Stephen* is a young teenager who suffered physical abuse as a baby which left him brain damaged. His case was pursued through the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) and an award of £3.1 million was made. CICA agreed, in conjunction with the Official Solicitor, that it would be in Stephen’s best interests for Ruth Meyer to be his Deputy. We are presently preparing a statutory will for Stephen so that the person who committed the abuse can be excluded from benefiting from Stephen’s estate. A statutory will is one approved by the Court of Protection for someone who does not have testamentary capacity to make the will themselves.In addition, we are setting up therapies in conjunction with his case manager. Now that Stephen has left school, we are also looking at structuring his day and independent living accommodation. Finances will have to be very carefully monitored as Stephen has a normal life expectancy and there are no annual income payments as with many of our other cases.*All names have been changed for client privacy.
