Why might I need to involve the Court of Protection?

An existing Power of Attorney may already give you authority to deal with a family member’s or friend’s money, and possibly their health and welfare, but if the person in question is unable to set up a Power of Attorney because they lack the mental capacity to do so, you cannot obtain a Power of Attorney for that person.

  It does not matter how closely related you are to the person in question you will not have any formal authority to assist with or manage their personal affairs.  You may be able to do some things for them on an informal basis but if push comes to shove and you need formal authority to do something; perhaps pay a bill on their behalf or deal with their interest in a property, you will need to apply to the Court of Protection to become that person’s deputy.  Naturally, the Court will want to be satisfied that this is the right thing to do in which case you will have to provide some fairly detailed information about the person in question, their circumstances, you and why you should be appointed as a deputy.   

Alternatively, you may already be someone’s attorney or deputy but need approval from the Court of Protection to do something; for example, to sell someone’s property or just seek some guidance as to what you should do. 

In either case, we can help you with what can be quite a daunting prospect in terms of making the necessary application to the Court. 

If you think that you may need to apply to become someone’s deputy or involve the Court of Protection in some other way, we would be happy to discuss this with you. 

Get in touch with our Private Client team today to see how we can help.