Court action against power of attorney misuse reaches highest-ever levels. It has been reported that the Office for Public Guardian (OPG) for England and Wales has made over 700 applications to the Court of Protection to censure or remove attorneys in 2018/19. This is a huge increase, the number of legal actions taken against people with power of attorney has more than doubled over the past two years.
Making improper gifts and not acting in the vulnerable person’s best interests were two of the main reasons for having attorneys censured or removed. Unfortunately, this is only a small proportion of the true figure as most abuse does not come to light until after the death of the donor.
These statistics are concerning but in line with previous comments made by retired Senior Judge at the Court of Protection Denzil Lush. He told BBC listeners that he would never grant anyone a lasting power of attorney overs his financial affairs because of the serious risk of abuse.
Comments made by the firm who applied for the data stated that misconduct among attorneys is very difficult to detect so these numbers are likely to be just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. There are some fundamental questions about how the current system operates and whether there are sufficient safeguards at the point at which people register. In April 2019, the OPG launched a new safeguarding strategy to protect donors, to include working more closely with adult social services and the NHS.
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