and long holidays would be

it’s yours so spend some of it to help you and your kids

But if you go through it slowly to pay essential Bills and avoid getting into debt, then I don't think it would count as deprivation of assets would it? You would just be a normal person spending your savings on things that you need.

I can see how buying an expensive car would be deprivation of assets, but surely not just paying your standard bills? Did CAB really say that? If so I would be looking for clarification or a second opinion.

Agree. Im not an expert but that seems bad advice.

That is excellent news! Pay yourself that amount each month from your £80,000 nest egg savings and then in approximately 3 and a bit years you'll hit the £16k threshold to claim UC.

Thank you for understanding 💞brother is nice but lives abroad, very wealthy and thinks I’m over worrying and to spend it on a new car/ bills/mortgage
and claim until it’s not longer considered an asset. He thinks it’s unlikely they’d even ask where the money had gone but I’m far more nervous than him and can’t do that.

Of course, spending it is okay. Apply some basic logic - they expect you to spend it on living (hence not giving you UC). What you cannot do is spend it quickly in a way that isn't part of your normal life in order to get onto UC as quickly as possible.

This