Court of Protection approved Trust case study: Ben's story
Ben was injured at birth because he was deprived of oxygen. His father has never had any involvement with him. His mother struggled after Ben's birth and wasn't able to cope with his extensive needs. Ben now lives with foster parents, who are absolutely dedicated to him and have cared for him for most of his life.
Ben was awarded compensation for the injuries he received at birth, which is looked after by a professional deputy. The deputy visited the foster parents' house and realised that spending some of Ben's money to extend and adapt the house would make a real difference to Ben's quality of life. His foster parents don't have much money of their own so aren't able to pay for the house to be made more suitable for Ben. A ground floor extension was added to the house with a bedroom for Ben, tracking hoist through to the bathroom and also a therapy room.
Unfortunately Ben is not expected to live past the age of 12 or so. The deputy is concerned that if Ben dies before he is 18, a Will cannot be put in place for him. That would mean that part of the foster carers' house would be owned by Ben's mother and father. The deputy applied to the Court of Protection to ask for Ben's share of the property to be put into trust so that the foster carers would be able to have that after his death.
