Benefits when your disabled child turns 16

21.06.24

If you are supporting a child who is approaching adulthood, it’s not always easy to navigate your way through the transition over from them being financially dependent on you, to them having their own financial independence and their own benefit claims. We’ve put together this blog with some key points…


Benefits for carers – a quick guide to Carer’s Allowance

12.06.24

This week is Carers Week 2024, an annual campaign which we’re supporting to acknowledge and show appreciation for the very hard job that unpaid carers do to support and care for some of the most vulnerable in our communities. This year’s theme is ‘Putting carers on the map’, with a…


Update on key benefits for disabled people

09.05.24

Here at Renaissance Legal, we have seen a great deal of confusion and worry about the Government’s latest announcements on its proposed changes to disability-related benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit, and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). There are some changes on the cards which will definitely…


Alzheimer’s and Benefits

29.10.23

With close to a million people living with Dementia in the UK, and with Alzheimer’s disease being the cause of 60-70% of cases of Dementia, it felt appropriate to write our next blog, explaining what financial support may be available to this large number of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Research…


Recent court case clarifies how an inheritance affects mean tested benefits

11.01.23

In previous blogs we explained that receiving an inheritance can compromise the recipient’s means-tested benefits which, in the case of a person with disabilities, could put their future financial security at risk. If the recipient chooses to refuse their inheritance, or give it away or spend it quickly, this will…


Attendance Allowance for those aged over state pension age

05.09.22

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for people who have reached state pension age and who have a disability or long-term health problem which means they need help with their personal care needs. It is a non-means-tested benefit, so it does not matter about any other income or savings that you…


Catching up with benefits news – a quick update

30.11.21

Here at Renaissance Legal, Amy and I have been busy helping clients untangle their benefits problems and make the best long-term financial decisions for their loved ones. We want to bring you up to date with what we have been doing, and our views on the current trends within the…


Does a recent Court case change the principle that an inheritance affects means-tested benefits?

20.04.21

In our earlier blog post of 20 June 2019, we explained that a direct inheritance would compromise the means-tested benefits of a recipient.  This is why we advise families of people claiming means-tested benefits to always direct an inheritance into Trust. In the blog we also explained that if the…


Spring benefits update – the new benefits year and budget news

12.04.21

April is always an important time within welfare benefits. Some rates of benefit payment increase and this is often the time that changes are implemented. Added to that, there was a budget on 3rd March 2021. So, this seems a good time to update you with all the things that…


Helpful benefits information for people with ‘severe’ disabilities

16.02.21

Please note that this information is only relevant to people living in the UK. In this blog, we would like to talk about two useful pieces of benefits information. The closure of the ‘Severe Disability Premium’ gateway How to pay less or NO council tax under the ‘Severe Mental Impairment’…