Vincents solicitors launches b2b benefit check service
Vincents Solicitors has introduced a new Welfare Benefits Check service to support other law firms and professional services companies, following updated guidance from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
This service aims to assist firms that lack in-house expertise to meet the new guidelines, which took effect in February 2023.
The Welfare Benefits Check service will be managed by Abigail Cuffe, a newly appointed benefits and Court of Protection (CoP) expert at Vincents. With over a decade of experience, Abigail is among the few specialists nationwide who combines extensive knowledge of welfare benefits with Court of Protection work. Her role involves conducting initial reviews within three months of appointment and annual benefit reviews for all Vincents’ CoP clients.
Abigail will extend this service to clients in Vincents' personal injury, family law, private client, and conveyancing departments. Additionally, she is now offering the full Welfare Benefits Check service to other firms lacking in-house specialists. Abigail has also created a benefits training program for professionals involved in CoP work or acting as professional deputies, including lawyers, financial advisors, wealth managers, care managers, care homes, and social services teams.
Abigail stated, “With guidelines now requiring Deputies to carry out initial and annual benefits checks for Court of Protection clients, and considering the UK’s increasingly complicated welfare landscape, this has become an extremely specialised area of work and there is a growing demand for my combination of skills. It is vital that we ensure our most vulnerable clients receive all that they are entitled to and equally important to make sure they are not erroneously in receipt of something they will have to pay back in the future.”
Abigail brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles at JMW Solicitors, Potter Rees Dolan, Slater + Gordon, Pannone, and the Department for Work and Pensions. Her expertise will benefit Vincents’ family law, conveyancing, wills and probate, personal injury, and clinical negligence clients. She will also assist clients by making relevant applications on their behalf and defending claims and appeals, maintaining a 100% record on appeal applications.
Oliver Banks, head of the Court of Protection department at Vincents, commented, “We are extremely lucky to have Abigail’s knowledge and expertise in-house. It will be invaluable to our CoP clients and those of our colleagues in other departments. Given her unique skillset and passion for spreading good practice throughout this sector, we are pleased to also offer her services to any other CoP-related providers.”
For appointments with Abigail Cuffe or the wider Court of Protection team at Vincents Solicitors, call 01995 606 442 or email OliverBanks@vslaw.co.uk.