Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA)

SOLLA helps people and their families in finding trusted accredited financial advisers who are experienced in working with and understanding financial needs in later life.

The complexities of the many decisions you or your family may need to face when looking at issues such as care funding matters or whether equity release is the right thing for you, need careful and considered advice. Good financial advice should help you make clear and informed decisions knowing that you have had the information and choices presented to you in a way that helps you make the best choices and decisions for you or for a family member.

Go to our Find an Adviser page on our website where you can search for an adviser who is local and can ensure you have the peace of mind that you are making the right financial choices to secure your future.

The Money Carer Foundation provides a long-established and trusted appointeeship service for thousands of vulnerable adults across the UK established in 2009.

They are entirely independent and assist thousands of individuals, some with very complicated circumstances, by managing their day-to-day finances and working alongside the people who also support them such as carers, social workers and other professionals. Their independence enables them to avoid conflicts of interest when undertaking fiduciary responsibilities to act in the best interest of clients.

They also offer a bespoke account called MONIKA - it is the proprietary banking and payments platform and is the engine that has supported the organisation's 10,000 plus accounts over the last 14 years.  

Over 250 law firms and local authorities use Monika to open FSCS protected bank accounts instantly and they are delighted to be able to open up the entire functionality of the platform to Court of Protection appointed Deputies and DWP Appointees, in partnership with Cashplus bank.

Pragmatic Practitioners aim is for better, more professional assistance to people at difficult times in their lives. These may be disabled people, those experiencing mental health difficulties or elderly people. Some of these people may be in vulnerable situations and we believe it is essential that they are able to exercise their rights in the same way as anyone else.

We do this through:

• Work to understand the knowledge of other practitioner’s professional knowledge and practice and to incorporate that into our own work to provide more complete assistance
• Build an evidence base of case examples that show how to manage complexity in ways that people can establish control over their own lives
• Use our knowledge and experience for advocacy with government and local public bodies to create a regulatory, policy and funding environment that is effective in supporting people

Paul Smith is a qualified Forensic Accountant and a former seasoned police Detective Sergeant. His skill set is fairly unique, fusing his skills, experience and training as a Detective with accountancy.    

During the latter part of his police career, Paul was the coordinator for multi agency investigations, those involving vulnerable adults as victims.  Paul acts as an international Subject Matter Expert (SME) in all aspects of financial crime. He has assisted foreign Governments advising on the investigation of complex fraud, money laundering, corruption and terrorist financing matters.  

Paul is able to offer a service as an dual expert accounting and safeguarding witness. This is in a variety of court settings; be they criminal, civil, family and Court of Protection.  

The majority of his work is assisting family members who suspect fraud by those holding powers of attorney or deputyship. Sadly often these issues don’t come to light until after the victim passes away and it generally becomes a contentious probate matter.

Home Instead UK provides award-winning, personalised home care for older people in the comfort of their own home.

 Home Instead UK provides domiciliary care for ageing adults. With personalised relationship-led care, those in need of support can stay in their own homes and receive a tailored care package. Home Instead is a Franchise Organisation so you will be put in touch with your local Home Instead franchise office who will talk you through the care options available.

The type of care available ranges from Home Help and Companionship through to Dementia Care & Personal Care, and it is all tailored around the individual. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality of care to enable ageing adults to continue to live well in their own homes.

You can let companies know that you’re vulnerable by registering with the VRS, for free. Businesses that use the VRS can identify your vulnerability and take it into account when they communicate with you. You can either opt to be declined for financial service applications or add a ‘referral flag’ to let organisations know about your circumstances.

A single reference point

The VRS provides consumers and organisations with a single reference point to ensure that people do not need to have the same, often emotionally draining, conversation with those organisations. The organisations which use our service will be alerted to the fact that someone’s situation needs to be considered - whether they are contacting them for the first time or where they have an existing relationship with them.

MAXIMISE THE MATERIAL VALUE OF A PROPERTY AND MANAGE ITS DISPOSAL FOR YOU

With a flexible approach to asset disposal, Blue Door Bespoke offers a range of services including guidance consultations, small project managing oversight and/or overseeing the whole project.

Each case is treated individually, but all need sensitive handling, empathy, respect and understanding.  Trust and transparency are key. There are a wide range of services - from dismantling a much loved family home filled with memories to searching for significant paperwork/small valuables – and everything in-between.  Items might be sent to auction – sometimes items you may not consider have any worth. They will donate/recycle, clear and clean a property/garden; arrange asset dispersal and storage. In a nutshell, what they do depends entirely on what you need.

Losing a loved one, or when they have to go into care, is both difficult emotionally, and on a practical level. Blue Door Bespoke works closely with the handling probate or Court of Protection solicitor or executors and families to take the stress and strain in these challenging and often overwhelming situations. 

The Estatesearch Financial Profile Service offers an award winning Asset & Liability search to help identify estate accounts. While our portal offers access to other exciting and innovative products and services all in one place.

Our online platform offers access to a growing range of essential due diligence services, helping you to manage everything in one place.

Designed and improved with ongoing customer feedback, our platform reduces data re-entry, reduces the risk of errors, and reduces the number of invoices. Creating a more streamlined and efficient workflow that saves you time.

With no registration or subscription fees, you only pay for the searches services you need, when you need them

Culver Law are specialists in acting for those who lack capacity. Michael Culver is a Court of Protection panel deputy and is appointed by the Court to act for people in the case of family disputes or where an attorney has been removed.

Michael is often entrusted to act as an attorney for our clients directly and we often find that appointing a professional can prevent disputes within the family. We can also assist with concerns about an attorney or deputies actions, decision making around who to appoint as an attorney, and applications to the Court of Protection.

Michael Culver is the chairman of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), an organisation of over 1500 legal professionals specialising in later life services for the elderly and vulnerable.

Our Court of Protection and Trusts and Estate teams help to manage the affairs of people who need support due to a lack of mental capacity, or those entrusted to act in their stead. We ensure strong financial controls are in place, managing funds totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

We give exceptional support to vulnerable people and our excellence is acknowledged by the OPG, Court of Protection, Lexcel, the Official Solicitor, local authorities, legal directories, the intermediaries we work with and by the people we value the most, our clients. In addition, we were shortlisted for the 2023/24 STEP Private Client Awards in the category of ‘Vulnerable Client Advisory Practice of the Year’.

As founding partner of the ‘Give an Hour’ scheme from Hourglass, a UK charity dedicated to ending the abuse of older people, our experienced and knowledgeable teams provide pro bono preliminary legal advice to assist vulnerable individuals via their 24/7 helpline.

The values of the charity, which has over 10,000 users, are closely aligned with our business ethos and core values.

Our purpose is clear and our ambitions are unlimited: we want to unlock potential in our people and clients, inspiring confidence, growth and development.

We provide creative solutions and advice that helps you fulfil your commercial and personal goals.

What is vitally important to us though is that we build lasting relationships, championing our clients and providing the best possible business and personal advice.

The Court of Protection team at JMW Solicitors, who are one of a small number of selected OPG Panel Deputies, provide expert deputyship services to individuals, family members and local authorities. They are one of the largest specialist teams in the country, with over 230 years of combined deputyship experience with around 800 matters and 50 staff, ranked in both UK Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as a top firm for Court of Protection.