I have asked you all before for help with this subject. My mum is in hospital following a brain stem stroke, she is making very good progess. However we are having alot of problems with the person she used to live with claiming benefits.Mum inherited £33000 following the stroke, we have invested money in bonds and we have had some inheritence and we have money in a current acct and general savings acct for mum. I am enduring power of attorney and the person she was with is second power of attorney, however he has no rights to her large sums of money and it is all in my name.

We have applied for CTB and PC for the person whom mum used to live with however we are having alot of trouble. CT have refused benefit due to mum's inheritence I have put in an appeal advising that as they were only together for 3 years and mum has no rights to pete's house they should not consider their relationship as serious, also mum had her name on the LA housing list.CT are telling me that if pete was claiming HB he would be awarded however as it is just CTB the rules are different and they will not pay, they can not confirm the regulation used to make the decision.

Do you have any help for me I really do not want to go to appeal in Thetford, Norfolk,any help will be appreciated.

PC are being terrible and a complaint will be put in once benefit has been received. All claims have been in since Nov 03 and still no decision!!!

thanks Emma

I dont see that CT have a case,if he is laible to pay in raltion the the dwelling occupied as his sole or main residence, the rules re income etc are essentially the same.

I would go for an appeal. You can decide later on whether to opt for a paper hearing, or have an oral hearing after consulting your client.

You could maybe get the case transferred to a local Tribunal for the oral heraing. You could represent your client in his absence if he agrees.

I have quite a few CD's re cohabitation if you need them. Let me have your email address (post it here with REMOVE inserted if you want to prevent spam)

Looks like you are being let down badly by the LA here.

If it is a simple question of saying that they consider that your mother and Pete are "living together as husband and wife" then they would take the income and capital of the "couple" into account when assessing an award of benefit (either HB or CTB). Unfortunatley as your mother appears to have capital in excess of £16000 that would be too high for an award to be made.

That should be an easy decision for them to make and advise you of so at least you know what to appeal against.

Hope that helps, if not let me know

Er, cough

Pension Credit and knock-on HB / CTB. No capital cut-off.

Agreed but only if Guarantee Credit in Payment.

Emma

Glad to hear your mum is making good progress.

I seem to remember from your previous postings that your mum would not be returning home, and that she was expecting to go into care or remain in hospital. If I have remembered correctly, and this is still the case, then her partner can only be treated as a single claimant, therefore your mum's assets are ignored for his claims for PC/CTB.

Often I have had arguments with DWP/LA's who want to treat them as a couple for up to 52 weeks while one is in hospital, but the regs are clear that if it is clear the person absent is not going to return home, then they can be treated as separate claimants.

Was it made clear on his claims that your mum would not be returning home? Or am I off down the wrong track with this one?

Hi there it was made very clear mum will not be returning home and they have medical evidence. Still waiting for PC to make a decision however CT stating no due to mum's inheritence ( which she is spoiling me with )I have apperaled CTB but I really do not want to go to an appeal. My appeal letter was very good I must say.

I just hoped someone would have a magic reg upo their sleeves!

If you are a wizard then please reply!!!

I reread the thread, and wonder whether a "cut to the chase" kind of letter would sort the CTB issue out. You mention your appeal letter included detail regarding the nature of their relationship (ie only three years, she has no rights to his house etc) but I think perhaps this misleads the LA into considering cohab issues.

The issue for CTB only,(re it would be different if he was claiming HB) is liability. (See pg 781 of CPAG - Couples living apart) However, as she is non-resident and not the owner of the property she can have no liability. I can't see how they are caught by this rule.

I suggest a short letter highlighting the key issue; he is a single claimant as they are separated permanently, with no intention for her to return home. Therefore he is assessed on his own resources and your mum's financial situation is irrelevant. The LA insistance on treating them as a couple only makes sense if they are temporarily separated - however this is permanent.

Get on to the LA appeals rep and ask for this to be looked at urgently.

(Emma - you may want to wait a few days to see if any Slytherins take delight in pointing out my errors)

(I have nephews who are HP fans, I'm not a sad adult, I read grown up books, honest!)

I am unable to pinpoint an exact regulation that the council may be using but you can go through this link for the regs.

http://www.hbinfo.org/menu2/regsindex.htm