A Court of Protection Deputy is a person appointed by the Court of Protection to manage the personal welfare and/or the property of another person who lacks the mental capacity to manage these decisions themselves. This can be through a serious brain injury, dementia, or a severe learning disability. If a friend or loved one is unable to manage their affairs and they have not previously prepared a Lasting Power of Attorney; during a period in which they had mental capacity, then the next step is a Deputyship Application.

Rebecca Wingate is a professional Deputy and is regularly appointed by the Court of Protection in circumstances where vulnerable people require this service. A professional Deputy has the skills and experience to deal with the challenges of the role. Rebecca has experience in acting for clients who as a result of brain injuries have suffered loss of mental capacity.

Fees

We will be open and upfront about our likely charges from the outset. Our fees and the Court charges are usually paid from the funds of the person who is the subject of the Court of Protection Order.

To ensure that our fees are affordable we offer a fixed fee which will deal with all aspects of submitting an application to the Court of Protection, seeing it through to the final Order. As well as the above fixed fee there is a Court fee that has to be paid.

The Deputy’s role

The Deputy must act in the client’s best interest and follow the rules of the Mental Capacity Act. There are two types of Deputy;

1. Property and Affairs Deputy makes decisions about property and financial affairs. This includes, for example, selling or buying a house, paying bills and dealing with all aspects of the client’s personal finances including investment of savings etc.
2. A personal welfare deputy makes decisions about health and personal welfare such as treatment options and the general wellbeing of the individual.

Please note that it is often the case that a professional Deputy such as Rebecca will be appointed by the Court of Protection to deal with the client’s financial affairs, whereas a relative or some other person will be appointed as a personal welfare Deputy.

Our team can help you to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order; which can be a time consuming and sometimes daunting process.

Court of Protection Application

When applying to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order, we will discuss with you the following important considerations.

• Medical evidence to confirm the position in respect of the client’s mental capacity.
• The option available as to who should become the Deputy. Our appointment is not the “default choice”.
• Preparing the application, including adding the appropriate documentation/information that you must provide.
• Advising as to “timescale”, it will usually take several months to appoint a Deputy, matters can be dealt with more urgently in some circumstances.
• Advising as to what happens when a Deputy is appointed and the practical steps that should be taken.
• Advising as to the responsibilities of the Deputy, their obligations under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how they will be supervised.

If you believe that your loved one lacks mental capacity and that a Court of Protection Deputy should be a ppointed (it could be you or a professional Deputy) we offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation in which we will explain the options available to you and the cost of the same if you choose to instruct us.