'My mum has inherited $1m but would prefer to keep the pension'

By George Cochrane
Updated January 27 2018 - 9:38am, first published January 3 2018 - 6:20pm

My grandmother has recently passed and my mother stands to inherit a sum of money, about $1 million. My mother has said she does not want to lose her disability pension which I know sounds strange as she would be able to live quite comfortably without relying on government benefits. But unfortunately my mother is not that educated and has been on the pension for most of her life. I have tried to explain to her that she will more than likely lose her pension with the amount of money she stands to inherit. It would be greatly appreciated if you could offer advice of any sort to give us some clarity and direction. Mum has three daughters: myself (47, single, full-time worker, no dependants, no government benefits); Middle sister (46, married, one dependant, on government benefits); and youngest sister (40, single, three dependants, on government benefits). Mum also has eight grandchildren in total. Is it possible for the inheritance to be distributed to others to lessen her asset pool, therefore possibly being able to retain her pension? J.H.

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