Financial & Welfare Guardianships
If a person loses the required mental capacity, or lacks sufficient mental capacity from the outset, to make a Power of Attorney, the only way in which proper legal authority to administer their affairs may be conferred is often by the appointment of a Financial and/or Welfare Guardian by the Public Guardian. However in certain limited circumstances, it may be possible to apply to the Court for an Intervention Order or an Access to Funds Order, and the basic guiding principle is that these Orders must be the least restrictive of the incapacitated person’s freedom.
Although these applications are considerably more expensive, lengthy and complex than making a Power of Attorney, often involving a delay of several months before the Order is granted and fees of at least £1,500 in a typical case, they may be the only option available. It is also usually necessary to pay ongoing annual Court fees when lodging accounts showing how the incapacitated person’s finances have been dealt with.
The procedure typically involves obtaining medical reports from a psychiatrist and a GP, obtaining a report on the suitability of the proposed guardian, completing a Summary Application to the Sheriff Court, advising all interested parties of the date of the Court Hearing, sometimes obtaining a special insurance bond (Bond of Caution), attending the Court Hearing, lodging the Court Order with the Office of the Public Guardian – which then issues a Certificate of Appointment of the Guardian - and lodging a Management Plan and Inventory of Assets with the Public Guardian. All of this involves the observance of strict time scales for each key stage in the procedure, as well as payment of the required fees.
We are able to guide a prospective guardian through this procedure, to ensure that everything proceeds smoothly and that all necessary aspects are dealt with as and when they arise.
Contact Lisa Macaree
