Yesterday my mother sadly passed away and I have no idea in the slightest what to do regarding benefits. Theres so much to do already.

Firstly I understand I will have to contact the DWP asap to get mums DLA stopped?

Next, what do I actually do about my funds?

I was on carers allowance for a few years for looking after my mum. In November my mental health problems deteriorated and I had to come off carers allowance to allow me a month or so to work on my own health. It's a very slow process getting help for mental health problems but as the ball was rolling I re-applied for carers allowance at the start of January since I started doing 35+ hours of care a week again for my mum.

Unfortunately about a week after submitting the claim online, mum's illness declined and around the middle of January she was taken to hospital. She spent over 2 weeks in hospital and then the other day was moved to a hospice and she passed away yesterday.

What can I do? I have heard nothing regarding my claim being processed yet. From what I can remember she will be sent forms to sign confirming that I am her carer but she is no longer with us of course. What do I say to the DWP? I dont think people get paid carers allowance if the person is in hospital so do I just tell them I only want to claim it backdated for 1 week (The time between applying and mum going to hospital).

I had income support with carers allowance but when I cancelled my carers allowance I was oddly still being paid £91 income support every 2 weeks... Citizens advice did say income support is paid in arrears so maybe it's that? Or could it be I need to cancel income support as well? (I assumed that because CA entitled me to IS, that is CA was cancelled, IS would be too).

Then it's the question of what now? IS entitles me to full housing benefit and a fair bit of council tax reduction, without that I have no money to actually pay my rent.

So what do the government expect me to do? Give up my home and live on a family members sofa? Or to sign up for JSA? Even though I am clearly unfit to work at the moment but cant claim any disability benefits as mental health problems are never seen as a reason to not have to work.

I just cant see how at a time like this when there is so much to do (arrange funeral, register death, close mums bank accounts, mourn etc) how the government can expect me to phone them up to get all of my money stopped and then end up losing my home too.

Thanks

Very sorry to hear of your loss.

I will try and find someone who can help.

It seems you have two issues here. One tidying up your Mother's affairs and the ongoing issues that are going to be caused to your finances.

Did your Mother have an insurance to cover funeral costs?

Hello there, I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. I lost mine last year and I know how difficult it is.

When you see the Registrar, they should register you on the Tell Us Once system. This will automatically tell the DWP, the council, HMRC and other authorities, I can't remember who offhand.

Will the hospice help you with paperwork? My mother died in hospital and they were very helpful.

You might want to go and see the local council to explain your problem when you have time, they may be able to help you work through what you're entitled to. I'm sure people will give you time.

Have you looked on somewhere like the CAB website for information on what to do when someone passes away?

Hugs, HB

Thanks for the advice both. Sorry to hear you lost your mum last year honeybee.

She didn't have funeral insurance but did leave a will with what she wanted funeral wise and what to do with all of her things and money. Her money should cover the funeral then after donating some of it to places that helped her there will be barely anything left of it at all. I'm guess to access that money I just need a copy of the will and death certificate and then I can walk into the bank with my ID and collect it?

I will give those ideas a go thanks. The tell us once system seems ideal and something that will help massively.

The hospice only gave me a few leaflets and gave me a list of funeral directors to choose from. I have to pick 1 and they will move the body there and arrange things with the funeral director myself

Thanks for the advice both. Sorry to hear you lost your mum last year honeybee.

 

She didn't have funeral insurance but did leave a will with what she wanted funeral wise and what to do with all of her things and money. Her money should cover the funeral then after donating some of it to places that helped her there will be barely anything left of it at all. I'm guess to access that money I just need a copy of the will and death certificate and then I can walk into the bank with my ID and collect it?

 

I will give those ideas a go thanks. The tell us once system seems ideal and something that will help massively.

 

The hospice only gave me a few leaflets and gave me a list of funeral directors to choose from. I have to pick 1 and they will move the body there and arrange things with the funeral director myself

That's very kind of you to say about my mother when you have your own problems and probably feel very low. Time helps, I have moved on a bit and I hope you will in time and have happier memories.

I'm not sure it's that simple with the money, please have a look on our General Legal Issues forum about wills.

Certainly for funeral expenses, if you go to the bank with an invoice, ID and a death certificate, they should pay the funeral directors direct. For the rest of your mum's estate, you probably need to go through the right procedures. Mr. P is a bit of a whizz on wills, I'll ask him to look in as well.

HB

Matthew, what are you going to do about funeral directors? You can ring them at the weekend and they should answer you or at least get back to you.

