Case study: £100,000 reclaimed from life cover policy for client whose partner lacked mental capacity

Our Court of Protection lawyers recently helped a client recover a settlement he was entitled to from his life cover policy, after his partner, the sole Trustee, lost capacity.

Background

Our client’s partner (P) had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and was terminally ill. Her cognitive decline had significantly worsened, and she had developed mobility and behavioural issues, and had no speech function.

P had a life cover plan with a leading insurance company, whereby she was a sole Trustee under a level protection plan. The cover amounted to £100,000, held on a discretionary basis. Our client was a sole Beneficiary and so entitled to the proceeds of any claim.

Seeking legal advice

When P fell ill and lost mental capacity as the sole Trustee in relation to the trust property (life policy cover), the insurance company refused to deal with our client, despite his partner’s lack of capacity and the fact that he was P’s Attorney under a registered Enduring Power of Attorney. It was at this point that our client approached our Court of Protection team for specialist advice.

Lisa Morgan determined that, given P’s limited life expectancy and the life cover policy’s terms, an application before the Court of Protection was urgently required.

The Court of Protection can provide consent to appoint two new Trustees under the Mental Capacity Act when someone is unable to make decisions for themselves. Once this consent is obtained, any proceeds from a claim can be appropriately managed before the insurance policy’s limitation timeframe.

Urgent application to the Court of Protection

Our solicitors made an urgent application to the Court of Protection and, as part of this, we obtained evidence, including witness statements and medical reports on P’s health and decision-making capacity. This evidence was also used in several negotiations with the insurers.

We were successful in obtaining a court order removing P as sole Trustee (due to her lack of mental capacity) and appointing the two new Trustees to manage the trust property. We also successfully claimed our client’s entitlement for the benefit under the life cover policy, within the limitation time, but after months of frustration.

Our client’s benefit of £100,000 was used to make home improvements and adaptations for P’s benefit.

Contact our Court of Protection solicitors

Our Court of Protection lawyers support vulnerable people and their loved ones. We can provide compassionate, practical support to make dealing with these challenging and sensitive issues as straightforward as possible.

For an initial chat with a member of our team, call us on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.