Court of Protection and Deputyship

As we get older, it can become a struggle to manage one’s financial affairs. Looking ahead, a sensible precaution for most people is to make what is known as a Lasting Power of Attorney governing their financial property and affairs. For more information please visit our page on Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Sometimes however, someone who might very much benefit from a Lasting Power of Attorney no longer has the mental capacity to make one. In those circumstances, there is an alternative procedure called a Deputyship. Applications for deputyship are made to the Court of Protection. Most usually, Deputies are appointed to manage one’s financial affairs, but it is also possible to have a Deputy appointed to manage personal welfare. Either way, we have very considerable expertise to assist in making those applications.

By way of a very brief summary, an application for Deputyship is comparatively complex, expensive and it can take four or six months or more to conclude. An Order of the Court of Protection, once made, will usually impose certain conditions and reporting requirements on the person who is appointed to act as Deputy. Detailed financial records will need to be kept and the terms of any Order followed. It can be appreciated therefore that the role of Deputy can be extremely onerous and therefore we are frequently asked to not only assist in the applications that are made, but also for one of our Partners to act in the capacity as Deputy.

In most cases, we would be pleased to offer a free initial interview to assess whether an application to the Court of Protection is required and, if so, to give guidance, details of likely cost as well as discussion of possible alternatives where they exist.

For more information about the Court of Protection, please contact our Wills and Probate team.