Ann is a partner in the Private Client team and her practice covers a wide range of trust, probate and private wealth management work for both large, complex estates and settlements. She advises trustees on tax and estate management issues and provides advice on UK and foreign succession issues. She also regularly advises on Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Affairs and Personal Welfare, the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney, and applications to the Office of Public Guardian and Court of Protection including tax planning and Statutory Will applications. Ann has recently passed the Solicitors For the Elderly (SFE) Older Client Care in Practice Award (OCCP).
Ann has recently had a book published called “Financial Abuse of Older Clients: Law, Practice and Prevention” by Bloomsbury Professional.
What was your motivation for writing this book?
The purpose behind this book is to draw the practitioner’s attention to the rise in financial abuse, to look out for the warning signs, to be aware of what legal protection there is and above all to demonstrate that change is needed to an imperfect system. It is designed as a tool to enable both
solicitors and other professionals to be more proactive in protecting their elderly clients. There has been a flurry of cases in the Court of Protection involving what is tantamount to fraud and theft carried out against mentally incapacitated adults. My hope is that this book will increase the debate, make professionals aware and just perhaps encourage a more pro-active stance on the part of Government and all concerned with the care of the elderly to stamp out this abuse before it becomes an epidemic.
What topics do you examine in your book?
Topics covered in this book include: what is financial abuse; who is vulnerable to it; who are the perpetrators of this abuse; what form does financial abuse take (unauthorised gifts are probably the most common
example but there are others); how to prevent financial abuse and what steps to take when it is discovered.
Who will find this book useful?
This book will be useful for the medical profession, financial institutions and the general public who have concerns about friends and relatives. I hope it will also be an invaluable tool for the legal profession.
For further information on the topics covered by the book or issues effecting the elderly and vulnerable generally, please contact Ann.