The High Court has discharged Ms. [M] from wardship, declaring that she does not lack capacity to make decisions about her personal welfare or property and affairs.
In an ex tempore ruling delivered on 8 May 2025, Mr Justice Mark Heslin made the declaration under section 55(1)(a) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. He then ordered under section 55(2) that she be discharged from wardship and remitted to the management of her own affairs.
Ms. [M], born in 1994, entered wardship in 2013 after suffering serious injuries, including a head injury, in a road traffic accident when she was seven. The judgment said she made a gradual but complete recovery.
A report dated 13 March 2025 from a consultant psychiatrist, identified as Dr. [B], described her as having made a “full recovery” and gave her prognosis as “excellent”. The psychiatrist’s opinion was that Ms. [M] did not lack capacity in either of the two areas covered by the 2015 Act: personal welfare, and property and affairs.
The application was based on an affidavit sworn on 28 April by Ms. [M]’s father, who was described as a joint committee in wardship. The judgment said the papers referred to her assets and included a schedule. It also recorded that no issue arose about service, referring to an affidavit sworn on 2 May by a solicitor identified as Ms. [C].
The order provides that Ms. [M] is entitled to receive all her assets, including assets held by the Accountant of the Court of Justice. Arrangements are to be made for her financial entitlements to be paid directly to her.
The court also ordered that the costs of the application be paid from her assets, with the amount to be adjudicated if the parties do not agree. The ruling does not state the value of her assets or the costs.