Older and Vulnerable Clients Solicitors

We help older and vulnerable people to get the care they need with sensitivity and dignity

Supporting an older or vulnerable loved one is a big responsibility and one that, understandably, can be quite a daunting challenge for many people. A helping hand from experienced solicitors can make it easier to get your loved one the care they need, while taking some of the weight off your shoulders.

Ensuring suitable care for the most vulnerable people is inevitably complex, whether they may be children, adults with disabilities or learning difficulties, or elderly people who are no longer able to manage their own affairs. It requires an understanding of the legal issues relating to trusts, social care, physical health and mental capacity.

Sometimes family and friends may be called upon to make major decisions at short notice, for example due to the sudden onset of a medical condition such as stroke or as a consequence of an accident. In such circumstances, having experienced experts to guide you through the decisions you need to make can give you confidence that you are doing the best thing for your loved one.

Charles Fraser
Victoria Wood
Meet the team

Get friendly, expert support to help meet your loved one’s needs

Our highly experienced, specialist solicitors help clients with matters including:

  • Managing a loved one’s affairs
  • Care funding
  • Estate planning

We work closely with family members to understand the right levels of support and care needed on a case-by-case basis.

Exceptional expertise with truly personal service

We work tirelessly to provide support to those who need it, with the experience and expertise to ensure all of your loved one’s needs are fully met.

Our Older and Vulnerable Client team is headed by Charles Fraser, a Senior Solicitor with more than 20 years’ experience. Charles works with Associate Solicitor Victoria Wood who has many years of specialist experience supporting older and vulnerable clients.

Charles and Victoria are both members of the prestigious Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) reflecting their outstanding expertise in trust and estate law.

Charles and Victoria completed the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients and are both accredited members of Association of Lifetime Lawyers. Both Charles and Victoria are also members of the Law Society Private Client Section.

Speak to our older and vulnerable client solicitors

To discuss your requirements with our sensitive experts in older and vulnerable client law, please get in touch.

01992 300333                     Ask a question

Our services for older and vulnerable clients

Managing a loved one’s affairs

Taking on the management of a loved one’s personal affairs can be a daunting task. It is normal to feel a little overwhelmed and concerned about missing things or making mistakes and the impact this could have on your loved one.

Our older and vulnerable client solicitors work with individuals and families every day, helping them to make sure their loved one’s affairs are managed the right way, so their needs are met.

We can assist with the full range of matters that may need addressing, including property, finances, care arrangements, and health and welfare issues. This way, you can be confident your loved one is getting the right support for every aspect of their life.

Our experts can assist with matters including:

  • Lasting Powers of Attorney (preparation, registration & advice for Attorneys)
  • The Court of Protection (applications to the Court and advice for deputies)
  • Trusts (formation and administration)
  • Liaising with local authorities or Primary Care Trusts on behalf of our clients on issues relating to their continuing healthcare
  • Guiding you through the process of going into a care home, including funding, benefits and needs assessments

Care funding

The cost of care for older and vulnerable people is a common concern. Our team regularly advises clients on the different options for funding care, helping to ensure the right funding is in place when it is needed. This way, we can make sure your loved ones are able to access the very best care for their overall wellbeing.

We can advise on matters including:

  • Applying for state benefits on behalf of vulnerable people
  • Care assessments
  • Deferred payments
  • Deliberate deprivation of assets
  • NHS care funding

Estate planning

Estate planning can be very complex, especially where the care needs of an older or vulnerable person have to be covered.

You might be in a position where you need to plan your own estate to ensure a loved one will be taken care of when you are no longer around. Alternatively, you may be considering what will happen to an older or vulnerable person’s estate when they pass away, which can be a challenging issue to resolve.

Our older and vulnerable client solicitors are highly experienced in estate planning. We can work closely with you to make sure all relevant issues are considered, that all assets are taken into account, and that the best available options are used for effective and tax-efficient estate planning.

Our estate planning experts can assist with options including:

  • The preparation of Wills (including Statutory Wills)
  • Tax planning
  • Trusts (formation and administration)

Our older and vulnerable client service fees

The cost of obtaining the right legal support for older and vulnerable people can be a concern, but this is an area where our team work hard to provide the best possible value for our clients.

Our older and vulnerable client solicitors work efficiently and intelligently to minimise our costs behind the scenes, while maintaining the highest levels of service for our clients.

Where appropriate, we are able to offer some of our older and vulnerable client services on a fixed fee or capped fee basis, giving certainty over your costs.

To find out more about the fees for older and vulnerable client services and to request a cost estimate, please get in touch.

Speak to our older and vulnerable client solicitors

To discuss your requirements with our sensitive, supportive experts in older and vulnerable client law, please get in touch.

01992 300333                     Ask a question

Case Studies

  • Protecting the interest of an adult with severe learning difficulties. We were able to apply to the Court of Protection for the young adult’s parents to be appointed as his deputies so that decisions about his finances could be made. For those adults who have sufficient understanding we can arrange for them to sign a Lasting Power of Attorney instead which can be more flexible and cheaper.
  • Managing the affairs of an elderly person with Alzheimer’s disease. We were able to look after this person’s financial affairs, ensuring that her bills and care fees were paid for. We also liaised with a financial advisor so that her investments were well managed.
  • Arranging a Deferred Payment Agreement. Our client was moving into a care home but neither he nor his family wanted to sell the “family home”. We liaised with the local authority to arrange a deferred payment agreement, so that care fees were paid by the local authority by way of a charge (similar to a mortgage) on his property. The charge only needs to be paid on his death, or if the property is sold (if earlier).
  • Helping with continuing healthcare funding. Our client was refused continuing healthcare funding by the local NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG). We helped the family navigate through the internal appeal and then subsequent appeal to NHS England and were able to recover over £30,000 in care fees that should not have been paid by our client.
Older and Vulnerable Clients


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