In an ideal world, if you have to look after someone’s affairs, they will have put in place a power of attorney. Sadly, we do not live in an ideal world and where someone has lost mental capacity, they may not have done this or they lost mental capacity suddenly.
If that happens, an application will need to be made to the Court of Protection for a Deputy to be appointed. A Deputy is similar to an Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney.
They will be there to look after the financial affairs of the person who has lost mental capacity. In rarer cases, a Deputy can be appointed to look after their personal welfare as well.
Deputyship applications can be made online to the Court of Protection but can take several months to put in place with some applications taking 12 months to put in place.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is put in place when someone has mental capacity and understands the effect of the document they are signing. If someone lacks mental capacity then they cannot have a Lasting Power of Attorney and an application must be made to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order instead.
A Deputy is appointed by the Court of Protection to make decisions on behalf of someone who has lost or lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves.
Any person can be appointed as a Deputy provided that they meet a number of conditions such as not having a criminal record, not being declared bankrupt or having county court judgments. They must also be over the age of 18 years. Professionals can be appointed as a Deputy, as can family members.
Deputies are appointed by the Court of Protection to deal with property and financial matters or with personal welfare issues on behalf someone who does not have mental capacity. A property and finance Deputy might need to buy or sell a property for the person to live in or pay bills and care fees. As a personal welfare Deputy, you can make decisions about where the person lives, the care they receive and some decisions about medical treatment but personal welfare Deputies are rare though.
The Office of the Public Guardian continue to protect vulnerable people under Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputyship Orders. They also supervise deputies who have been appointed by the Court of Protection. They will ask for annual reports to be prepared so that they can check that the Deputy is complying with the terms of the Order put in place by the Court of Protection.
There is a one off issue fee payable to The Court of Protection. There are also ongoing fees which need to be paid annually such as the bond which is a type of insurance policy to protect the person who lacks mental capacity from the acts of the Deputy if they go wrong. There are also supervision fees payable to the Office of the Public Guardian. If solicitors arrange for the Deputyship Order to obtained from the Court of Protection, there are fixed fees put in place by the Court to obtain the Order.
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