denotes premium content | Dec 1 2008 Elderly Client Adviser archive
Volume 9 Issue 4
Features
The wisdom test
‘Knowledge dwells in heads replete with thoughts of other men; wisdom in minds attentive to their own’ (William Cowper 1731-1800). Caroline Bielanska addresses the relationship between mental capacity and wisdom. Does the client really know their own mind? Professional awareness and applied professional ethics loom large in her advice to practitioners.
Public law developments: Summary and update
Lynne Bradey, a solicitor at Wrigleys, examines recent guidance on choice of accommodation and top-up payments, and The Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003.
The care-home environment: Special insights
Have you ever wondered exactly why you cannot find your way around that care home or what problems ‘health and safety’ can create in a care environment? Chris Parker of SISA proposes a new framework for examining the physical-care environment.
Planning for the future: Unravelling the confusion of long-term care solutions
Geoff King was, until March 2003, at Norwich Union where he specialised in long-term care planning. He has a longstanding interest in the development of cohesive financial-services solutions to offset the worry of long-term care costs. Here, he considers the current debacle in the sector, which seems more confusing than smoke signals sent into a windy sky during a hail storm at midnight.
Paying family carers: Income tax and national-insurance issues
A child receives compensation for a serious personal injury that was so catastrophic that a receiver has been appointed by the Court of Protection to handle his personal affairs. Perhaps there are trustees in place who are entrusted with handling the compensation. The parents must act as full-time carers for their child who needs 24-hour support. In recognition of this hard work, the Court of Protection or the trustees authorise payment to them of £12,000 each and every year. Imagine how they feel when a bill for income tax and national insurance lands on their doormat? David Coldrick and Mohammed Asif consider whether it is legally correct for a tax bill to be submitted and how the practitioner should respond.
ECA course, part six: Protecting the interests of older people
In this part of the series, David Coldrick considers some of the main legal and practical considerations of relevance to drafting and interpreting wills containing flexible life interest trusts for older clients.
Older people and companion animals
“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms,” (George Eliot – Mr Gilfil’s Love Story). Elizabeth Ormerod BVMS MRCVS, chair of the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), explains the easily overlooked role of animals in the lives of clients and patients.
Regulars
Case digest
All the latest from the law courts...
