Family legal battles increase as dementia cases rise
updated on 12 January 2024
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Solicitors have recently reported a rise in legal battles over incapacity as dementia cases rise. Disputes centre around inheritance and “who should actually have control of someone who hasn’t got capacity”.
With dementia cases in England and Wales forecast to double to 1.7 million by 2040, Tamasin Perkins, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, spoke about the impact this is having in the legal world. Perkins explained that although such a trend might not be obvious because court proceedings will most likely be held in private, “there’s a lot of litigation about people who’ve lost capacity and are no longer able to make decisions on their own behalf”.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Perkins adds: “Behind the scenes that leads to a lot of litigation about how they should be represented and how to make sure they’re okay. When you have those big families where there’s a patriarch or matriarch at the centre who’s built up a business, it’s a big deal.”
Other City lawyers have also noticed the trend. Julia Abrey, a private client lawyer at Withers LLP, explained that as more people become aware of dementia, “they’re very open to considering it in advance”. While Stephen Richards, another private client lawyer, highlighted that such disputes “have really come to the fore over the last 10 years”.
Richards also said: “The great difficulty where people are vulnerable or lack capacity is quite often they’ll say one thing to one person and they’ll say the complete opposite to a different person.”
As dementia diagnosis rates continue to rise, NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard explained that this increase “opens up doors to further support for patients and their families”. It’s predicted that around 540,000 people are caring for someone with dementia in England, with the economic costs associated with the disease estimated to be around £23 billion each year.
If you’ve been affected by this story, you can find support and resources via Dementia UK.
