Q&As

Can I disclose the will of an incapacitated client?

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Published by a LexisNexis Practice Compliance expert
Published on: 19 December 2019
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This Q&A considers if and when you can disclose a copy of a client’s will (contrary to your duty to keep your client's affairs confidential) to a property and financial affairs attorney or deputy appointed by the Court of Protection in circumstances where the client has lost mental capacity. It is based on Law Society guidance on access and disclosure of an incapacitated person’s will.

For more information, see Practice Notes: Vulnerable clients—regulatory requirements and Duties of confidentiality and disclosure.

Who is my client?

Your client remains your client even if they have an attorney/deputy acting on their behalf.

You can accept instructions given by someone other than the client if that person has proper authority to give those instructions. In this context, this is likely to arise in one of two ways:

  1. •

    if your client has made a power of attorney, they remain the client acting through their agent, the attorney

  2. •

    a deputy appointed for your client by the Court of Protection will be acting on their behalf as a statutory

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Client definition
What does Client mean?

The person(s) on whose behalf the firm is providing a service.

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