21.10.25

In this piece we explore the roles and responsibilities of being a professional Attorney or Deputy, and share some of the more complex factors around welfare benefits that you should be aware of.

As a professional Attorney or Deputy, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do the following for the person you are acting for:

• Check entitlements and apply for any benefits.
• Sign all benefit claim forms.
• Report any changes which may affect the person’s benefits to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or Local Authority.
• Spend the benefit payments received in the person’s best interests.

Some key things to know about benefit entitlement.

The welfare benefits system is complex, with different benefits overlapping and interacting with other types of benefits or income. Depending on the age of the person you are acting for, a good starting point is to consider their eligibility for the following benefits:

(NB in the table below, benefits that are marked in pink text are not means-tested)

*Universal Credit replaces income-based Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support and Tax Credits (both working and child). So, in terms of new claims, if the person you are acting for is of working age and eligible for means- tested benefits, you will need to claim for Universal Credit for them.

Means-tested benefits – essential facts to know

• Unearned income

It’s not just wages that can impact means-tested benefits. The DWP also consider ‘unearned income’, and this can impact someone’s entitlements.

The Universal Credit system considers regular payments from Trusts (including Discretionary Trusts) to fall within the category of ‘unearned income’, as well as some other benefits e.g. if someone gets Carers Allowance and Universal Credit, the Carers Allowance is deducted pound for pound from their Universal Credit entitlement.

Some income is disregarded altogether. Examples of disregarded income include income from non-means tested disability benefits (DLA, PIP and AA) and income from a voluntary source (e.g. regular income payments from friends or family members).

• Beware the rules of ‘deprivation of capital’

The DWP do ask questions about a person’s expenditure if they are in receipt of means-tested benefits. Therefore, you should be prepared to justify any notable expenditure and provide proof if this is requested by the DWP.

If the DWP takes the view that someone has disposed of their capital with the aim of increasing their entitlement to means-tested benefits, they will consider that person to still be in possession of the capital they have disposed of. Increasing their entitlement to means-tested benefits doesn’t have to be the sole purpose, but a significant one.

• There may be a ‘health-related’ aspect too

For someone claiming means-tested benefits who is also disabled and unable to work, as well as going through the means-testing, they will be asked by the DWP to go through a work capability assessment. This ensures that they won’t get asked to look for work or engage in work-related activity when this isn’t feasible because of their health conditions. You may need to fill out a health-related form soon after the point of claim or as part of a review.  If you are asked to fill one of these out for the person you are acting for, it’s important that you complete this with as much information as possible. Never assume that the DWP has any knowledge of a person’s condition or that certain conditions will automatically mean the person you are acting for will be entitled to the additional health-related top ups. These forms are lengthy and take time, particularly when you are completing them for those with a long and complex set of needs. We frequently help our professional clients with the completion of these forms and with disputes relating to the health aspect of means-tested benefits.

Capital thresholds

For professional Attorneys and Deputies, keeping an eye on capital levels and updating the DWP appropriately is really important.

We have put together a table, detailing the lower and upper limits for means-tested benefits and for care funding (which is also means-tested) below.

*Tariff income (or assumed income from savings) is a deduction applied to a person’s benefit award for savings they have above the lower threshold but below the upper threshold.

As detailed in the table above, it’s important to note that if the person you are acting for is in receipt of income-related Employment and Support Allowance and permanently residing in residential care, when they move to Universal Credit, the lower capital threshold that applies to them will reduce from £10,000 to £6,000.

Not all capital is taken into account by the DWP. There are a number of capital disregards that may or may not apply to the person you are acting for, depending on their situation. If you have taken on a role as professional Attorney or Deputy and the financial affairs and benefits of the person you are acting for were poorly looked after prior to your involvement, you may need help with unpicking their situation in respect of their capital, what information needs to be reported to the DWP and what the impact might be of updating the DWP on their benefit awards. Helping our professional clients with these complex and historic benefits matters is something our team do on a regular basis.

Universal Credit

The process of claiming Universal Credit and then managing a Universal Credit claim for someone else works differently if this comes from older style benefits like Employment and Support Allowance or Housing Benefit. This is because usually, the whole process is conducted online.

If you need to submit a Universal Credit application on behalf of the person you are acting for, you will need to bear in mind the following:

• You will have the option to let the DWP know that you are applying on behalf of someone else when you start the online claim process.
• The claimant’s ID has to be verified as part of the application process. This can be verified via an alternative option if it is not possible for you to provide the information needed for the ID verification online or if you are not able to support the person who you are acting for to attend an ID appointment at their local jobcentre.
• As part of the Universal Credit application, a claimant commitment must be signed. If the person you are acting for does not have the capacity to understand the commitment or if it would be unreasonable to expect them to accept a claimant commitment, this requirement should be waived.
• When you set up the online Universal Credit claim for the person you are acting for, make sure the contact details that you enter can be accessed by you (due to a 2-factor authorisation process that happens when logging in to the Universal Credit account).
• After you have submitted the claim, you will have access to an online journal. This is where you can send messages to Universal Credit. Use this to make sure your name and contact details are recorded so that if you need help to resolve issues with the claim, you are already known to Universal Credit.
• It’s important to keep a regular eye on the online Universal Credit account and journal messages as this will be your primary means of communication with the DWP in respect of the Universal Credit claim.
• As a professional Attorney or Deputy, you are required to fill out any forms issued by Universal Credit, including health-related forms. These should not be passed to the person you are acting for to fill in. The purpose of completing the health-related forms is to ensure that the person you are acting for receives everything they are entitled to, so it’s important that you complete these as part of your role in looking after their financial affairs.

How can Renaissance Legal help?

Our specialist welfare benefits experts can help you with everything welfare benefits related.  We frequently support professionals with disabled and vulnerable clients with the following:

• Yearly benefits reviews.
• Advice relating to specific life events (reaching state pension age for example).
• Mandatory reconsiderations and appeals.
• Benefit applications (including health-related forms and disability benefit applications).
• The move to Universal Credit.
• Disclosure of capital to the DWP.

If you would like to speak to someone in the welfare benefits team, then please contact us on 01273 610611 or contact us to discuss your needs and those of the person you are acting for.