House value ignored if for sale
Q. My partner is going to moveinwithmeand put his house on the market. My house is rented and I get some help from Housing Benefit. He knows that he will make around £40,000 from the sale; I don’t want this to affect my Housing Benefit as it’s his money and I don’t have any right to it.
A. As you and your partner will be living together your income and savings will be assessed together. While the property is on the market for sale, its value is ignored and won’t affect any benefits, but once it is sold a disregard for 26 weeks (6 months for Universal Credit) can be given, but only if it is put aside to buy another property to live in.
Q. My partner has just passed away, we have lived together for many years, but never married. I have been told that we had to have been married for me to claim a bereavement payment, is there anything else I should be claiming? We had a joint claim for Employment and Support Allowance based on my health problems and that has been changed into a single claim.
A. Both the bereavement payment and bereavement allowance can only be paid if you were married or in a civil partnership. You can apply for help with the funeral costs if you are receiving Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (or certain other means tested benefits).An application can be made on an SF200 form (available from the Bereavement Service on 0345 60 60 265) and must be made within 3 months from the date of the funeral. If your partner had any savings or a funeral plan, you would only get help with anything that wasn’t included in the plan.
Q. I was in a car accident last year and I haven’t been able to return to work yet. I am due to receive £8,000 from a compensation claim for personal injury; will this reduce my Employment and Support Allowance or Housing Benefit?
A. Usually any capital over £6,000 would affect means tested benefits; however, personal injury compensation is disregarded for 52 weeks, indefinitely for people over Pension Credit age. If the money is set up in a trust fund then it is disregarded and any regular payments made under the trust are ignored.