Re Wheeler (2011) COP 25/7/11

The Public Guardian applied for the severance of an invalid clause in the LPA. The Senior Judge considered that another clause was also invalid, which was severed on the court's own initiative. The donor had provided the following guidance: "My attorneys may act on the contents of my will." The court's reason for severing the guidance was as follows: "The court considers that the meaning of this guidance is unclear and that it is probably void for uncertainty. Potentially it authorises the attorneys to distribute the donor's estate during his lifetime as if he were dead, which would be not only contrary to public policy but also contrary to the provisions of section 12 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. A will speaks from death, and it is not a function of an attorney to act as the executor of the donor's will." [OPG summary - LPA case.]

Note

Summary from OPG section of Justice website.

Title: Re Wheeler (an order of the Senior Judge made on 25 July 2011)

Heading: Severance of restrictions incompatible with a Property and Financial Affairs LPA

External link

No Bailii link (no transcript)

Summary on OPG section of Justice website . This is a link to an archived version of the web page (archived on 6/10/14).