Victoria Mahon de Palacios, Senior Associate in the Private Client team at Wedlake Bell, and a specialist in Court of Protection and elderly client work, discusses the recent case Re WP deceased and EP [2015] and its implications for attorneys in this interview for LexisPSL.
It is not uncommon for family members to care for an elderly or incapacitated relative instead of using commercial care, often giving up or reducing their employment as a result. But when the carer is acting for that person as an attorney under an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney, the carer cannot simply pay themselves remuneration for the care they are providing, and forget about it.
A recent case, Re WP deceased and EP [2015], has provided guidance on whether and how attorneys can claim payments from the donor's funds in respect of care they are providing to the donor, highlighting how the Court of Protection's authority will be needed in these types of cases. In Re WP, the attorneys were acting as carers for the donors (their parents) and paying themselves £150 per month each out of their parents' funds in respect of travelling expenses and remuneration for the care they were providing.
Victoria Mahon de Palacios, Senior Associate in the Private Client team at Wedlake Bell, and a specialist in Court of Protection and elderly client work, discusses the case and its implications for attorneys in an interview for LexisPSL (https://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/lexispsl) first published on 23 December 2015.
"Authorising the payment of gratuitous care allowances to enduring power of attorneys"
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