We have a situation as follows:
Grandfather died in around 2000 leaving an absolute gift of land to be divided equally between his son (S) and four grandchildren. One grandchild (G) (now in his thirties) has Downs Syndrome and is not capable of managing his own financial affairs. The land is currently registered in the names of S and two of the other grandchildren.
At present, no Deputy is appointed for G. G is in receipt of means tested benefits. The land has development potential and is likely to go up in value significantly.
If, following an appointment, a Deputy for G applied to the Court to transfer G’s share of the land into, say, a disabled trust, is it likely to be seen as a deliberate deprivation of assets by the authorities?
We suspect so, but we wondered if anyone has experienced any cases where this has been an issue.
Rachel Scawin
Clifton Ingram LLP