Abuse

Abuse

Over recent years, the issue of abuse of the elderly has risen in prominence. Such abuse can take the form of physical or psychological abuse but financial abuse has also become widespread. Those who take advantage range from family members to professional fraudsters, and it is quite likely that many instances go unreported and unseen. However, there are methods that can be adopted to prevent abuse and, in the case of financial abuse, to recover assets.

Financial abuse—detection and prevention

In recent years, abuse of the older client has become a topical issue. While the public perception may be that this is confined to physical abuse, there is, nonetheless, evidence of growing if not hidden financial abuse. This can take various forms and is often difficult to spot because those that are doing it are family members. In some cases, those abusing the older person may have the legitimacy of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) or enduring power of attorney (EPA), whether registered or not.

There are causes of action that can arise as a result of such abuse, such as undue influence and fraud, that can lead to

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Private Client analysis: This case considered the meaning of 'relevant property' under the settlements regime of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) and, in particular, the time at which this definition is to be tested. The question arose as to whether the trustees of an offshore trust established by a non-UK domiciled settlor were subject to the UK settlements regime in respect of property added to the trust after the settlor became deemed domiciled in the UK, or whether they were exempt from such charges as the trust consisted solely of excluded property. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that whether trust property is excluded property is based on the status of the trust at the time that it was established, not at the time that the property in question was added to the settlement. As a result, the trust in this case did consist solely of excluded property and no inheritance tax (IHT) charges arose as a result of either the ten-year anniversary or capital distributions. The FTT was also asked to consider whether their jurisdiction was appellate, or supervisory only. The FTT held that, while their jurisdiction was supervisory, the questions raised by the trustees were relevant in establishing whether HMRC had acted reasonably and that the outcome (ie that the paid IHT should be refunded and that no further IHT was due) would be the same in either case. Written by Katherine Willmott, senior associate solicitor at Foot Anstey LLP.