JE Bennett Law

Court of Protection

Senior Partner

Ian Macara is senior partner and 1 of just 52 of the Office of the Public Guardian’s accredited Panel Deputies for the whole of England and Wales as well as 1 of only 22 of their Panel Guardians. He progressed from a Trainee to solicitor and then quickly to a salaried partner and then onto an owner in a prominent West Sussex firm before joining JE Bennett Law as a Senior Partner, leading on OPG Panel referrals and Local Authority partnerships and referrals.

Ian’s clients are often in vulnerable circumstances or those with responsibilities as family, friends, attorneys or deputies for such people. They have the benefit of the breadth of his significant and varied legal experience and specialist knowledge during the past 29 years. In particular, he has acted with and for clients managing their legal, financial and care needs ranging from the thousands to the millions of pounds in assets and ensuring their own specific care and support needs and preferences are honoured.

Ian has a “can do” and “pragmatic” approach to advising and assisting clients and their families. This includes anticipating the challenges and uncertainties of life and utilizing the opportunities that the law provides to minimize the potential disruptions and risks in the future. Alongside this is the hard-won practical experience of navigating the choppy waters that unexpected accidents, illnesses or age-related health crisis create for clients and their families.

Ian embraces his team’s ethos of always evaluating the balance between “empowerment” and “protection” for the client. The experience from several of the OPG Panel appointments which sadly arise due to financial abuse and safeguarding issues is crucial with these “best interests’ decisions” and considering how factor in the clients wishes, preferences, values and beliefs when fulfilling the duties of an attorney or deputy.

In addition, Ian acts as a Professional Deputy or Professional Attorney for many clients. As such he provides advice and assistance to the public who are lay Deputy or lay Attorney when they may not have been previously advised about the limits of their powers and the extent of their personal duties and liability. Preventing the Office of the Public Guardian investigating an Attorney or Deputy is much preferable to responding to their investigation!

Ian and his team have developed a collaborative professional relationship and referral process with many Local Authority teams across England and Wales. They assist where their resources or expertise mean it’s appropriate and in the clients’ best interests to involve a Professional Deputy.

Ian is a fully accredited member of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers (ALL) - formerly Solicitors for the Elderly), a fully accredited member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP), an advisory board member for the Society of Later Life Advisors (SOLLA) a Dementia Friend with the Alzheimer’s Society and a member of the Professional Deputies Forum (PDF).

Ian regularly provides training, in person or via webinars, including to Local Authorities, SOLLA, Associate of Public Authority Deputies (APAD), genealogists such as Estate Research, Finders, Society of Will Writers, University Hospitals Sussex Cares Rights Day.