Benefits fraud and the subject of benefits affected by an inheritance can raise some questions by clients.  As a Will Writer it is common practice to use trusts to protect the inheritance of a beneficiary who currently obtains benefits. (Ed. For more information on special trusts to avoid benefits fraud, click the link.  Few Wills are regularly reviewed and updated to keep up to date with changing circumstances.  For one such service which may help to prevent accusations of benefits fraud click the link.)

Do NOT give the gift of Benefits Fraud in your Will!

The use of a discretionary trust prevents the inheritance being classed as an asset of the beneficiary for the purpose of any ’means tested’ benefit. This is not fraudulent activity just sensible estate planning. When it comes to dealing with probate however the unsuspecting professional advisor could find themselves in a position where they are being asked to assist a beneficiary commit benefits fraud and prevent their benefits being affected.A person in receipt of means tested benefits must declare any inheritance so that their entitlement can be reassessed. It is not uncommon for someone to attempt to ‘hide’ their inheritance by requesting that it is paid into the bank account of a different family member or friend and caution must be exercised in respect of any such requests.  Proper planning means that such deception is entirely unnecessary – but sadly few people take proper advice which would avoid accusations of benefits fraud.The serious approach taken by the courts in relation to benefits fraud has been highlighted this week after a 57 year old benefits cheat was jailed for nine months and is now subject to a proceeds of crime investigation into his affairs after he fraudulently claimed £64,000 despite his wife receiving a £105,000 inheritance. (Ed. It bears repeating that charges of benefit fraud could easily have been avoided had the person who his inherited from had good advice which took into account their circumstances.)Michael Mead had appeared in court after being charged with benefits fraud for falsely claiming income support for eight years by saying that he and his wife were unemployed.When he appeared in court to face charges he failed to mention the inheritance which had already been paid to his wife at that time. Sentencing was delayed when he promised to repay the falsely claimed benefits however when appearing for sentencing this week he had repaid just £261. In addition, he had continued to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit while awaiting sentencing and claimed the inheritance had been used to buy inheritance bonds and he had no access to capital to make repayments.Also a bereaved wife has been charged with fraudulently claiming £8000 widow’s allowance despite her new partner moving into their home.The previously named ‘mum of the year’ had failed to declare her change incircumstances which meant that she was no longer entitled to the benefit.The Coventry Telegraph reported that Ian Reynolds failed to declare an inheritance of £25,000 and carried on claiming Housing Benefit,  Job Seekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit for five years.During a hearing at Rugby Magistrates Court Mr Reynolds pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud and was given 200 hours of community service. The defendant was also ordered to pay £200 in court costs and was given a 12 month supervision order.With cases on the rise, it is important that you do not inadvertently get involved in assisting with fraudulent activity. Be aware of the possibility of fraud occurring and be on the lookout for any signs of deception.

Benefits Fraud.

How can I find out if a Will has been registered?Answer:Sorry about your Dad.

1. I am not sure if you can’t find the Will (seehttps://theprobatedepartment.co.uk/how-to-find-a-lost-will/.) We do very often get questions about lost Wills, and their loss can cause all sorts of problems.  Many are destroyed by people who don’t like them, many are so out of date as to be ridiculous.   So we designed a program to keep Wills (etc) under review and secure, and we set up a separate company (Will Custodian Ltd) to run the system.  It is very simple, costs most people the price of a coffee a month and help its’ Members to keep up to date with relevant changes in the Law, Tax and (of course) family circumstances.  Any or all of those can mean that a review of Legal Planning is needed.  If you would like to learn more about the Peace of Mind Service, click the link.2) Or think someone else might have been granted Probate on it (it would be very quick to have done so already in around a month) in which case try here: https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate3) Alternatively, you might wish to prevent anyone else from attempting to prove a Will you might consider was false/ made under pressure etc etc, by way of a Caveat in which case see here: https://theprobatedepartment.co.uk/contest-a-will/.

4) If it turns out that there is no valid Last Will, then the Rules of Intestacy will apply, but the situation might change dramatically if there is the possibility of a claim under the Inheritance Act and its’ latest update which significantly widens the class of people who can claim that they were not properly provided for under the Will or lack of Will.

Happy to have a brief chat if it helps, and I hope I have answered the question!

