Niall Baker

My personal practice is managing the finances of clients who do not have the capacity to do so. It is both rewarding and challenging.

To give a flavour of the work involved we manage all aspects of their financial life, from arranging care, weekly shopping, buying houses, cars, collecting benefits, investing monies, completing tax returns, together with many other aspects. It will all depend on the level of capacity of the client and assets that require managing.

Baker v H (2009) – where the structure approach to setting Court of Protection security was set out.

This case enabled a challenge to the level of security required by the Court of Protection so there is now a precedent to facilitate the challenge and hopefully cost savings for a client where it is felt security may be too high.

Baker v BDS [2021] EWHC 3755 (Ch) – precedent case regarding altering the terms of a Personal Injury Trust.

We believe this was the first case where a Court appointed Personal Injury Trust had provisions altered to enable our capable client to continue with his trust without restrictions originally put in place by the Court.

All clients have very individual needs and so that varies greatly. We provide a bespoke service based on need and level of capacity. We are unusual in that we may act for clients for years and the best part of the job is seeing clients reach goals that they were not expecting to achieve.

I am always delighted when a client gets to the position that they are restored to manage their own finances and we are no longer needed.

My Dad told me many years ago that you got two ears and one mouth for a reason. I like to listen to a client to understand what they want to achieve and how we can assist in attaining those goals. You can expect some humour and hopefully confidence that we know what we are doing and you will be in safe hands.

We can meet you wherever is most convenient for you, be it in our office, your home or in hospital. The first meeting will generally be about getting to know each other. We’ll take the time to learn more about your situation and the support you need, while also making sure you have plenty of opportunity to ask any questions you have. We need to understand what our roles are and how best we can make matters work.

Given that we generally act for clients for long periods of time it is important we get to know each other and that the client feels confident and comfortable. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with numerous clients for over 30 years, forming a strong and trusting relationship as I help them to navigate their individual circumstances.