In M. Re, M believed that he was not managing his money properly as he ran out every month and asked to be assessed. He was found not capable of managing property because he ran of money each month and because he used Interac which was “expensive”. After he was found incapable the PGT stepped in to handle his money. M appealed the decision claiming he did not appreciate that the result of a finding of incapacity would be that he would no longer be able to deal with all of his affairs. He asked the Consent and Capacity Board to review the finding of incapacity.
The Board used the evidence that M had sought assistance because of his money concerns, not as the assessor had interpreted it, as an indicia of incapacity as rather a measure of capacity. The Board justified M’s “resiling” in his position as being one of education: once M found out that he would be more restricted in choice, like where he lived or what to do with his money, he no longer wanted the help of the PGT.
Lesson Learned: If you find yourself running out of money each month don’t have yourself declared incapable – take a course on money management.
Until next time,
Jasmine Sweatman