Compensation and the WOC Issue.

[faithlilly]

This forum needs people who definitely don't agree with you.

 

[Victoria]

Personally, I don't believe there is a WOC issue. I suspect it's just spin from the Amaral camp so that he can justify begging for handouts from his supporters. If there was ever a real issue, it would have been raised at the very start of proceedings in order to stop them, long before the legal expenses piled up.

[Eleanor]

This forum needs people who definitely don't agree with you.

Okay.  I'll go along with that.

[faithlilly]

Personally, I don't believe there is a WOC issue. I suspect it's just spin from the Amaral camp so that he can justify begging for handouts from his supporters. If there was ever a real issue, it would have been raised at the very start of proceedings in order to stop them, long before the legal expenses piled up.

I think that's a little bit of wishful thinking on your part Victoria.

[Pzi]

Did the McCanns know that if they used the fund to sue in this country there would be issues attached because of Madeleine's WOC status but thought when suing in Portugal it would be less of an issue ? Has Amaral found this weak spot and cleverly used it against them ?

It will be very interesting to see whether the High Court does permit the McCanns to sue in Madeleine's name and what effect that will have on how they use the fund in the future.

Hi,
I don't quite understand how the fund was set up and how legally the McCanns could be prevented from using it to sue Gonçalo Amaral or as they wish.
I even thought that the fund was actually set up as a company and even if its set up as a NGO can British law prevent the funds from being used in this matter when they are most likely not in Maddie's name but rather managed by her parents?

Cheers,

[jassi]

I think you have nicely demonstrated some of the useful little loopholes in the rules governing this fund. Which ever devious individuals dreamed them up ensured that the McCanns can do pretty much what they like with the money.

They were quite happy to use it to pay their mortgage until the press got hold of the story and then they though better of it. Who knows what else they may have spent it on.

All perfectly legal, I hasten to add.

[Alfred R Jones]

I think you have nicely demonstrated some of the useful little loopholes in the rules governing this fund. Which ever devious individuals dreamed them up ensured that the McCanns can do pretty much what they like with the money.

They were quite happy to use it to pay their mortgage until the press got hold of the story and then they though better of it. Who knows what else they may have spent it on.

All perfectly legal, I hasten to add.

Out of interest, how and when did the press get hold of the story that the McCanns used the fund to make two payments on their mortgage and when did they stop using the fund to pay their mortgage...?

[Carana]

Hi,
I don't quite understand how the fund was set up and how legally the McCanns could be prevented from using it to sue Gonçalo Amaral or as they wish.
I even thought that the fund was actually set up as a company and even if its set up as a NGO can British law prevent the funds from being used in this matter when they are most likely not in Maddie's name but rather managed by her parents?

Cheers,

It was established as a company as the objectives could not make it eligible for charitable status, until such time as the original objectives had  been achieved.

[jassi]

No idea, but if they only made 2 payments it was probably quite early on in the fund's life.

As this sort of detailed information isn't given in the annual accounts we have no idea if they have stopped or not.

[Alfred R Jones]

No idea, but if they only made 2 payments it was probably quite early on in the fund's life.

As this sort of detailed information isn't given in the annual accounts we have no idea if they have stopped or not.

Right, so you think there's a chance that the fund is still paying off the mortgage do you, despite the fact that the media got hold of the story months after the McCanns claimed they had already stopped using the fund to make the payments? 

[jassi]

Right, so you think there's a chance that the fund is still paying off the mortgage do you, despite the fact that the media got hold of the story months after the McCanns claimed they had already stopped using the fund to make the payments?

I said nothing of the kind.
The annual accounts give no detailed information on what money is spent on so we can make no  judgement.

[Mr Gray]

It was established as a company as the objectives could not make it eligible for charitable status, until such time as the original objectives had not been achieved.

Does anyone know as a fact how much input the mccanns had in the conditions re the fund. I would have thought that would be the lawyers job

[jassi]

Why would a lawyer choose to draw up that sort of agreement, rather than one that closely mimicked a charity, which was apparently what the McCanns originally wanted to set up ?

[Victoria]

Why would a lawyer choose to draw up that sort of agreement, rather than one that closely mimicked a charity, which was apparently what the McCanns originally wanted to set up ?

You can't 'closely mimic' a charity. An incorporation either meets charitable aims as defined by law or it doesn't.

[jassi]

You can't 'closely mimic' a charity. An incorporation either meets charitable aims as defined by law or it doesn't.

Of course you can. You can set the structure up in exactly the same way.  What you can't get is the tax relief enjoyed by charities.