Court of Protection & Deputyships

The Court of Protection & Deputyships

The Court of Protection is responsible for overseeing the management and administration of the financial affairs, property, health and welfare of individuals who were unable to manage their own affairs due to a lack of mental capacity. If you know of an individual who no longer appears to have the necessary mental capacity to manage their own finances, property or health and welfare and they do not have a Power of Attorney in place then the time may have come to make an application to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a Deputy to look after their financial affairs, property, health and welfare. It may be that the individual concerned has been diagnosed with alzheimer’s, dementia or perhaps has suffered a brain injury which has affected their mental capacity. 

An application can be made by an individual or by two or more persons or it can be made by a professional such as a Solicitor. There may be occasions where the Court of Protection decides that a professional should be appointed such as where there is a dispute over who should appointed or the financial affairs are complicated. In situations where a professional Deputy is required, we have Katherine Millman, who is an experienced Deputy and would be willing to act. An application can take 6 months to a year before a Deputy is appointed and a vast amount of information has to be gathered at the offset and provided to the Court of Protection to aid them in their decision making process. This will include obtaining an assessment of the individual’s mental capacity to manage their affairs. The Court of Protection may decide that they need further information and they may request a Court Hearing for all parties to attend.

Unfortunately, it is a time consuming procedure and once appointed, the Deputy will need to liaise with all asset holders and creditors. An insurance bond will also need to be taken out and annual accounts submitted to the Court of Protection to account for every penny that is under the control of the Deputy. The Court of Protection will expect the Deputy to check that the individual is receiving the correct benefits and they will want to know of any significant decisions theDeputy has made and who the Deputy consulted in making those decisions, such as a Social Worker, accountant, solicitor, family etc. 

Here at Howard & Over, we are experienced in making applications to the Court of Protection on behalf of perspective Deputies. We can guide you through the process and once you have been appointed we can also assist the Deputy with the submission of the annual account to the Court of Protection. To discuss Deputy applications further, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Sophia Pettit who is based at Howard & Over, Plym House, 3 Longbridge Road, Plymouth PL6 8LT on 01752 556606 or by email: [email protected]