Applying to become a deputy

Helpful advice from The Office of the Public Guardian 

It can be a tough time when applying for a deputyship. If you’re having to deal with the application process you’ll also be trying to manage certain aspects of life for someone who no longer has mental capacity.

Here you can find some helpful information on becoming a deputy, what to consider when applying and how you will need to act once you’ve been granted the deputyship from the Court of Protection.

When would you need to apply to become a deputy?

You can apply to become someone’s deputy if they do not have a Lasting power of attorney in place and they ‘lack mental capacity’ which means they cannot make a decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made. This could be due to a long-term illness or an unexpected injury.

As a deputy, you’ll be authorised by the Court of Protection to help them make decisions when

What do you need to think about before applying to become a deputy?

Before applying you will need to consider if a deputyship is really what you and the person you’re looking after needs. If you want to make a single important decision, you can apply to the Court of Protection for a one-off order or you can consider if a benefits appointee is sufficient if the person has no or minimal savings.

There’s a declaration document called the COP4 which has more detail on what you need to do when applying.

You can delegate tasks to others to help with the responsibility, however they will not be able to make any decisions, only you as the appointed deputy can do that.

You may want to share the responsibility with someone of becoming a deputy, if you would like to have multiple deputies you can apply at the same time. If you decide to share responsibility after someone has already been appointed, you will need to go back to court and request an addition.

When acting as a deputy, you must follow the 5 main principles of the Mental Capacity Act code of practice.

These principles will determine how you act and support the person to make a decision. If you don’t follow these principles you could be removed from acting on their behalf.

These principles will determine how you act and support the person to make a decision. If you don’t follow these principles you could be removed from acting on their behalf.

You can get in touch with the Court of protection for any questions on filling in the forms.

The different types of deputyship.

There are two different types of deputyship, health and welfare or property and finance, they will need separate applications to make decisions.

You’ll need to think about what you need from the deputyship and make it very clear to the court when applying and filling in your forms.

As a financial deputy you’ll be solely responsible for paying bills, organising their pension and other financial matters.

Make sure you consider things such as needing to sell the client’s house in the future to pay for care fees, make sure that this is included in your application, if it isn’t and you need to make this decision, you’ll have to make another application to the court for permission.

Other things also need to be considered, such as if you want to claim Family Care Payments or if you want to make special gifts which fall outside the terms of the court order, such as living in the persons property rent free. For more information on giving gifts you can read our blog or listen to our podcast.

If you’re not sure what you might need include it in the application anyway.

For a health and welfare deputy you will be responsible for decisions on medical treatment and how someone is being looked after.

You’ll only be appointed for a health deputyship under certain circumstances. You can find out more on when to apply for a health deputyship online.

VISIT THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN BLOG FOR MORE HELPFUL ADVICE 

If you’d like to speak to us at Sussex Will Writers about Lasting Power of Attorney and any other matters relating to making plans for the future, get in touch or book a Free Consultation using the links below. 

Could you do with some FREE, sound advice on:

• Writing a Will – What do I need and how much does it cost?
• Creating Lasting Powers of Attorney – If I was incapacitated who can act on my behalf?
• Property Protection Trusts – Can these really save Care Home Fees?
• Pre-Paid Funeral Plans – With so many to choose from how do I decide which plan is best?

There is so much confusion on these vital areas of estate planning, that sometimes just a chat with an expert in the field can clear up misunderstanding and set out the way ahead, without all the legal jargon.

Steve Worsfold
Affiliate Member of the Society of Will Writers
Advising on Wills/Trusts/Probate/Powers of Attorney

Mobile: 07734 744886
Office: 01903 533681
Email: steve@sussexwillwriters.co.uk
Website: www.sussexwillwriters.co.uk

Protecting What’s Precious to You,
Now and in the Future

Sussex Will Writers is proud to support Dementia Friends,
an initiative of The Alzheimers Society

Our business is certified ‘Safe to do business with’ and ‘Code compliant’
by the UK’s largest regulatory body for Will Writers, The Society of Will Writers.
Steve Worsfold has been an Affiliate Member of the Society for 15 years.