Protecting my mums home as one of the excluded

[eek]

If you have 17K in savings and owe HMRC tax, why not pay the tax and then claim UC?

I think the issue is that you can't claim retrospectively so the claim will only begin once your savings are below £16k (and in reality £8k).

But pay the tax today (as much as you can) and then claim.

[cojak]

Ha yes Irish but lives in Scotland.
Would a lifetime lease protect the house while she's alive?

I was an exec - crap at tech these days but good at building tech teams, hadn't used a cv in 15 years, used to being asked to come work places - now suddenly 50 and a pandemic and Brexit all in one year ?

And don't forget to hustle in LinkedIn - you can do this!

[Old Greg]

Ha yes Irish but lives in Scotland.
Would a lifetime lease protect the house while she's alive?

I was an exec - crap at tech these days but good at building tech teams, hadn't used a cv in 15 years, used to being asked to come work places - now suddenly 50 and a pandemic and Brexit all in one year ������

1. You probably need to understand Scottish tenancy law properly. I haven't a scooby, but maybe there's a way to protect your Mum for her lifetime, without protecting your asset.

2. What sectors have you worked in? Any experience in healthcare / hospitals? If so PM me. If not, can't help I'm afraid!

[BlasterBates]

I would have thought you could sell the house to your mother. That should give you enough cash to continue for a while. You need to take advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Debt and money - Citizens Advice

[TheDogsNads]

This is a sad predicament. I hope the OP can find some way out.

Id suggest if the OP has taxes owing, he uses some of his 17k savings to pay the tax. You dont want to incurr penalty charges and interest on taxes owed. Hopefully, the amount of owed taxes is less than the full 17k savings so doesnt completely wipe him out.

Once he has settled his outstanding taxes, he needs to keep full detailed records of this for claiming UC. They will want to know why his savings have reduced below the threshold.

Swapping houses back and forth between family members is not a good idea since it looks like it is being done to avoid taxes or care home fees. I fear if the house is put back in the OP's mother's name and she does need to go into care, the house will be taken to pay for this. At least at present there is equity in it.

Due to the mortgage position, I doubt equity release would be viable on the house and in any event, would need to be properly researched before the right choice is made.

Whatever the decision, the OP needs to reduce their savings so they can claim benefit but this must be done in a way so as not to look contrived just to receive benefit. Paying taxes and credit cards bills is a legitimate way to do this.

[Lance]

I was gonna say pay the tax then claim UC again but eek beat me to it.

Also, you have an Irish mother so get an Irish passport ASAP and start looking for work beyond plague island.
I would also suggest that get your mother to start paying you rent, although that will balls up any UC claim.

[adubya]

I'm not an expert by any means but can't you claim "new style JSA" (for 6 months)

Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA): Eligibility - GOV.UK

Not means tested (savings amount don't come into it) and applies in England, Scotland and Wales.