What is the Court of Protection?
The Court of Protection is a specialist Court which makes decisions on financial and welfare matters for people who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. If you need to make an application, Hepburn Delaney’s specialist Court of Protection solicitors can support you with this process.
What is a Deputy?
A deputy is someone who is appointed by the Court of Protection to make ongoing decisions for someone who lacks capacity. Often it will be a friend or family member of the person lacking capacity who applies to be their deputy but it could also be a solicitor appointed by the Court.
What are the responsibilities of a Deputy?
A deputy is responsible for ensuring that any decisions they make are in the person’s best interests. They must do what they can to explain their decisions to the person and help them understand any decisions which are being made on their behalf.
A deputy also has an obligation to keep records of the finances which they manage on the person’s behalf and provide an annual report to the Court explaining any decisions they have made.
Deputyship Applications
Applying for a Deputyship Order can be a lengthy process and it will often take 6 months or more for the Order to be granted. Therefore, if someone you know requires assistance it is advisable to start the process as soon as possible to avoid delays.
The first stage of the process will be to arrange for a doctor to assess the person who you believe lacks capacity, as the doctor will need to provide a report in a specific format to the Court confirming that the person is unable to manage their own affairs.
A number of Court application forms must be completed, including a schedule providing detailed information about the person’s assets. It is important therefore to start collating this information at the earliest opportunity. Detailed information about your own situation must also be provided to the Court so that they may assess whether you are a suitable candidate to be appointed as the deputy.
If the person is in a care home and you are seeking permission from the Court to sell their home to fund the care, there may also be deprivation of liberty considerations. The Court may wish to consider whether it is appropriate for the person to be denied the ability to return to their home in the future and reports from the Local Authority may be required to support the application.
Our Court of Protection solicitors at Hepburn Delaney are specialists in making Court of Protection Deputyship applications and can advise and support you throughout the process to ensure your application is processed as smoothly as possible.
Contact our specialist Court of Protection solicitors
To get in touch with our Court of Protection solicitors, please:
Call us on 01442 218090
Send an email to info@hepburndelaney.co.uk
Fill out our enquiry form and speak to one of our Court of Protection Solicitors today.
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