Partner, Head of Private Client
Shona Brown
The circumstances in which a Guardian or Intervener is required to help promote and safeguard the welfare and financial interests of an incapacitated adult can vary considerably.
We have helped adults as young as 16 with lifelong learning disabilities, people who have acquired brain injuries through accident or serious illness, and older adults who have developed conditions such as dementia and Alzheimers.
Partner, Head of Private Client
Shona Brown
Partner
Karen Phillips
Partner, Head of Residential Property
Ken Robertson
Partner
Graeme Thomson
Senior Associate
James Hyams
Solicitor
Martin Lavery
Solicitor
Taylor HenryWhether you require assistance with elder home care or legal guardianship, we have the skill and experience to help you through the procedure of applying to Court for the appointment of a Guardian/Intervener in terms of the Adults with Incapacity legislation
Discuss the particular circumstances and advise you whether guardianship/intervention is necessary
Offer guidance about who may be appointed Guardian/Intervener, what powers they may need to help the adult concerned, and what responsibilities they will have
Draft the formal court application
Instruct the necessary expert reports
Conduct the hearing(s) on your behalf
Help you apply for a Bond of Caution (if applicable)
Assist the Guardian with annual reporting duties
Case study
We were referred a matter where the client had already signed all the paperwork to sell her house without the selling solicitors realising that the title was in the name of the client’s mother and not in the client’s own name, as she had thought.
The client’s mother was by then in care and had lost capacity. No Power of Attorney had been granted while she had capacity.
We had to send an application to the Sheriff Court to have interim powers awarded to a Guardian (our client and the lady’s only daughter). We obtained the necessary reports under Section 57 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in time before the matter to go to court.
This allowed the sale of the house to settle. It avoided a breach of contract in the client’s sale (actually her mother’s sale) and it also avoided the client being in breach of contract in the purchase which she was about to effect.
Contact us to find out what we can do to help
Becoming incapable of dealing with your own financial and welfare affairs can happen to anyone, at any time. Therefore, we recommend that our clients put a power of attorney in place as early as possible.
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