2. Caution
Every Curator requires to obtain an insurance policy known as a bond of caution against his/her defaulting with the funds of the estate. Such a bond must be obtained prior to the Curator entering upon his/her duties and is held by the Accountant. The premium for a Bond of Cuation is variable and should be negotiated with the Insurance Company. Premiums for the Bond of Caution form a proper charge against the Ward's estate in the Curator's account. Where an increase or decrease in Caution is required by the Accountant, it may be done by means of a Memorandum of Agreement, although some insurance Companies now insist in issuing a new Bond.
3. Certified Copy Interlocutor of Curator's Appointment
Once the bond of caution has been lodged with the Accountant a Curator should ensure that the Solicitors acting in the Petition to the Court obtain and provide him/her with a Certified Copy Interlocutor of the appointment. This is the document which entitles the Curator to act and should be exhibited to all those holding funds in name of or for the Ward. These documents are sufficient authority to allow the Curator to ingather the estate.
4. Instructions for Administration of Case
When the bond of caution is received by the Accountant he will register the case and issue to the Curator a letter advising him/her of the closing date for Accounts, a Form of Inventory and a copy of the Accountant's Notes for the Guidance of Curators.
Immediately after receiving the Certified Copy Interlocutor of his/her appointment the Curator should intimate the appointment to the Hospital Administrator or other parties responsible for looking after the Ward.
It is the Curator's duty to establish and claim immediately on appointment all benefits to which the Ward is entitled. In normal course the Curator will require to take such benefits into his/her own hands. Indeed, DSS Regulations require benefits to be paid to a Curator where one is acting, but in special circumstances, such as where a Ward is living in family, the Accountant may agree to the benefits being paid direct to the responsible member of the family. Otherwise, wherever possible, the Curator should ensure that DSS Benefits are paid direct to the Curatory Bank Account.
The name and nature of benefits are constantly changing and for that reason exact details of the benefits applicable to any particular case cannot be given in these Notes and accordingly on appointment a Curator will require to obtain information as to the benefits currently available from the local DSS Office or Welfare Rights Office. All incapax Wards should be entitled to a benefit in respect of their incapacity (a sickness or invalidity benefit) or retirement pension. If Wards require constant attendance and have to pay for it they may be entitled to an allowance.
If they have difficulty in getting about and are below retirement age, they may be entitled to a mobility allowance. Once the capital of the estate of the incapax is reduced to a prescribed level, at present £16,000, Income Support may be payable together with a "care allowance" from the Local Authority.
An Inventory detailing the Ward's estate (as at the date of the Curator's appointment) requires to be completed and returned to the Accountant for examination as soon as possible, but certainly no later than 6 months from the date on which the Bond of Caution was lodged with the Accountant.2
With regard to the Form of Inventory the following points should be noted:
(a) The date of the Curator's appointment registered by the Accountant is shown on the backing to the Inventory. If this date does not agree with the date of appointment advised to you, you must as a matter of urgency forward the Certified Copy Interlocutor/Extract Decree of your appointment to the Accountant in order that he may take action to ascertain the correct date.
(b) The estate given up in the Inventory should be the estate exactly as it existed at the date of your appointment (subject to (f) below).
(c) Balances at credit of bank and building society accounts should NOT include accrued interest but pass books should be written up-to-date prior to being exhibited to the Accountant.
(d) The Accountant has no power to extend the time for lodging the Inventory. If the full estate cannot be ascertained within the time limit, the Inventory should be lodged showing any unascertained estate as an estimated figure.
(e) The Inventory must be accompanied by all the documents necessary to vouch the estate given up therein. In this connection it should be noted that in general photocopies of documents are not considered by the Accountant sufficient to vouch the estate.
(f) Where another person has previously acted as Curator, the case falls to be treated as a continuing trust. In such cases the Inventory falls to be completed showing the estate exactly as detailed at the close of the previous Curator's final Account and where the estate has been divided in terms of the Trustee Investments Act 1961, (as amended by the Trustee Investments (Division of Trust Fund) Order 1996) the division and value of investments in previous Curator's Accounts should be retained.
1 See Appendix E for further guidance on Inventories
2 Judicial Factors Act 1849 Section 3
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