I’m an only daughter and my mother didn’t leave a will when she died. I went to a solicitor and he gave me my mother’s estate as soon as letters of administration were granted. Ten days later the Department for Work and Pensions wrote to him about benefits my mother had been claiming during the previous 16 years. Unfortunately I’ve spent half the money; how do I stand if I’ve to repay it?
These days the DWP has prompt access to the probate records. So your solicitor should perhaps have warned you not to spend the inheritance immediately and would ideally have sought clearance from the DWP before releasing the money to you. But few solicitors would have done this. Unfortunately for you, the DWP is entitled to recover the overpayment whether or not the estate has been distributed in the meantime.