D suffered a very serious brain injury and multiple orthopaedic injuries when she was knocked down by a car in 2002.
D’s brain injury left her with very severe impairments which affected her sense of place and judgment and her capacity to make decisions in relation to her property and financial affairs. D eventually received a substantial compensation award which included provision for the cost of care for the rest of her life.
The Litigation Solicitor who dealt with D’s personal injury claim also acts as her Court of Protection Deputy and has instructed Hyphen Law to deal with the administration and management of D’s affairs on a day to day basis.
As part of our Deputyship service Hyphen Law were able to secure statutory funding from the local authority to assist with the cost of directly employing a team of specialist brain injury support workers. This ensured that additional funds were available to assist with the ongoing cost of rehabilitation including expert therapeutic input and specialist equipment.
At the time of her accident, D had no Will and her brain injury meant that she did not have the necessary mental capacity to give instructions for a Will. This meant that on D’s death her estate would have ben distributed in accordance with law made in 1925. D was married, had a child from her current marriage, a child from a previous relationship and a step child. The 1925 Intestacy rules make no provision for her step-children to inherit and made limited provision for her husband so if D had died before her husband he might have been forced to leave the family home.
Hyphen Law were able to instigate and oversee an application to the Court of Protection for a Will to be made on D’s behalf. This Statutory Will ensures that on D’s death each member of her family will receive an appropriate share of her estate as decided by the Court of Protection. It also means that D's husband has the comfort of knowing that should his wife die before him he would be able to remain in the family home.