JE Bennett Law

Court of Protection

Senior Partner

Ian Macara is 1 of just 62 of the Office of the Public Guardian’s accredited Panel Deputies for the whole of England and Wales as well as 1 of only approximately 10 of their Public 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.

Ian’s clients have the benefit of the breadth of his significant and varied legal experience and specialist knowledge from providing timely advice and assistance for a variety of potentially and actually vulnerable clients. This has previously included obtaining the protection of injunctions within family law proceedings, establishing responsibility for accidents, and obtaining compensation for those with life altering injuries to, most significantly during the past 19 years, acting with and for the vulnerable and potentially vulnerable in managing their legal, financial and care needs ranging from the thousands to the millions in assets.

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.

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 preferrable to responding to their investigation!

Ian is a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), a fully accredited member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a Dementia Friends Ambassador with the Alzheimer’s Society and a member of the Professional Deputies Forum (PDF).