I have a client whose mother died and she dealt with the estate (gave money to grandchildren etc)which was around £6000. Shortly after this, client got a letter from DWP saying that her mother failed to declare two private pensions and therefore,they wanted repayment of overpaid benefit (£4000).

Client appealed and i can't see an obvious argument to put before the tribunal as client didn't advertise for creditors before discharging the estate.

The overpayment decision was made 8 months after the death of client's mother, and client had no reason to believe that her mother might have owed any money to creditors.

Is this appeal as doomed as i think it is? I know I can request discretion not to recover, and will use this as last option.
HELP!

Unless your client was an appointee the DWP cannot recover from her as she had no duty of disclosure. If the estate had not been settled then the DWP could recover from the estate. Now that the estate has been settled then, as she did not advertise for creditors, the DWP must take a civil action against her in the courts.

As the estate has been settled then all the tribunal can do is declare that the OP is recoverable and recoverable from the deceased. Now that the estate has been settled there is obviously no estate left to recover from. If the DWP want their money then they need to go to court.

Whether your client advertised for creditors or not does not concern the tribunal as recovery is from the estate of the deceased (unless your client was appointee of course). The tribunal has no jurisdiction to deal with any civil liability of your client.

Yopur only option would seem in trying to persuade them not to go to court.

Regards
Paul

Thanks for your reply Paul.I've managed to track down 2 discussions on this matter on Rightsnet from 1999 and 2002 also.

Is it worth going to the tribunal and what are the chances of Secretary of State commencing legal proceedings through the courts in order to recover? I suspect this is a hard one to call.

Could client wait until Sec of State starts legal proceedings and then offer full payment (after trying discretion not to recover route)WITHOUT risking incuring any court costs?

Thanks for your time by the way
Gary