Deputyship Service

Being appointed by the Court of Protection as a deputy for property and financial affairs means you will be able to support your loved one in managing their affairs, and make decisions on their behalf where they are unable to do so.  

Before proceeding with a deputyship application, your loved one’s capacity must be assessed to determine that they are unable to grant a power of attorney. If it is found they do have this capacity, then we will happily assist them with this. However if it is confirmed that they do not have the mental capacity to appoint an attorney, then we can help you with an application for deputyship.  

At mfg, we offer different services depending on your needs: 

• Professional deputyship – where we apply to become appointed as the deputy, taking on all responsibilities and obligations  
• Helping you to apply for deputyship of your loved one 
• Providing one-off advice chargeable on a time-spent basis 

The role of a deputy for property and financial affairs 

(For the purposes of the explanation below, your loved one is referred to as “P")

Being appointed as a deputy for property and financial affairs is a responsible task and means you have certain obligations, including making the following payments which can later be refunded from P’s monies: 

• Arranging a security bond for the value of P’s assets, which acts like an insurance premium which the Court requires all deputies to put in place (we can assist with this) 
• Paying a Court of Protection Application fee of £371 when the application for deputyship is submitted  
• Making an annual payment made to the Office of the Public Guardian, the value of which depends on P’s assets  

Being appointed as deputy also means you have a duty to act in P’s best interests in relation to their property and finances. As such: 

• You will be required to complete an annual report to the Office of the Public Guardian documenting all decisions made on P’s behalf, all money received and spent for P and any other actions taken for P in the year.  
• Depending on the size of P’s estate, you may require independent financial advice to ensure you are managing their portfolio in their best interests  

You will also be helping P with their day-to-day affairs which will be specific to each individual but may include: 

• Setting up and making payments on their behalf for things such as care fees, direct debits for utilities, telephone, and any other agreements. Many banks and utility companies will not discuss P’s account with you unless you can evidence deputyship granted by the Court in the absence of an LPA.  
• Managing the sale of their property, where specific authority has been granted by the Court for you to do so. This may enable to you to release vital funds to contribute towards P’s care fees and spent on improving their quality of life.  
• Ensuring they receive all entitlements such as private spousal pensions, which you will be able to apply for and sign on their behalf.  

Professional deputyship service  

At mfg, we can help you with the obligations of becoming a deputy by applying to the Court to be appointed as professional deputies instead. This may be where for example, you don’t feel able to carry out all the responsibilities outlined above, where P has no immediate family or friends to step into this role, or where applying for deputyship may create difficulties within a family dynamic.  

Acting as professional deputy means we take care of all aspects of P’s property and financial affairs and removes this responsibility from you.  

Our team consists of experienced professionals who have acted as professional deputies and attorneys (link to page) for a number of years. We offer a practical, down to earth approach, working with our clients to empower them to make as many decisions as they can, in the least restrictive way. Where decisions must be made on our client’s behalf, we do so in the best interests of each individual client considering their personal background and circumstances, which may include working with their friends and family where appropriate.  

We carry out the day-to-day management of our clients’ affairs, which may include: 

• Liaising with their care home, carers or social care agencies as required 
• Arranging activities or equipment to improve their quality of life such as day/overnight trips, being attended by professional visitors, having access to specialist mobility equipment not funded under the NHS 
• Liaising with independent financial advisors to manage their portfolio effectively  
• Looking after their property by ensuring house insurance is valid and up-to-date, it remains in good repair and where possible generates an income either through rental or by sale  

We carefully balance our obligations to our clients whilst where possible considering options to keep our costs at a minimum, for example conducting yearly face-to-face meetings with our clients and communicating via less time-consuming and costly methods for the duration of the year.  

Like all deputies, our professional deputies are supervised in their role by the Office of the Public Guardian and must adhere to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the OPG’s Professional Deputy’s Standards (links to documents). Our team leader is also a member of Solicitors for the Elderly (link).  

Helping you with deputyship  

If you would like the Court of Protection to appoint you as your loved one’s deputy for property and financial affairs, we can provide you with peace of mind and remove the pressure from you by completing this application on your behalf.  

As each application is unique, each will progress on a case-by-case basis.   

However as an indication of what you can expect from us in a straightforward deputyship application, this will usually be in the following order: 

1. Depending on how your matter is referred to us, we will usually begin by meeting you either face-to-face or via telephone meeting at any of our offices with a member of our Court of Protection team, once you have accepted our estimated costs and terms of business.  

2. We will then look to obtain a capacity assessment for your loved one, to confirm they lack capacity to grant a power of attorney instead. 

3. Once it has been confirmed that a deputyship application is the appropriate route, we will progress with the paperwork required for the application. 

4. Once all paperwork is complete, we will make the payment to the Court on your behalf and submit the deputyship application.  

5. Should the Court have any queries, we will address these and seek any further information that may be required.  

6. Once an order is made, we will provide our final bill so that this can be paid out of P’s funds. 

(Please note, this example is for illustration only and each case will progress on an individual basis) 

If you would like us to help you apply for deputyship, please get in touch with our knowledgeable and friendly team on 01562 820181 and we will be very happy to help you.