Slightly distressing letter sent by DSP

LegacyUser

Hi folks, not sure if here is the best place to post this or in State Benefits, please feel free to move it if it suits better there.

An elderly relative passed away recently and the family is currently sorting out their will and life insurance. A letter was sent to the family from the Department of Social Protection demanding a copy of the will be sent to them in quite unsympathetic bureaucratic language. This letter has upset some family members.

Now the deceased family member lived from week to week on the State Pension with only the house being left to the surviving family members in their will. My understanding is that this letter is merely a standard bureaucratic letter that is sent out to the family of all deceased pensioners and is nothing to be concerned over but naturally some family members were quite concerned by the tone of the letter.

Is there anything to be concerned about here?

banie01

1st off I am sorry for your loss.

What is the basis of the DSP's request?
Was the deceased in receipt of the ''fair deal'' scheme or similar?
To my knowledge in that case their may be a clawback of some sort on disposal of the deceased assets and settlement of their estate.
There is more info here on that http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/olderpeople/nhss/

Repayment of the loan must be made to the Revenue Commissioners.

The person who is responsible for repayment of the nursing home loan to the Revenue Commissioners is called the relevant accountable person. The relevant accountable person may be a different person to the applicant, depending on the circumstances as set out in the following examples:

Example 1: Where you transfer or sell part or all of your property, during your lifetime, you and your spouse/partner will be the relevant accountable persons.

Example 2: Where the loan is repayable after the applicant's death the personal representative of the deceased is the relevant accountable person. A person who inherits or has an interest in the property or any part of it can also be held accountable for repayment of the loan.

When the nursing home loan falls due for repayment, the HSE writes to the relevant accountable person. The HSE notifies him/her that the loan must be repaid and advises of the amount due. In calculating the amount due, the HSE applies the consumer price index to the loan to take account of inflation or deflation since the loan was paid.

The following timeframes apply for repayment of the nursing home loan:

Where the repayment arises, for example, because of the death of the person in care the loan must be repaid within 12 months of the date of death. Where the repayment is not made within this timeframe, interest on the amount owing will be applied from the date of death.
Where the loan is repayable because of the sale or transfer of your property during your lifetime, it must be repaid within 6 months of the date of sale or transfer, or Revenue will apply interest back to date of sale/transfer.

The Revenue Commissioners are the collection agent for the HSE in respect of monies advanced by way of a nursing home loan. The Nursing Home Loan must be repaid to Revenue. It should be repaid as soon as possible after notice is received from the HSE and, in any event, within the timeframes outlined above.

But in any case, I would have whomever is the estate's executor(Or the nominated relevant accountable person per the HSE guidelines) speak to a solicitor to be sure where the estate stands in relation to the request from the DSP as if money is owed to the DSP it would rank alongside Revenue as having 1st claim on the estate to settle its debts

If it turns out to be a fishing expedition by the DSP and there is no liabity to them on the estate.
I would let them swing in the breeze and tell them if they wish to see the will that they may apply for a copy from the probate office once that process is completed as it is then a matter of public record.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the advice and your kind words, I know the deceased did spend a week or 2 in a nursing home before the end. Perhaps that is what the DSP are looking for money for?

To be honest this sounds like the sort of thing that the solicitor handling the will is paid to handle so it might be best to leave it to them