Thu 24-Jan-08 01:11 PM by CASL

Hi, any info greatly received on this please.......my mind is currently fudged with all the info and contradictions ive just read!

OK, my client has just died and leaves 2 children. A son aged 19 and a daughter aged 18.

They children were living in the family home after my clients death but the son became violent and attacked his sister and consequently she has moved out, currently living with a friend.

The house had a mortgage but this has been paid off due to my clients death and the property has been put in trust until the children are 25.

The daughter is currently doing an NVQ3 in hairdressing and is classed as being full time, doing 3 days a week.

She wants to rent a flat with a friend and claim anything else she can to support herself.

Her only current income is £30 EMA?

So, the question is, what can she claim, if anything. There is no father and her Aunt is executor of the will etc but not being classed as guardian.

Cheers.

Section B, chapter 3, page 13, Disability Rights Handbook 32nd edition states that a 16-19 year old can qualify for income support if doing a non-advanced course at college for 12 hours a week or more if she is an orphan and no one is legally responsible for her. (Regs 4ZA and 13(2)(c) IS Regs). Housing benefit should also be payable I think.

You may need advice on the terms of the trust. Even though the interest is apparently not vested at present, the trust deed unless very well drafted may have created a situation in which she and her brother are between them absolutely entitled to the property and they could thus at will between them force a sale - she would then have capital issues.

What would happen to the house if both she and her brother die before reaching the age of 25? I bet an LA HB dept wouldn't understand the difference between vested and contingent interests at all - the worry is whether the solictitor who drafted the will did.

Paul refers to Regulation 13 of the IS Regs. For this to work, I think client needs to come under one of the following:

'..(c) has no parent nor any person acting in the place of his parents; or

(1(d) of necessity has to live away from his (parents and any) person acting in the place of his parents because.... ' (then a special reason etc)

Unless client is an orphan, they are left with clause (d). Can it be said that client is living away from a parent or someone acting as a parent (since she is escaping her brother)? I am assuming that the friend she is staying with is not acting as a parent.

I hope for the clients sake I have got this wrong!

Steve