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Left in the Waiting Room
When a partner, family member or friend needs to take legal advice, they might ask you to go along with them to the appointment, perhaps just for support or maybe because they want you to be involved in the process and help them to make decisions. However, there will be limits on how involved the solicitor can allow you to be.
Let’s say you accompany your elderly mother to her appointment regarding a proposed lifetime mortgage (equity release). She may want you to be with her throughout the whole visit but don’t be surprised if you are left in the waiting room whilst the solicitor meets with her alone, at least for the first part of the appointment. There are a number of reasons for this, which relate to the professional ethics which solicitors are required to follow:
They have to be very clear about who they are acting for – in other words who the client is – because that is the person in whose best interests they must act and from whom they must receive instructions. Your mother’s solicitor will need to be satisfied that she genuinely wants you to be involved in the process and is not being unduly influenced by you or others.
They have to avoid conflicts of interest. A solicitor cannot properly advise two people whose interests are at odds with each other. So if you live at your mother’s property with her but are not a joint owner, your interests will be different to hers and you will need to take independent legal advice.
They have to maintain client confidentiality. Again your mother’s solicitor will need to make sure that she really does want you to be at the meeting, taking into account that there may be issues which she might prefer not to discuss in front of you.
They have to be sure of the client’s instructions and competency. This is especially important with elderly clients, when solicitors have to be aware of the possibility of them being in the early stages of dementia. This means that your mother’s solicitor will have to be satisfied that she is able to make informed decisions, fully understands the advice which has been given and can give clear instructions regarding her intentions.
So if you’re asked to stay in the waiting room, don’t be offended, just remember that it is for good reasons.
Lisa Walker is a Property Lawyer with Preston Goldburn
