Vulnerable & Elderly Clients

We have many years of knowledge and experience in providing advice on legal issues affecting elderly and vulnerable clients and their families.  We are here to give peace of mind that there will be help at a time when you need it most.

The wide range of services we offer includes:

• Powers of Attorney and Advance Decisions
• Preparing and advising on Lasting Powers of Attorney for both financial and welfare decisions
• Registration of Lasting and Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Dealing with Attorney disputes
• Acting as Attorneys – dealing with the day to day administration of a client’s property and affairs
• Advising Attorneys on their rights and responsibilities
• Preparing and advising on Advance Decisions
• For more information, please visit our Lasting Power of Attorney page.

• Deputyship Applications
• Acting as Deputies – dealing with the day to day administration of a client’s property and affairs
• Advising Deputies on their rights and responsibilities
• Applications to the Court of Protection where the Court needs to make decisions, including applications for gifts and statutory wills
• For more information, please visit our Court of Protection Deputyships page.

• Preparing and advising on Wills incorporating Trusts providing for vulnerable and/or disabled dependants
• Preparing and advising on Lifetime Trusts providing for vulnerable and/or disabled dependants
• Acting as Trustees – dealing with the day to day administration of trusts
• Trusts can help protect eligibility for external support and benefits
• For more information, please visit our Wills and Succession Planning page.

• Advising on funding and paying for care including local authority funding and NHS Continuing Care
• Care Home Contract Reviews
• Advice on Gratuitous Care Payments
• We work closely with Raymond James Weald of Kent branch who can assist with preparing your finances for the future.
• For more information, please visit our Long Term Care page.

Many of the team are members of the “Solicitors for the Elderly” organisation (‘SFE’).  SFE is a national organisation of lawyers committed to providing and promoting high quality legal services for older people, their family and carers.   SFE members must have proven experience and follow a Code of Practice, designed to ensure clear and straightforward advice is given and that the client’s interests are safeguarded at all times.

One of the Directors in the team, Stephen Beck, is an Approved Panel Deputy appointed by the Office of the Public Guardian evidencing his expertise in this highly specialised area of work.  The Court of Protection chooses deputies from the Panel Deputy list when no one else is willing or able to act as a Deputy for someone who lacks mental capacity.

We understand that many conditions can lead to confusion and nervousness in unfamiliar locations and our team are happy to visit clients in their home or at hospital if required.

Dementia is one of many reasons why someone might become unable to make decisions about financial assets or physical wellbeing.  Whitehead Monckton has been recognised as a ‘Working to Become Dementia Friendly Kent’ organisation since 2018.  Dementia is a progressive illness and therefore we recommend anyone with symptoms or a diagnosis of dementia to review their legal affairs, in particular wills and lasting powers of attorney, as soon as possible. In order to execute new legal documents, certain legal capacity tests must be met and a person living with dementia may or may not be able to satisfy these requirements.  Having taken the time to increase their understanding of dementia, our lawyers understand that each individual has their own dementia journey and take the time, often in conjunction with a medical professional specialising in capacity, to consider each individual’s capacity and support those living with dementia with their legal affairs. If the legal capacity tests cannot be met, we can support loved ones through the process of a Court of Protection application.