PI Brief Update

Court of Protection in the Spotlight - Eddie Fardell, Thomson Snell & Passmore

13/08/14. The Court of Protection found itself in the spotlight again recently when Cathy Watson, the mother of a girl severely injured at birth, was found guilty of plundering her daughter’s damages award. She was sentenced earlier this year, and handed down a prison term of 5 ½ years. Her ex-husband, Robert Hills, who admitted his wrongdoing, was handed down a term of 3 years 4 months. Following their conviction late last year, the popular press took delight in reporting that the case “exposed shocking failures by the Court of Protection”.

This was a terrible abuse of a catastrophically injured young girl awarded a substantial sum - £2.6m – to care for her for the rest of her life. Apparently funds remain to pay for her care for only a few years and she will then have to be publicly funded. The quality of her care is bound to be considerably affected.

This is not the first time such abuse has been revealed, but this one is particularly shocking. So why was this woman in a position to perpetrate this obnoxious crime? Why was not a professional deputy appointed?

It is of course the case that anyone can be appointed as a deputy by the Court of Protection. The applicant has to submit a declaration to the Court, who must be satisfied they are a fit and proper person to act; I do not know what scrutiny is given to the declaration form by the Court during the application process, but the questions focus primarily on whether the applicant has been made bankrupt or has judgment debts...

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