We had a recommendation from a neighbour, but from having had more than one bereavement last year, we chose a local independent firm. If you don't like how they are on the phone when you ring, then go and talk to someone else on the list.

You could also google them to see if there are any comments.

HB x

She didn't have funeral insurance but did leave a will with what she wanted funeral wise and what to do with all of her things and money. Her money should cover the funeral then after donating some of it to places that helped her there will be barely anything left of it at all. I'm guess to access that money I just need a copy of the will and death certificate and then I can walk into the bank with my ID and collect it?

 

I will give those ideas a go thanks. The tell us once system seems ideal and something that will help massively.

 

The hospice only gave me a few leaflets and gave me a list of funeral directors to choose from. I have to pick 1 and they will move the body there and arrange things with the funeral director myself

The bank will only release funds to the named executor(s) listed in the will. Probate will not be needed for smaller sums (typically under £20,000 depending on the bank), but they will require conformation of identity and an indemnity form signed.

Has HB has already mentioned, the banks will usually release funds directly to the funeral director on production of an invoice. They can be a little tardy in doing so (mine certainly was last year), but as long as there are sufficient funds available, the bill should get paid.

As for dealing with the loss on a personal level, there are a few charities around the country that offer a bereavement service. The hospice that your mother was in should be able to point you in the right direction, failing that, have a word with your GP.

I can only tell you of my experience when my mother died. As others have stated when registering her death I took advantage of Tell Us Once and they inform all the major agencies which saves a headache at a time when so much has to be organised. Most banks have a special department with dealing with deceased relatives and if you contact them they will initially freeze the account there is a facility to have the funeral expenses paid from funds held by the bank. As far as Carer's Allowance goes although your mum was in hospital for the last two weeks Carer's Allowance is payable for two months after the death of the person you were caring for.

I don't know if you have a local authority or private house but if it is council or housing association and your mother was the tenant you will have to apply to have a succession to the tenancy. Actually mental health problems are covered under ESA and PIP benefits so you may want to look into those.

funeral directors you will find are at their best once you spoke to them, they will suggest after ascertaining your requirements and they will take the weight off your shoulders and keep you informed, I found this out when I lost my young daughter

Don't worry the carer's allowance claim hasn't been processed, I claimed just a few days before my relative died and was paid for the time up till death plus 8 weeks. If the claim for carer's allowance was made before your mother passed away then it will still be processed and paid, don't forget that there's a 8 week run-on after a death. A short period in a hospital or hospice will not affect your right to carer's, however after 4 weeks the DLA or Attendance Allowance will stop and the carer will no longer qualify for carer's allowance. From your original post it seems your mother was in hospital/hospice for less than 4 weeks so you should receive carer's from the date you claimed until 8 weeks after the date of death.

Thanks again everyone. Sorry for the late reply but I had a busy day or so.

The funeral seems to be sorted now. A distant relative of my mothers said they would pay for the funeral up front now and when mum's money is released I can pay them back.

That's good to hear with the carers allowance but is it normal for them to take so long? Looking at my emails now I had confirmation of the new claim on the 7th Jan, but havent heard a thing off them.

My home is a housing association property with just me living there.

In regards to ESA, before I originally started claiming carers allowance years ago, I did try for ESA. My claim was processed but after something like 12 weeks I went for an ATOS assessment who basically told me that being mentally unwell is not a reason to be unfit to work. They stopped my claim and put me in the path of signing up for JSA. As I was voluntarily caring for my mother for over 35 hours a week anyway I saw CA as the best option. Really don't want to deal with ATOS again. In my situation they have cost the government money because I would have remained an unpaid carer while on ESA and used the work focused groups to help me get into a paid job as soon as possible.

The will was something that was kept active with a monthly fee my mum paid. It's an account with HSBC and is under 20k. That is specifically left to me in the will.

Yes it is normal for carers allowance applications to take awhile for example I claimed in the January but didn't get paid until the March of 2012

Thanks all and you are right ripples. Money was paid in today.

1 more thing to ask regarding wills. Mum paid some company money each month to keep her will "active". If you ask me they seem like cowboys especially as they were saying that if her estate was worth more, they would be charging over £2500 as "executors" to release the estate.

They claim I have to write a letter asking them to renounce being executors and to pass the original will to me. Then I will have the original will and can access her accounts. Is this the normal process?

Thanks

Name the Company Matthew...then we can dig.

