CL v Swansea Bay University Health Board & ors [2024] WTLR 813
Autumn 2024 #196Mrs Justice Theis DBE was concerned with the appeal by CL (the appellant) from the order of HHJ Porter-Bryant dated 6 December 2023 (Swansea Bay University Health Board v P [2023]) which discharged a previous order appointing the appellant as LL’s deputy for personal welfare. The appellant was LL’s mother. The respondents to the appeal were the Swansea Bay University Health Board (the first respondent), LL by his litigation friend AB (the second respondent), LL’s father (the third respondent) and Swansea City Council (the fourth respondent). The fourth respondent took no active ...
Irwin Mitchell Trust Corporation v PW & anr [2024] WTLR 943
Autumn 2024 #196The claimant (a trust corporation) was appointed as deputy for property and financial affairs for the first defendant. The claimant instructed IMAM (an investment manager) to invest the first defendant’s funds. IMAM was part of the same corporate group as the claimant (IMAM was wholly owned by IMHL, and IMHL wholly owned IMLLP which wholly owned the claimant).
During a statutory will application, the Official Solicitor expressed concern about the appointment of IMAM. The court directed the claimant to apply for retrospective authority to instruct IMAM.
The claimant’s eviden...
PSG Trust Corporation Ltd v CK & anr [2024] WTLR 1051
Autumn 2024 #196The applicant, who was the deputy for both respondents, sought the guidance of the court as to how to approach the issue of whether to inform a protected party (P) of the value of their civil litigation settlement. The essence of the issue was whether the respondents had the capacity to understand the value of their personal injury funds and appreciate the extent to which wider knowledge of their assets may render them vulnerable. If not, a ‘best interests’ decision was required to be taken as to whether they should be told the size of their funds. At present there was no guidance from t...
TA v The Public Guardian [2024] WTLR 1125
Autumn 2024 #196In January and April 2021, KA made lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) for property and affairs and health and welfare respectively, both appointing her daughter, the claimant, as her sole attorney. The certificate required under para 2(1)(e) of Sch 1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was provided by X who was the claimant’s ex-mother-in-law and close family friend of KA. On investigation of the making of the LPAs, X stated that she had asked KA if she was happy with the LPAs and KA had not expressed any wishes as to who she wanted to be her attorneys or how they should act. Investi...
BH v JH [2024] WTLR 391
Summer 2024 #195The applicant was the deputy and brother of P, who was represented by the Official Solicitor. P had a lifelong learning disability and the presumption of capacity was displaced. The application was for the variation of a statutory will made in 2008 on behalf of P. There was no dispute as to the terms of the proposed variation or that it was in the best interests of P.
The 2008 statutory will provided for the creation of a discretionary trust for a period of two years less one day, of £1m plus P’s home (worth £600,000) and chattels, in favour of four categories of beneficiaries inc...
BH v JH (costs) [2024] WTLR 403
Summer 2024 #195A deputy had made an application to vary a statutory will and disputed that carers and unidentified charities needed to be served and notified of the same. The Official Solicitor made an application to resolve the dispute on service and the court determined, as argued by the Official Solicitor, that the rules required service of the variation application on carers and unidentified charities but that service on the carers could be dispensed with. The Official Solicitor made an application for the costs of the service issue.
Held:
- (1) Each case must be considered on i...
F v R [2023] WTLR 137
Spring 2023 #190R had a lifelong significant disability and lacked capacity. His estate at the time of the application comprised income from state benefits. The total benefit income was £60,293.48 of which £52,381.60 was means-tested. R’s mother had a cousin, T, who passed away leaving their residuary estate to R absolutely. The bequest was in the region of £400,000-£600,000 which would have reduced R’s means-tested benefit entitlement to nil.
Proceedings were brought by F for approval of a deed of settlement which would result in the sum instead being left on a disabled person’s trust for the be...
The Public Guardian v RI & ors [2022] WTLR 1133
Autumn 2022 #188The court had to determine whether the donor (RD) under a lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs executed in 2009 (the LPA) had had the capacity to execute it. RD had a learning disability and chronic schizophrenia for which he continued to receive treatment. The LPA was purportedly executed on 17 December 2009 by RD, who appointed his brothers (RI and RO) and his mother to be his attorneys. The LPA complied with the requisite formalities. At the time RD was living with his mother, but following her death in 2015 he was moved to a care home where he continued to liv...
Kambli v AR & anr [2022] WTLR 221
Spring 2022 #186P had had a series of professional deputies, each seeking to be discharged on the basis of an irretrievable breakdown in relations with P’s family, particularly AR, P’s father.
Earlier proceedings in the Court of Protection (see [2019] EWCOP 15) concluded with an order appointing K as property and affairs deputy for P. By an application dated 13 August 2020, K applied to be discharged as deputy, and for the appointment of another panel deputy instead. That application was refused on paper in October 2020, but K sought reconsideration of his application. On 10 December 2020 the cou...
LCR v SC & ors [2021] WTLR 229
Spring 2021 #182An 85-year-old woman (KC) executed two lasting powers of attorney (LPAs), one for the management of her property and affairs, and the other for welfare decision-making. She had been assessed, eight days prior to execution of the LPAs, by a specialist mental health practitioner as having capacity to execute the LPAs notwithstanding a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Dementia. Both LPAs appointed all four of KC’s daughters as her attorneys. One daughter (LCR) declined to execute the LPAs, maintaining at the time that KC lacked the requisite capacity to grant the LPAs.
LCR issued an applicat...