Hard times to come.... Benefits....?

[clipclop1]

I live with my mum (some of you regulars may recognise this story as she is on this website a lot!) and my dad just passed away at the weekend after a long stint in hospital... as if this wasn't stressful and upsetting enough... we now have to deal with and organise to move somewhere else, partly becasue of the debt and partly because dad was the sole bread winner who earned enough to pay for the bills on this large-ish house. I earn ofcourse but no where near enough to even dent the bills and mortgage payments and the house we're in is too big for the 2 of us now anyway... mum doesnt work anymore so we're gonna need to look into help from the council and benefits etc... has anyone has any dealings of claimin benefits etc?? do you know how much you can get etc? If we were to move to a private let house... would the council still help us or would we have to move into a special council house? The thought of leaving this house is horrible, its been our home for over 20 years now... I grew up here and there are so many happy memories... dad leaving was horrible and now we've got to sort this after the funeral... too much to cope with but those are the cards we've been dealt... :(

[anneasquith]

hi clipclop...... i dont want to put my foot in it and assume i know who mum is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,re your circumstances i cant really give any advice, but im sure we have abers who may be able to point you in the right direction, best wishes to you all at this very difficult time.,, anne

[cazzz1975]

I would go to your local jobcentre plus and find they can get you sorted with relevant benefits, I would then fill out an application for a council property.

you can even apply online: http://www.direct.gov...bcentrePlus/DG_186347

if you are going to rent privately, you can get assistance in helping to pay your rent and council tax via housing and council tax benefits, be warned though a lot of private landlords are quite anti benefits, there are some that will help you though.

sorry to hear about your loss, especially as you have to deal with all this hassle in your time of grieving xxx

[sherrardk]

I don't know how much you get etc, but you would be considered lucky to get a council or housing association house but they do pay housing benefit for a privately rented house up to the Local Housing Allowance for your area and for the size of house that you would be eligible for.

[welshlibranr]

You could claim housing benefit, but it is capped, they will only pay a certain amount for the property depending on the number of bedrooms needed, in your case I guess you would qualify for a 2 bed property, not sure how much you can claim, check with your local housing authority, but think it's around £110.00 weekly or so, if it costs more then you would have to make up the difference from your benefits, you may also be able to get Council Tax benefit!.............check with them before you rent!.......hope this helps........So Sorry for your loss............I know how hard to deal with this is!.............

[cazzz1975]

yes there are huge council waiting lists, you can apply to go on the list though

[ummmm]

Sorry about your loss xx

The council will have a list of private landlords that are willing to take tenants on benefits.

[arwyn]

I.m sorry for you'r loss, I read more than I write on here and I read about you'r Dad its so sad.
I was just reading about these benifits the other day, if you google the D.W.P and follow the links as you'r Mam can get one off payment for funneral costs. plus there maybe others she can get as it's what you'r Dad paid into all his life. Yes they will pay the rent on a house if it's not council but everything differs as to what you have but google it and read it and go to C.A.B.
Hope this helps.

[mrs.chappie]

So sorry to hear of your loss, clipclop1.

Wish I could offer some advice about your benefits question. Perhaps you could try the Citizens Advice Bureau. If they don't know the answers, they might at least be able to point you in the right direction. (That is, of course, if ABers don't know the answer). x

[ubasses]

So sorry to hear your sad story, being practical you mention a mortgage, lenders usually insist on Life insurance to cover so if it has been maintained the Mortgage may get paid off which would help and give you a breathing space. Look carefully at all the debts as well certain types cannot be enforced after death. A visit to the Local Citizens advice would be a good place to start. Get all the paperwork you can find in some order and take it with you. They will also give you some advice before you see the benefits office

[bednobs]

hiya, as above really, check there are no insurance policies. i can't remeber - was your dad employed? if so, there might be a pension or death in service benfit

[clipclop1]

No, there was a lot of debt basically... massive mortgage and no life insurance or anything, so we basically have what is in the bank at the moment and thats it... its a tad scary really...

[boxtops]

Clipclop - so sorry to hear your news. Are you sure there's no mortgage protection policy? Most lenders do recommend it..... so sorry you have all this extra worry, on top of losing your dad. How's your mum at the moment?

[arwyn]

Could you declare bankruptcy as you'v lost you'r Dad? I'm not sure how it all works but you should look into it.

[cathfromsaron]

i would like to send my sympathy and suggest that you contact the local council for advice on the caring and housing sides of this issue. when you have had this advice, the benefits advice and what to claim for will follow xx

[ubasses]

You say your Dad was sole breadwinner, so assume he was working, have you spoken to his employer, most provide a Death in Service benefit which is usually 4 x salary and if they provide a Company Pension Scheme your Mum could be in line to receive a widows pension usually about 50%. If it was a Money Purchase Scheme that should form part of his estate. There is also the State Widows Pension payable to Women over 45 (reduced) for those over 55 a higher amount.

[Aqualung]

Have a word with your local C.A.B office they are very good at helping people and give good free advice

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

[clipclop1]

Aw thankyou Boxtops, she is doing ok actually, we just went to register the death today which wasn't very nice as it was all quite 'final', the funeral isn't for another week due to the cremtorium being closed for 3 days or some nonsense like that...
No, unfortuantely dad was self employed, he had a few bad years of lots of drinking, hence the debts... but what he specialised in meant when he got work, it obviously paid quite a lot per job which helped to tide us over, he was just starting to get lots of enquiries for work coming in too and his new website was starting to get lots of hits.... all such a shame....

[scraggy55]

Sorry to hear of your loss, firstly, and yes things must be difficult. The Department of Work and Pensions are the ones to contact for help with Benefits, or go and speak to someone at the CAB (citizens advice bureau) one in most towns. Secondly, it would probably be advisable to sell the house you are in and buy something smaller? You would then have some money in the Bank for a rainy day. You might not be able to get Council Housing as your assets may be too high, i.e. value of the house you are presently living in/savings etc. You could sell and rent if you wished. Not sure what you mean by, would the council help you? Special Council House? As I said before you may not get any help from the Council, if your Assets are above a certain amount, and as you have a house that is worth £???, you probably have quite a bit of money.