Re D

The case of Re D involved the plaintiff, a protected person under a guardianship and management order, and her daughter, the defendant, who sought revocation of the management order concerning the plaintiff's financial affairs. The dispute came before the Supreme Court of South Australia. The central issue was whether the plaintiff had the capacity to manage her financial affairs, specifically if she could make judgments concerning the ordinary routine affairs of her life and had a rational view of her assets under management. Additionally, the court had to determine if the plaintiff's lack of appreciation of her existing liabilities and the risk of incurring expenses she could not meet affected her ability to manage her affairs.

The court considered the definition of "capable of managing his or her affairs" and concluded that the plaintiff could not manage her ordinary routine affairs of life. The plaintiff did not appreciate her existing liabilities and faced an unacceptable risk of incurring expenses that she could not meet, which undermined her ability to make sound judgments concerning her financial matters. The court emphasised the importance of a rational view of assets and liabilities in determining capacity. Consequently, the court found that the plaintiff was not capable of managing her financial affairs.

Based on the findings, the court ordered the revocation of the management order concerning the plaintiff's financial affairs. Additionally, the court addressed the issue of costs, noting that the plaintiff lacked the capacity to enter into a contract of retainer with her solicitor. Given that the proceedings were initiated and costs incurred for the plaintiff's benefit, the court deemed it unjust for the plaintiff's solicitors to be out of pocket. Consequently, the court ordered costs on an indemnity basis out of the plaintiff's estate to the plaintiff's solicitor.