The wisdom of having professional oversight of attorney arrangements has yet again been made clear following the conviction of a Teesside couple for defrauding the estate of an elderly woman out of a six-figure sum.

The woman had made her goddaughter’s husband a co-signatory to her bank account when she was admitted to a care home. At that time, the balance in her account was £130,000.

Within two years, the couple had abstracted more than £90,000 of her funds. As well as withdrawals from her bank account in order to finance home improvements and other personal expenditure, the couple also stole her pension and rented out her house, retaining the rental income for themselves.

They claimed that the woman had told them to spend the money as they wished.

The couple were found guilty and jailed for two and a half years.