   More on Probate Disputes                      Free Probate Dispute Claim Checker               

The Act implements the majority of the proposals contained in the Law Commission report to bring inheritance law into line with the needs and expectations of families. It will make it simpler for people to deal with the practical and financial issues that arise when a member dies, and simplifies the administration of trusts.Intestacy and Family Provision: the Bill was introduced into the House of Lords in July 2013 and received Royal Assent in May 2014.The Law Commission’s report on inheritance and family provision also dealt with inheritance rights of cohabitants but these were contained in a separate draft Bill as the Law Commission acknowledged that these recommendations raised issues that did not apply to the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Bill.After careful consideration, the Government decided that the Law Commission’s recommendations about rights for cohabitants upon intestacy would not be implemented during this Parliament. This is consistent with the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s previous report, Cohabitation: Financial consequences of relationship breakdown, and reflects the continuing priority for family justice of completing the Governments significant ongoing reform programme when it comes to intestacy and family provision.

Claiming on life insurance promptly may ease the whole process of sorting out a death by bring in some useful cash.

However, there can be problems claiming on life insurance policy or policies:

• Sometimes policy premiums may not have been kept up to date, so the policy may not be valid.  This is clearly disappointing but the company may treat the death claim sympathetically if the circumstances are right.  It is always worth submitting a claim.

• If the policy was taken out relatively recently, the insurer may be concerned that death resulted from something which was known about but not disclosed on the application form.  This could result in the death claim being refused, but would cause some delay while the matter was investigated.
• Where suicide is suspected, most insurance companies have the right to refuse to pay a claim if the policy is fairly new.
• The policy may be “in trust” which means that the trustees of the policy (probably you will be one) must make the claim, and the proceeds can only be distributed to the people nominated by the trust which would typically be the spouse/ partner and children – but not necessarily.  You need to find out.
• If the policy pays out to the estate (and sadly 94% of policies do) then it is an asset for Inheritance Tax purposes and must be declared as such during the probate process, with the inevitable delay in payment.
• You may not be able to find either the policy or the insurance company.
• The policy may be an old one which has been cashed or cancelled, or in the case of a pension, transferred.
• You may not even be aware that it existed, so check out the unclaimed assets search.

How do I find out if there is a life policy to claim on?

Pretty much all policies these days are paid by direct debit, with the exception of some policies which are either:

1. Paid up – that is, premiums are no longer being paid, but the policy still has value.
2. Investment policies which are often called investment bonds.

So if you have the policy documents to hand it is relatively easy (though you may find that some of the policies are no longer valid as they have been cashed or cancelled).If not, look for the names of insurance companies on the bank statement.  Most are paid monthly, but some are quarterly or even annual, so it is certainly worth looking back at least a year.  But that won’t help with paid up policies – if you think their might be one, and you can’t find any paperwork, you could search for it – and lots of other things – at the Unclaimed Assets Register.  Bear in mind that this asset search is more comprehensive.

Other sorts of policies with death benefits.

Most pension schemes have some sort of death benefit.  Sometimes it is only a reduced pension for the spouse or other dependents.But many other schemes will have additional benefits, especially before a pension income starts to be drawn.  If it is a company scheme, talk to the company, if not speak to your financial adviser if you have one.   If you use our probate service , we can do all that for you if you wish (and that may be cheaper).

How to claim a live insurance policy death benefit.

Ring each company up, ideally with the policy documents or any other details you may have in front of you.   They will tell you what else you need to do, and they will usually send out a claim form for you to complete.Once you have the death certificate and have filled in the claim form, send it back to the company.   They will raise an questions they still need answered, and will normally require proof of your identity to confirm you are entitled to the benefits.Depending on the size of the policy and whether it is in trust or not the company may require a Grant of Probate before they will pay anything out.   This will generally delay things substantially.

How do I find the contact details of the life insurer to make a claim?

Try the number on any details you, or do an internet search.  If that doesn’t find the right company, there have been dozens of mergers and takeovers.  The Association of British Insurers have an online database to help you find the current contact details of the insurance company.

Contact details for claims on company pension schemes.

The same is true of company pension schemes: a company may go bankrupt, but its pension scheme may live on.  Here is the free pension tracing service.Help?  The Probate Department Ltd offer sensibly priced help with any part of the probate service, including claiming on life insurance policies.

 Widows Inheritance Claim Fails

Probate Answer – Do I have a Claim?