Deputyship

In the event that your family member, loved one or friend has not made a Lasting Power of Attorney and if they are now through reason of illness or accident mentally incapable of dealing with their affairs (financial or otherwise) then the only option is to apply for a Deputyship Order in order to authorise you or somebody else to deal with their affairs.

If you are in doubt as to whether your family member or friend has capacity then our specialist staff would be able to commission appropriate medical advice for you.  If a person is deemed not to have mental capacity to deal with their own affairs, this would generally mean that it is too late for that person to enter into a Lasting Power of Attorney.

A Deputyship Order is obtained from the Court of Protection (COP).  The person who has lost capacity is referred to as the “Patient”.  The person appointed under the order to deal with their affairs is referred to as the “Deputy”.  It is firstly necessary to provide the COP with sufficient medical evidence to establish that the Patient has lost capacity.  The next step is to provide information regarding both the personal circumstances of the Patient and their financial situation and establish yourself as a suitable person to be appointed to deal with their affairs.  Most Deputyship Orders that are issued provide authorisation to deal with and manage the Patient’s financial affairs and in most cases these enable the Deputy to take such steps and make such decisions as the Patient would have been able to deal with themselves, subject to certain restrictions on things such as gifting money or assets to third parties.  A Deputyship Order may also authorise the sale of the Patient’s property.  In some circumstances, however, the COP can restrict the actions of the Deputy in any way they see fit or require the Deputy to act in a certain way.

Whilst it is possible to obtain a Deputyship Order to permit you to make health and welfare decisions on behalf of the patient, these orders tend to be of a one off nature dealing with one or more specific issues that may have arisen and do not give you a continuing discretion such as would be under a Lasting Power of Attorney.  You are unlikely to be granted an unlimited right to make health and welfare decisions on behalf of the Patient.

As part of the process of being appointed as a Deputy you will be required to have in place an insurance policy called a “Bond”.  The Bond is designed to protect the Patient against acts of negligence or fraud of the Deputy.  The cost of the Bond will depend on the value and complexity of the Patient’s estate.  The annual premium for the Bond will be deducted from the Patient’s funds.

The COP remains responsible for the affairs of the patient and will supervise each and every Deputy to some extent.  The level of supervision will largely be dependent on the value and complexity of the Patient’s estate.  Supervision may be limited to requiring the Deputy to submit annual accounts detailing the estate.  Supervision may be limited to requiring the Deputy to submit annual accounts detailing the Patient’s income and expenditure in the last year and the decisions they have taken on the Patient’s behalf or may involve the Deputy being visited by a COP representative usually called a “Visitor”.

CTW’s dedicated and specialist team will assist you by preparing all the necessary forms containing all the information required and submitting these to the COP.  We will also arrange the Bond and advise you regarding the extent of the powers that you are granted.

CTW will charge a fixed fee of £850.00 plus VAT to deal with the deputyship application.  This fee is set by the COP.  The application fee payable to the COP for dealing with the application is £400 which is in addition to CTW’s fees.  Any fees that the Deputy pays in relation to the application can be claimed back from the funds of the Patient once the order has been issued.