Legal ombudsman joins call for tougher controls on will-writing | STEP

Legal ombudsman joins call for tougher controls on will-writing | STEP.

 

One of the things I like about the profession is that we are accountable.  It’s not just an ethical issue – because business and ethics clash horribly sometimes, but because we are regulated into being ethical.

To go without regulation means that the ethics may slide if they conflict with good business sense.   Whilst behaving ethically ought to be consistent with good business, it frequently is not.  Hence why you can sometimes find people being described as “commercially minded” when what is meant is “more concerned with profit for the business than with individual client needs, but staying within the ethical rules by a whisker”.

Regulation is the stick, the wall against which we press our backs – not at all comfortable, but necessary, because being a good person is not enough when the chips are down and you have not reached target, and you could easily add a bit here and a bit there to save your own hide from a flaying by your supervising partner or manager.

Lessons from ‘Clarity on Capacity’ | The STEP Blog

Lessons from ‘Clarity on Capacity’ | The STEP Blog.

The original article was very interesting indeed.  That, coupled with some practical advice on how to get cooperation with a medic at the right time would be very interesting.

 

I have had the doctor refuse to give a capacity opinion on the basis that he was an NHS doctor, and this did not fall under NHS work – it was a private enquiry or opinion, and therefore not something he was prepared to do.

Testamentary capacity and the MCA 2005 (again)

Link from the STEP newsletter to 39 Essex Street Chamber’s article (page 13) on the testamentary capacity test and how this contrasts with the MCA test.  This is something we also explored in yesterdays Proconference

Spouse gets the lot, but what about the children from the first marriage?

Amendments to intestacy and reasonable provision rules in England and Wales | STEP.

 

Very interesting:  it might be simpler, but the ills the old system was set up to avoid are now not cured.

 

I could almost wish for a notice to be put up in the Registrars Office, for those contemplating their second marriage:  make a will!

Why yes, thank you for holding on to the bridle of my white charger…

New tax proposed for the middle-aged middle-class – Nunn Hayward, UK

New tax proposed for the middle-aged middle-class – Nunn Hayward, UK.

 

Deep joy.  I don’t deny that there are deep problems with the way things are done now – I have never met a client who wants to go into a nursing home – and I fully understand that the vulnerable person neither wants to be separated from their home and their nest, where they have lived for most of their happiest years, despite impairments.  And the self interest of many children in the family, as they see their inheritance being eroded is also strong.

But how is it expected that pensioners will pay national insurance?  I’m fairly sure that the proportion of higher income pensioners is small, compared to most, who will experience a loss in income as opposed to a salaried income.  And if you deduct national insurance from those who are already streamlining their budget for retirement – well, there will be some hardship.

I know that not all pensioners are poor – those retiring now might be the last of the salary-scheme pensioners, and that now, the generation might be able to afford to pay NI, if their pension gives them an income of over £20,000 a year, between them.  But even if this is achievable with the current pensioners, by the time such a policy is put in place (say 5 years time, at least), this might not be the case – the pensioner population might soon start to show people who were not on final salary schemes as a larger proportion of the whole.

And I suspect there is a huge gap to be bridged between even those pensioners and the generation retiring in 15-20 years time, who may have very little, if any supplementary pension, given the proportionate increase in expenditure on housing costs and childcare that generation has experienced.

 

COURT OF PROTECTION – Geographical closeness is ‘magnetic factor’ for property deputyship

From the STEP weekly digest

COURT OF PROTECTION – Geographical closeness is ‘magnetic factor’ for property deputyship

Two brothers have been appointed deputies for their 93-year-old father’s property affairs on the basis that he lives much nearer to them than to his third son, who was objecting to their deputyship application. The case, DG & Others v Peter (2014 EWCOP 31), embodies the familiar situation of siblings quarrelling over who should look after the finances of an aged parent with dementia.

BAILII

Clicking through to the Bailii site gives another judgment from Master Denzil Lush, a keen observer of humanity’s failings : and he is given ample opportunity to examine them.

In this case, there was nothing to differentiate between the three brothers in any way – they all had skills, willingness and ability to be Deputies.  There were only two factors that separated them that were “magnetic” – geographical proximity and attitude.

      “28.The old authorities on mental capacity law showed a preference to appoint “persons whose residence admits of frequent visits to the patient and inspection of his affairs.” David and Barry live in Surrey. Each of them visits DG two or three times a week. Their wives visit him separately, and their children go and see him regularly, too. By contrast, Peter lives in Yorkshire and gets to see his father about three or four times a year.
      29.Andrea Watts summarised the position rather well in her skeleton argument when she said:

“The reality of the situation is that the applicants are in a position to assist with day to day care and decision making, and the respondent is not. It is not a criticism of him, but the geographical distance simply makes him a less suitable choice of deputy than the applicants.”

      30.I agree. Their geographical location gives David and Barry the edge.

What was also telling was the attitude.  How carefully one must have to speak in front Mr Master Lush:

      31.There is a marked difference between David and Barry’s attitude and approach and Peter’s towards DG’s carers and the management at the residential care home and the statutory authorities responsible for his care. At the hearing on 19 August, David admitted:

“Yes, we agree that [the residential care home] is not perfect, but if anything is wrong I go and talk to the person who is going to get it fixed. At any time I have an issue, I talk to them. They know me and my wife. I have no qualms about the management. It’s not The Ritz. I wouldn’t expect it to be, but the people – the carers – go out of their way to look after my father. Not just the carers but the gardener, the cleaner, the handyman. It’s a very nice environment.”

      32. Peter, on the other hand, said:

“I’ve complained about cleanliness. I’ve complained about security.”

“I complained to the chief executive of Anchor Homes.”

“I have made Freedom of Information Act requests.”

“My parents were put in [the residential care home] against their will: deprived of their liberty by my brothers.”

“I suggested that they feed my mother through a drinking vessel. The care home refused to do that on the grounds that it was undignified.”

“I sent 50 to 100 emails to Social Services badgering them to get Mum and Dad home.”

“Social Services have not followed through any of their promises.”

“The care home won’t talk to me, either. I don’t understand why they won’t talk to me. They won’t give me any information at all.”

“David and Barry don’t have it in them to challenge everybody. [The residential care home] needs challenging. Somebody needs to challenge them. If I were in charge of my father’s finances, I would.”

“In my desire to get deputyship the main reason is to look after the accounts like David, but I would be a lot harder with [the residential care home] in view of their laissez faire attitude.”

    33. This is essentially a matter of attitude and approach or, as Miss Watts described it, ‘tone’. Whereas David and Barry are able to interact successfully with the carers and statutory agencies which have an interest in their father’s welfare, Peter’s relationship with almost everyone is fraught. Although occasionally his complaints have resulted in a successful outcome for his parents, his victories have been pyrrhic, and overall his approach has been counter-productive. He is a compulsive complainer who has unrealistic expectations and a tendency to become bogged down by minutiae. His brothers are not appeasing an enemy, but simply making appropriate responses and avoiding unnecessary conflict with those responsible for their father’s everyday care.
    Block quotes are from the STEP summary or directly from the case itself.  The case is published for public consumption and is not confidential information – although the identities of the individuals are (as is common with the Court of Protection.