A County Council v MS & anr 11413486
July/August 2014 #141This was an application by a local authority property and affairs deputy seeking a direction whether to authorise a gift MS wished to make. MS was a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (the church) and wished to donate £6,832 to the church as a tithe. This sum represented 10% of a recent inheritance. RS was MS’s mother and strongly opposed to the donation. MS made his own application seeking declarations that he had capacity to litigate, capacity to make a tithe, capacity to manage his own property and affairs and capacity to execute a LPA for property and affairs.
MS...
Re DP, The Public Guardian v JM Case no: 12351387
July/August 2014 #141DP was born in 1925, was an only child, and had worked for thirty nine years for the BBC World Service at Bush House, the Aldwych, London, WC2. She was the donor of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) in favour of JM which had been registered on 20 February 2012. JM had known DP since 2006 and was formerly her gardener. The public guardian applied for an order under s22(4)b Mental Capacity Act
2005 revoking the LPA.
Held
The only evidence in respect of DP’s capacity came from a visitor, who opined in her report dated 28 March 2013 that DP did not have ...
JS v KB & anr [2014] EWHC 482 (COP)
July/August 2014 #141The application was made by JS for appointment by the Court of Protection under s19(1) of the MCA 2005 as DB’s deputy in relation to her property and financial affairs. JS was DB’s daughter. KB was DB’s son. MP was a local solicitor appointed to the court as deputy for DB on 13 February 2013. That application was resolved finally, save for the question of costs, by HHJ Hodge QC on 6 September 2013. By order made on that date (which was consensual), it is recorded inter alia that JS agreed not to pursue her application to be appointed as DB’s property and affair...
Re Po; Jo v Go & ors [2013] EWHC 3932 (COP)
March 2014 #137PO was 88 years of age and lacked capacity to decide where she should live. She had four children, the applicant (JO), and the first, second and third respondents (GO, RO and MP). GO and RO were PO’s attorneys for property and affairs but no power of attorney or deputyship order was extant for welfare decisions.
Until the events giving rise to this application PO was habitually resident in England and Wales, living in her own property in Worcestershire with family and local authority assistance. However, in April 2012, GO moved PO to Scotland, initially to live with him but...
Re Boff 12338771
October 2013 #133On 9 September 2012, the first respondent (Dr Boff) executed a lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs, in which she appointed her husband to be her sole attorney, and then attempted to appoint three replacement attorneys in order of succession. Dr Boff’s husband, the second respondent (Mr Boff), executed a virtually identical LPA on the same day and they applied to the Office of the Public Guardian (the OPG) to register the instruments.
On 7 November 2012, the OPG wrote to Dr Boff’s solicitors stating that they were unable to register the LPAs on ...
Re Treadwell (dec’d) [2013] EWHC 2409 (CoP)
October 2013 #133The public guardian made an application to enforce a security bond of £44,300 in respect of unauthorised gifts made by the late Mrs Joan Treadwell’s deputy for property and financial affairs, Colin Lutz, who was her son from her first marriage. She had five children in total all from her first marriage.
At the age of 58 in 1984 Mrs Treadwell married her third husband William Treadwell, who had two daughters of his own: Joanna Wildgoose and Emma Treadwell.
In 2005 Mrs Treadwell was diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s disease and entered a nursing home. Mr Lutz was ap...
Re GM 11843118
June 2013 #130The applicants, GM’s deputies for property and affairs, sought retrospective approval of various gifts they had made from GM’s funds to themselves, their family and friends and also to several charities. Additionally, they sought retrospective approval of their purported deputyship expenses.
From GM’s estate, which amounted to just under £500,000 at the time of their appointment, it was found that the applicants had made gifts totalling £231,259.50, £55,856 and £48,396.50 of which were made respectively to themselves. £57,352 had been donated to nine charities.
NT v FS & ors [2013] EWHC 684 (CP)
June 2013 #130F is a 74-year-old retired rugby player with assets of £3m and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia in 2006. The applicant (NT), who is F’s deputy, brought this application for a statutory will to be executed on behalf of F and for a statutory gift of £50,000 to be made to F’s 95-year-old mother (T). The respondents were the potential beneficiaries of such will. The statutory gift was uncontroversial, however the statutory will provisions were contested. Judge Behrens, in determining what terms would be in F’s best interests, had regard to previous authorit...
Re M 12268561
May 2013 #129M was 70, lived in London and was a successful lawyer and businessman. He suffered a heart attack and then a stroke in December 2012 while abroad on business. This led to M becoming mentally incapacitated although this was not likely to be permanent. N made an application to the court to be appointed as M’s deputy. N was M’s good friend, he lived abroad and was a successful businessman. He had worked with M for many years and had assisted M for some time with the management of his business and financial affairs. N was appointed to act for M under a general power of attorney e...
Re Buckley 12228697
April 2013 #128Miss Buckley executed an LPA on 7 September 2010, appointing her niece, C, as her sole attorney for property and affairs. The LPA was registered on 17 January 2011.
On 20 April 2012, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) received a complaint about the attorney’s handling of Miss Buckley’s finances and initiated a formal investigation. The OPG instructed a Court of Protection General Visitor to see Miss Buckley, following which, on 23 October 2012, interim orders were made by the court for suspension of the LPA and other protective measures in relation t...