Sheila suffered from dementia and was uncomfortable with live-in carers at her home in Norfolk. Bernadette therefore invited her mother to come to live with her in her home in Bristol. Sheila agreed on the basis that she wanted to pay her way, although no specific sums were discussed.<\/p>\n
During the time Sheila lived with Bernadette, Bernadette was Sheila\u2019s primary carer. After Sheila died, Bernadette withdrew around \u00a3100,000 from Sheila\u2019s accounts as \u201crecompense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernadette made a claim against her mother\u2019s estate (1) on the basis that there was a binding contract between them and (2) for unjust enrichment, being that Sheila (and her estate) benefitted from Bernadette\u2019s care at Bernadette\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n
The Court found that Sheila had capacity to enter into a legally binding contract, and that this was Sheila\u2019s intention. Sheila had insisted that Bernadette be \u201cpaid properly,\u201d and the nature of Bernadette\u2019s care way beyond basic assistance.<\/p>\n
The Court also found that Bernadette had provided a clear benefit which Sheila had accepted, albeit she could have declined this, in the knowledge that Bernadette expected payment.<\/p>\n
On 25 August 2026, following a separate hearing about how much should be awarded to Bernadette, the Court ordered that Bernadette should receive \u00a3127,500 plus interest, based on a sum of \u00a3150 per day which the Court considered reasonable in the circumstances and remained considerably less than the cost of equivalent professional care.<\/p>\n
With a 2023 study by Age UK showing that over 3 million people in the UK care for an elderly parent, and with numbers likely to increase, such cases are likely to become more common.<\/span><\/p>\n Each case is extremely fact-specific, and it is important to seek professional legal advice at an early stage. <\/span><\/p>\n If you feel that the circumstances of this case apply to you, or if you are in a position where someone is claiming funds in recognition of care which you do not feel they are entitled to, contact us on PrivateClientServices@tayloremmet.co.uk.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In June 2025 the High Court ordered that Bernadette Rogers, a retired nurse who had cared for her mother (Sheila Wills) from autumn 2017 until her death in April 2020, should be remunerated for the care she provided. Sheila suffered from dementia and was uncomfortable with live-in carers at her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":6086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog_posts.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\n