Adult social care is a hot topic these days and there are, unfortunately, a lot of stories in the news where vulnerable adults are treated badly by those who should be looking after and protecting them. Everyday care aside aside, there are other parts of people’s lives where vulnerable people need to be protected – and that applies to what happens after their deaths.Protecting vulnerable people and acting in a responsible manner is something we take very seriously at Finders.
We have worked on numerous cases where a statutory will application has been made, or needs to be made. To explain further, a statutory will is often made for a person who does not have the mental capacity to make a will for themselves.
This might be because the person has a condition such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, or they have perhaps been the victim of an accident or illness which has caused brain damage. If the person does not have the capacity to understand the principles behind making a will, then an application can be made to the Court of Protection (a special section of the court which works with the Office of the Public Guardian to oversee the general management of the affairs of people who lack capacity) on that person’s behalf.
In addition, people in receipt of adult social care can often die intestate (i.e. without a will). Our involvement in such cases is to help trace the next of kin for a client, as a statutory will can not be made until there is knowledge of the rightful heirs to this person’s estate.
Another case where a statutory will might come into effect would be where an adult who had suffered an accident which affected their capacity was being cared for by a partner, but was not married to that person. This would mean that the partner doing the caring would not necessarily inherit anything on the death of that person.
In such cases, the research does need to be done very quickly and we at Finders are happy to meet any deadlines involved. Our painstaking work takes account of all deadlines and we will do all that we can to find the beneficiaries. In fact, our success rate is close to 100%.
We have an international reach so it does not matter where the person’s next of kin are located, as we often work on very complex cases where families have scattered far and wide – probate genealogy work uncovers this state of affairs so often as you may have seen from the BBC Heir Hunters series – so whether you are acting as a court appointed deputy or in another role, we are able to provide the required research promptly and cost effectively.
There are organisations and businesses out there that do not always pay due care and attention to the two tenets of protection and responsibility that we at Finders take so seriously. There is, after all, no regulatory or governing body for probate genealogy. We are the only UK firm with a professional code of conduct and we take our responsibilities towards those receiving adult social care very seriously indeed.
You can contact us for a no-obligation, free quote for this work and we can explain in full what it involves.
