Deputyship Solicitors.

A deputyship grants you legal authority to make decisions on someone else’s behalf, due to them lacking the ‘mental capacity’ to do so. Issues that can affect someone’s ‘mental capacity’ include having dementia, a stroke, or a severe learning disability.

There are two types of deputyship:

• Property and affairs deputyship – this appoints a deputy to manage the person’s finances, such as their bills or property. This is the most common form of deputyship.
• Personal welfare deputyship – this appoints a deputy to manage the medical treatment and overall care that the person receives. This is less common as usually if the person is in care, somebody is already managing their best interests.

Managing both forms of deputyship for a person is possible. However, this will count as two separate applications.

For more information on deputyships, please call our solicitors on 020 3007 5500.

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) fills the same role as a deputy. However, the person chooses an LPA before they lose their mental capacity, thus allowing them to choose exactly who will care for them.

To legally appoint an LPA, the person must have mental capacity when choosing them.

An LPA is a more straightforward process, as it is cheaper and less time-consuming. However, this requires the person to think proactively about their future mental capacity.

A deputyship application requires the completion of various relevant forms. These can differ depending on what type of deputyships you are applying for. A full list of forms for a deputyship application can be found on the government website.

The Court of Protection will assess your application, analysing your ability to manage the person’s financial or personal care. They will investigate your background to see if you are fit to be deputy.

You will then need to serve the application to the person and 3 other people you have named as having an interest. These are usually friends or relatives. After this, you will need to send more forms to the court.

Once this has been done, the Court of Protection will assess your application and the judgement of the people involved. They will then approve or deny your role as deputy based on the information they have.

On average, a deputyship application can take anywhere between 3 to 12 months. However, delays to the application can occur if another party contests or if the court requires more information to decide.

Applying for a deputyship can be a lengthy and complicated process. If you need legal help from a solicitor, please call us on 0203 007 5500.

If the court denies your deputyship application, they may appoint a professional deputy to care for the person instead. In this case, you can work alongside the deputy to ensure that they meet the person’s needs and best interests.

If you wish to relinquish your deputyship, you can suggest other family members or friends that may be suitable for the role. For a property and affairs deputyship, a financial professional – such as a solicitor – may take on the role.

An application for deputyship is more costly than that of an LPA, as the Court of Protection must assess your ability to act as a deputy.

At Britton and Time, solicitor fees for making an application for deputyship start from £3,000 + VAT. On top of this, there are disbursement costs for making deputyship applications to the Court of Protection. These include:

• £371 fee per application.
• £100 assessment fee if you’re a new deputy.
• £320 annual fee for general supervision. This fee is only £35 if the deputyship is deemed as minimal supervision.

If you need help with a deputyship application, please call our solicitors on 020 3007 5500.

We are currently unable to offer legal aid in any capacity for any matters. We can only accept deputyship matters that are privately funded.