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HCR Law Events

1 March 2023

Professional attorneys and deputies

Acting as an attorney or deputy can be time-consuming and stressful. Having a professional involved can provide peace of mind that affairs will be properly taken care of.

What is the benefit of a professional attorney or deputy?

A professional attorney or deputy can add much needed objectivity, independence and experience to complex family situations. It ensures impartiality and the resulting avoidance of conflicts of interests between family members.

With our extensive expertise, we can provide total focus to the vulnerable person’s affairs, providing peace of mind for the family and ensuring all the individual’s legal and financial affairs are taken care of.

What does a professional attorney or deputy do?

A professional attorney or deputy should have regard to the professional standards set by the Office of the Public Guardian. There is an obligation, as for all attorneys and deputies, to keep appropriate financial records and to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the vulnerable person.

When we are appointed as professional attorney or deputy, our role often includes:

• Annual visits to the vulnerable person
• Considering the vulnerable person’s wishes and feelings and their best interests in all decisions
• Care plan reviews
• Benefit reviews to ensure the individual receives the benefits they are entitled to
• Challenging care funding problems
• Dealing sensitively with family situations
• Sourcing additional case manager support and therapies, where required
• Keeping financial accounts
• Seeking appropriate advice on asset investment
• Property management, letting and sales, where appropriate
• Considering appropriate Court of Protection applications, where appropriate, including statutory wills and gifting applications;
• Undertaking tax returns

Why choose us?

We are an award-winning, leading national law firm, with specialist sector expertise and a breadth of knowledge and experience across several legal disciplines. This knowledge helps us to deliver an unrivalled professional attorney and deputy service to our vulnerable clients, as we draw on expertise from different locations and teams to support with
family, property, business and medical complexities.

Our team offers a stable, long-term solution to supporting individuals with impaired mental capacity to manage their financial affairs. We act as professional deputies and attorneys for numerous vulnerable individuals with complex circumstances and you can be confident that decisions will always be made by an experienced partner in the firm.

We support all individuals, including those who require some general support with their financial admin, to those who are fully reliant on us to take care of their financial affairs. Our most vulnerable clients may have conditions which affect the functioning of their mind or brain, including mental health disorders, learning disabilities, Down’s syndrome,
dementia and brain injuries.

We also have a specialist team supporting individuals with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) to rehabilitate, budget and achieve independence following catastrophic and life-changing accidents.

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About the Authors
Tonina Ashby, Partner and Notary Public

Tonina Ashby is a Central England solicitor, specialising in private client law.

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Lauren McGurk, Senior Associate (TEP)

Lauren McGurk is a Cheltenham solicitor, specialising in private client law.

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