If you or a family member have suffered a serious personal injury, or received poor care that has caused you harm (negligence), you may have made a legal claim which resulted in an award of damages.
No amount of money could ever put someone back in the position they would have been in had such an event had not occurred. That said, an award of damages may include provision for a care need which was not previously present, it may provide for loss of earnings, or any of a range of other needs which otherwise would not have existed before. The amount of money can be substantial (sometimes running into millions of pounds), but may need to cover a range of needs for a long time – and this requires careful management, with input from a range of experts.
Our expertise ensures this money is managed in line with investment strategies designed by the Court of Protection where appropriate. The settlement will often have to last for the rest of the recipient’s life, so it is vital your Financial Planner is there for the long term to advise the client and the other parties and professionals involved regarding decisions on a wide range of financial matters. Our role is to navigate and draw the most out of the tax and benefits systems, and ensure the funds are invested to last as long as the injured person needs them to.
Our national centre of expertise for Large Claims and Court of Protection matters, based out of our Chorley office, directly manages the most complex cases and provides support across the whole Perspective group. Our Financial Planners maintain close working relationships with Deputies, Attorneys, specialist accountants, trustees, relatives, case managers and key professionals.
In such cases, we believe the following are of critical importance:
- Competitive and unambiguous charging
- Ongoing Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax planning
- Sensitivity to the benefits landscape
- Independent, whole of market approach – no restrictions on investments, platforms or tax wrappers – these are always selected in the client’s interest
- Ongoing cashflow modelling and duration analysis
- Where appropriate, proper implementation of Court of Protection Investment Strategies giving peace of mind. This also means investments are sold only when highly valued, not when markets are depressed