Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Review Announced

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At the end of last year the Justice Minister announced a review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) together with a full consultation on the reform proposals.

A CICA claim allows persons who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the victim of a violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales. Compensation can offer a public acknowledgement of harm suffered by victims of violent crime who have been unable to seek compensation by other means.

In 2017/18 CICA made decisions on over 40,000 applications and paid out approximately £154 million in compensation. The review will consider the scope of the scheme, eligibility rules, decision making processes and the value of awards. The reform proposals are due to be published in 2019 and updates will appear once these have been announced.

If you have suffered an injury that was not your fault then please contact our Personal Injury department to discuss your accident.

Red Nose Day 2019

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Thank you to everyone that took part either baking, providing or eating cakes and treats for Red Nose Day on Friday.

You raised £59.00 for Comic Relief.

Becky

Contentious Probate; 25 Years Not Too Late To Bring A Claim.

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Chief Master Marsh has given judgment in the case of Bhusate v Patel & others permitting a widower to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (“the Act”) 25 years and nine months after the deadline to do so.

Ordinarily a claim under the Act must be brought within six months from the Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration. However, the Act does state at section 4 that with permission of the court a claim can be brought out of time. Prior to this case permission had never been sought for pursuing a claim for anything like this period of 25 years.

It was very relevant to the application that the Claimant in this case could only speak basic and broken English, and could read very little, despite having lived in the UK for over 38 years. It is also relevant that as the family had been unable to agree matters in relation to the sale of the deceased’s property that by the time this matter was heard the property had increased substantially in value. Following Mr Bhusate’s death intestate (without a will) no one had properly administered the estate. It was successfully argued that it is open to a claimant to bring a claim out of time when there was no claim at an earlier date.

The Court was satisfied in this case that there were‘compelling reasons’ why it was right and proper that the court should exercise its discretion in her favour in allowing a claim significantly out of time.

It was relevant that if Mrs Bhusate had not been permitted to proceed with her claim she would have been left with no remedy at all and no benefit from her husband’s estate, and would effectively be left homeless.

Should you require advice about any claim you may have in relation to a deceased’s estate then please contact us for an appointment.

 

Jenny Carpenter
Partner
Contentious Probate Litigation Solicitor

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)

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A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows for nominated people (attorneys) to make decisions and act on your behalf. There are two types of LPA: Health & Welfare and Property & Financial Affairs. These have to be separate documents and cannot be amalgamated even if you choose to have the same people act in both.

If you do not have an LPA and later lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself your family would have to use the expensive route of applying for a Deputyship Order at the Court of Protection to take control of your finances.

A Health & Welfare LPA allows for your attorneys to make decisions about what medical treatment you receive, where you live, your daily routine, but most importantly decisions about life sustaining treatment. You can include preferences in the LPA to guide your attorneys.

A Property & Financial Affairs LPA appoints attorneys to handle your finances and property. You can chose to have this particular type of LPA come into effect as soon as it has been registered so that you and your appointed attorneys can work together to organize your finances while you still have mental capacity and then once you have lost mental capacity to hand over complete control.

You are able to choose whoever you wish to act as your attorney as long as you believe that should you lose mental capacity and become unable to make decisions alone that the person you chose will act according to your wishes and in your best interest. You can also appoint replacement attorneys so that should your first choice of attorney be unable to act they can take over.

You do need a Certificate Provider who certifies that you have the relevant mental capacity to make the LPA and that no one is forcing you to do so.

An LPA is an incredibly important document as it enables someone to ensure that your health and welfare and property and financial affairs will always be taken care of even if you yourself are unable to do so.

If you require advice in relation to creating an LPA, contact a member of Adams Harrison’s Private Client Department for expert and professional advice.

Sawston Fun Run 2019

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Adams Harrison are proud to be are one of the sponsors of the forthcoming 2019 Sawston Fun Run and Walk which will be taking place on Sunday 12th May 2019.

This event has been running every year since 1986 and we have supported and sponsored the event since taking over the Sawston office from Webb & Partners, who had supported and sponsored the event from its outset in 1986.

Over the years a total of £456,000 has been donated to local charities and organisations.

If you would like to register to take part please click on the image below.

Sawston Fun Run 2019