Regards

Andy

Matthew a will is a valid legal document until it is superseded or used after a person's death there is no need to pay anyone to keep it 'live' What happens is that some people appoint banks or other bodies to administer the estate as executives upon death often with fees which can be 20% of the estate. They are right you have to relinquish their right to administer the estate by written letter ( send by recorded delivery or signed for) they may charge a fee for doing this. Do you have any copy of a contract which your mothe r signed appointing them as executives or their fee structure? Also there is usually more than one copy of a will one of which is usually kept by person who made the will and the second held by her appointee there may be a copy of her will amongst her papers

Thanks peeps its "Trust Inheritance" (Weston super mare).

I can't find too much paperwork on what was signed and agreed to. It must have been just to store it in their safe then. Approx £8 a month.

My mum thought it was some government agency because of it's "professional" name and so had complete trust in them. I have a copy of the will with "copy" stamped all over it that my mum was given when she made the will with them. It says about them being the executors and my mums wishes.

They said the estate value wasn't high enough for them to need to arrange for a probate and charge their usual £2500 fee, so they will renounce being executors once I send them a written letter. The guy on the phone told me what to write. He then said once they have renounced, I could go to the bank with the original will they send me and take her money out.

Seems confusing and shady, they charge my mum £8 a month for nearly 10 years even though her estate was never big enough to require getting a probate. So now I get the original will back and have to deal with getting money from accounts sorted on my own.

Hello again Matthew.

That sounds like good news if they're resigning as executors and letting you deal with things.

Please read up on probate rules and make sure you follow the right procedures. You can ask the bank to pay for the funeral, but if you want other money, you need to do what the law says.

The CAB website has some good advice for executors.

HB

You're better of having them renounce their intererest as executors. Probate isn't actually hard to apply for but you will need a copy of the death certificate to send with your probate application,.

If you are applying for probate you will need to have made an itinerary of all of your mothers goods, savings etc

Thanks, yeah that was my impression with things but based on the figures I gave to the will company, they said its under the maximum payout banks can pay without a probate so I could just walk in there with a copy of the death cert and will (and my ID of course).

Will have to see I guess, if I did have to apply for a probate then goods would be a problem as she has so many things stored in the house it would be difficult to price up.

Thanks again

Thanks, yeah that was my impression with things but based on the figures I gave to the will company, they said its under the maximum payout banks can pay without a probate so I could just walk in there with a copy of the death cert and will (and my ID of course).

 

Will have to see I guess, if I did have to apply for a probate then goods would be a problem as she has so many things stored in the house it would be difficult to price up.

 

Thanks again

Matthew, I think you can estimate the value of the house contents by looking on ebay.

HB

Theres a lot, I mean 1000's of items ranging from old videos, dvd's, cuddly toys, collectible figures. Then theres a spare room filled with her stuff. Will give it a go though at pricing it all up. Thanks

" Seems confusing and shady, they charge my mum £8 a month for nearly 10 years even though her estate was never big enough to require getting a probate. So now I get the original will back and have to deal with getting money from accounts sorted on my own. "

May be a case of miss selling there and worth further investigation.....once you have dealt with the priorities.

Andy

Theres a lot, I mean 1000's of items ranging from old videos, dvd's, cuddly toys, collectible figures. Then theres a spare room filled with her stuff. Will give it a go though at pricing it all up. Thanks

You might get 10p each for DVD/CDs, but old VHS tapes will be worth nothing. Cuddly toys will only be salable if they have CE tags on them and even then, only worth pennies unless they have Steiff tags. Collectible figures will only be worth what someone is willing to pay (as with everything else). Unless there are any extremely rare and desirable items, you might want to consider valuing the "stuff" at a nominal figure.

For example, when I valued an estate last year for probate, I had a couple of pieces of artwork appraised along with some jewellery. For insurance purposes, the items were valued at over £10,000, but probate value came in at under £1,000. The jewellery was basically valued at scrap gold price.

Chattels, which covers things like furniture, clothing, collectible figurines, and general tat, you may as well pick a nominal figure (I went for £1,500). Unless the value of the estate is close to the Inheritance Tax threshold (£325,000), HMRC is unlikely to ask any questions.

Thanks again peeps.

Yeah I think that is realistic to do a rounded value as its nowhere near the value for it to be taxed.

As for trust inheritance, I definitely am looking into it now as from what I have read online, that company has been known to target vulnerable people with cheap will writing and as soon as they get in the front door try to sell add on packages for over 2k.

My mum was on the suckers cold calling list and from reading online this will company may have got her details from "Bath knight". They cold called her to have a disabled persons bathroom fitted for an eye watering price. She sadly went for it and had non stop faults with it. That company went bust around may last year so if more faults happened when she was still with us she would have had to pay another company to remove it and replace it with something similar.

Anyway, thanks again for all of the great answers. It's appreciated