Penningtons appointed as panel deputy by Office of the Public Guardian

Posted: 06/04/2011

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has announced the list of panel deputies that it has appointed following a thorough application process. Penningtons Solicitors LLP is delighted to be included in that list. The appointment means that private client solicitor Gillian de Freitas will act as deputy in her own right and PennTrust, Penningtons' trust corporation which has a number of experienced deputies, will also be instructed to act in cases where the Court of Protection decides that someone lacking capacity has no-one else who is suitable or willing to act in such a role.

Capacity is becoming a growing issue as life expectancy increases. While most people are able to manage their own affairs, if someone loses the capacity to make their own decisions, and they have no family members or friends who are willing or suitable to act as a deputy, then the Court of Protection steps in to find a suitable professional deputy. The OPG's recent application process has reduced the number of available deputies to a much smaller number of highly professional and experienced deputies who can work alongside families who are, for various reasons, unable to manage someone's financial and personal affairs.

PennTrust is a trust corporation owned by Penningtons Solicitors, which provides trustee and executor services as well as acting as an attorney or deputy. Julie Burton, one of the directors of PennTrust, leads a dedicated Court of Protection team and is a highly experienced deputy, often acting in cases where the client has suffered a severe brain injury. Her work includes the creation of trusts for the protection of personal injury awards and she acts as a trustee in many such cases.

Gillian de Freitas specialises in Court of Protection matters and acts as a professional deputy and attorney, dealing with protected parties' finances and affairs. She sits on the Mental Capacity Act board for the London Borough of Croydon as an independent legal advisor and has an excellent working knowledge of local authority structure and how to deal with decisions which may affect vulnerable adults under the Mental Capacity Act.

Julie Burton is delighted with the appointment: "Supporting people with a lack of capacity is an issue which requires sensitivity as well as professionalism, and the appointment of PennTrust as well as Gillian to the panel is a very positive step towards helping people who, either through old age or through brain injury, require specialist advice and help."

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