WLR v WLT: Deputyship & LPA Revocation under Mental Capacity Act

In the Family Justice Courts of Singapore, Choo Han Teck J addressed four originating summonses concerning P, an 84-year-old woman with severe Alzheimer's. The disputes involved P's children, WLR, WLS, WLT, and WLU. Originating Summonses 2, 3, and 4 concerned the appointment of a deputy for P's property and affairs, while Originating Summons 5 involved the revocation of P's Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). The court appointed J and W as joint deputies, dismissed T's application for Mr. Lau to be appointed as deputy, and granted the order to revoke P's LPA, finding that P lacked the requisite mental capacity when the LPA was executed. The court found that J had been looking after her mother’s well-being and that alone is good enough reason for her to continue. The court also found that W was sufficiently neutral to be an appropriate joint deputy with J for P.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court (Family Division)

1.2 Outcome

Originating Summonses 2 and 3 granted in part, Originating Summons 4 dismissed, Originating Summons 5 granted.

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore court case regarding deputyship appointment and LPA revocation for P, who lacks mental capacity due to Alzheimer's. J and W appointed as deputies; LPA revoked.

1.7 Decision Date

10 May 2023

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
WLR	Plaintiff, Respondent	Individual	Application granted in part	Partial	Lim Lei Theng of Allen & Gledhill LLP
WLS	Plaintiff	Individual	Neutral	Neutral	Lim Lei Theng of Allen & Gledhill LLP
WLT	Defendant, Plaintiff, Appellant	Individual	Application dismissed	Dismissed	Ong Pei Ching of TSMP Law Corporation S Lingesh Kumar of TSMP Law Corporation Adrian Tan Gim Hai of TSMP Law Corporation Angela Chai Rui Min of TSMP Law Corporation
WLU	Defendant, Plaintiff, Respondent	Individual	Application granted in part	Partial	Hu Huimin of CNPLaw LLP See Tow Soo Ling of CNPLaw LLP
WMB	Plaintiff	Individual	Neutral	Neutral

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Choo Han Teck	Judge of the High Court	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Lim Lei Theng	Allen & Gledhill LLP
Ong Pei Ching	TSMP Law Corporation
S Lingesh Kumar	TSMP Law Corporation
Adrian Tan Gim Hai	TSMP Law Corporation
Angela Chai Rui Min	TSMP Law Corporation
Hu Huimin	CNPLaw LLP
See Tow Soo Ling	CNPLaw LLP

4. Facts

L and P married in the early 1960s and had four children: G, T, J, and W.
P, now 84, suffers from severe Alzheimer’s disease and lacks the capacity to manage her affairs.
L died on 15 February 2021 at the age of 92.
L and P jointly owned 17 pieces of real property, bank accounts, and other assets.
A dispute arose between T and J regarding the management of P's affairs and assets.
T applied to revoke P's Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) registered on 6 March 2019.
Dr. Wang opined that P had significant cognitive decline on 10 January 2019 and lacked capacity to execute an LPA.

5. Formal Citations

WLR and another v WLT and another and other matters, , [2023] SGHCF 24

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1960-01-01	L and P married in the early 1960s.
1967-01-01	[A] Corporation was registered, with L as the sole proprietor.
1972-01-01	[H] Pte Ltd was incorporated, which L co-owned with his siblings.
1986-01-01	[J] Pte Ltd was incorporated, with L and P holding one share each.
2002-01-01	[H] Pte Ltd was sold to a Swedish multinational company.
2019-01-10	P's Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) was executed.
2019-03-06	P’s Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) registered.
2019-05-01	T began “hoarding” L.
2020-06-01	L executed a new will.
2020-07-04	L executed an LPA which appointed T as the sole done over his personal welfare, property, and affairs.
2020-07-01	L made multiple trips with T to various banks and law firms from July to November 2020.
2020-08-07	Dr Kua produced a report on P after his examination of P.
2020-08-24	Dr Kua produced a report on P after his examination of P.
2020-11-17	T found a recording device in L’s bedroom, and a police report was made.
2020-11-20	L withdrew $260,000 from a UOB joint account in the names of L and P.
2020-11-25	L withdrew $792,755.07 from another UOB joint account shared by L and P (the “I-Account”).
2020-11-26	Execution of a fresh will on or before 26 November 2020.
2020-12-18	Dr Kua stated that P completely lost mental capacity.
2021-01-18	L, through his solicitors, wrote to J requesting that she vacate the house at King’s Walk.
2021-02-02	L terminated J’s employment within the family business.
2021-02-15	L died at the age of 92.
2021-07-01	Dr Kua produced a supplemental report on P.
2021-08-26	HCF/OSM 2/2022 (“OSM 2”), filed on 26 August 2021, the application of J and Ms Low Seow Ling to be appointed as joint deputies over P’s property and affairs.
2021-09-29	W’s affidavit filed on 29 September 2021.
2021-10-29	HCF/OSM 3/2022 (“OSM 3”), filed on 29 October 2021, by W to be appointed as deputy jointly with J and Ms Low Seow Ling.
2021-10-29	HCF/OSM 4/2022 (“OSM 4”), filed on 29 October 2021, by T for Mr Lau Chin Huat to be appointed as sole deputy over P’s property and affairs.
2022-06-09	HCF/OSM 5/2022 (“OSM 5”), filed on 9 June 2022, by T to revoke P’s Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) registered on 6 March 2019.
2022-05-25	Dr Wang responded to T’s pre-action interrogatories by way of an affidavit dated 25 May 2022.
2023-04-10	Hearing date.
2023-05-11	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Deputyship Appointment
- Outcome: J and W appointed as joint deputies over the personal welfare and property affairs of P. T’s application for Mr Lau to be appointed as deputy is dismissed.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Best interests of the person lacking capacity
  - Suitability of proposed deputies
  - Acrimonious family relationships
Revocation of Lasting Power of Attorney
- Outcome: The court found that P had lost her mental capacity by 10 January 2019, and therefore, the LPA executed on 10 January 2019 is invalid and set it aside.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Mental capacity at the time of execution
  - Irregularity in LPA form

8. Remedies Sought

Appointment of deputy for P’s property and affairs
Revocation of P’s Lasting Power of Attorney

9. Cause of Actions

No cause of actions

10. Practice Areas

Family Law
Mental Capacity
Estate Planning

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
No cited cases

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Mental Capacity Act (Cap 177A)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Lasting Power of Attorney
Mental capacity
Deputyship
Alzheimer’s disease
Joint deputy
Professional deputy
Best interests
Cognitive decline

15.2 Keywords

Mental Capacity Act
Lasting Power of Attorney
Deputyship
Alzheimer's
Family Dispute
Singapore
Elderly Care

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Mental Capacity Law	95
Family Law	90
Powers of Attorney	85
Deputyship	75
LPA Revocation	60
Wills and Probate	50
Judgments and Orders	30

16. Subjects

Family Law
Mental Capacity Law
Estate Planning
Deputyship