Guardianships
There is now in place a complex body of law which regulates how to deal with the affairs of incapacitated parties. All of this is administered or controlled by the Public Guardian, effectively a government official appointed to regulate all activity in this area. Where incapacity strikes members of the family, or agents such as solicitors, can apply to court for a whole series of options to help deal with the affairs of the ill or incapacitated party. One options might be simply to apply for access to some funds from a bank account to deal with bills - that is at the lower end of the scale. At the other end of the scale is an application to obtain full financial guardianship over the person's affairs for the rest of their life. In between these two extremes are other powers which can be obtained for welfare guardianships or interventions to achieve one particular task such as sale of a house where the owner is in a nursing home and cannot give instructions.
Legal Aid may be available for applicants for any or all of the above remedies otherwise in most cases the fees for the legal work can be properly charged to the estate of the incapacitated party for whom help is being sought. Most processes involve an application to the Sheriff Court or the Public Guardian direct. Our solicitors are experienced in all the various remedies and are happy to take matters through from first consultation right through to the granting of the court order and beyond where appropriate.
Unlike many other solicitors we will obtain legal aid for clients which can cover all or part of the work involved in being appointed guardian.
