Deputyships – health and welfare
Explore how we can help you and your family with any community care legal requirements.
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Supporting deputies with application and management of affairs
- The Court of Protection exists to safeguard vulnerable people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves
- If a family member or loved one has lost capacity to create a power of attorney, or never had the necessary capacity, then you can make an application to the Court of Protection to appoint an individual (or individuals) as deputy, enabling decisions to be made on that person’s behalf
- At Moore Barlow, we can help with the application for a deputyship as well as offer support and guidance to deputies
As with powers of attorney, deputies can act jointly (which means that all decisions must be made with the agreement of all named deputies) or jointly and severally (which means that deputies can act independently of each other).
All deputies are supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian. They must adhere to a strict regime and produce reports at the end of each deputy year.
There are two types of deputyship:
1. Deputies for property and finance
A Deputyship Order will specify what decisions deputies are able to make, but in general terms deputies appointed to manage an individual’s property and financial affairs will be able to deal with:
- Banks and building societies
- Purchase or sale of property
- Investments
- Benefits
- Payment of bills
- Other financial matters that may arise
2. Deputies for health and welfare
Again, the Deputyship Order will specify what decisions the deputies are able to make, but in general terms deputies appointed to manage an individual’s health and welfare will be able to deal with:
- Life sustaining treatment
- Where someone lives
- Who visits them
- Type of care they should receive
- Other issues relating to the individual’s health or welfare
General health and welfare deputyships can be difficult to obtain and more often than not issues relating to an individual’s health and welfare are dealt with individually.
Providing specialist advice in creating and administrating a deputyship
At Moore Barlow we are able to assist with the application for a deputyship. We also offer support and guidance to deputies and can be instructed to assist with the administration of the deputyship, for example to complete the annual reports.
Where an individual has a clinical negligence or personal injury claim and substantial damages are awarded, we work alongside our litigation departments and are able to provide specialist advice to the deputies regarding the complexities associated with this. Often in these cases the Court of Protection prefer to see a professional deputy appointed and we have experienced Partners who are able to take on this role.
We have offices in London, Richmond, Southampton, Guildford, Lymington and Woking and can offer specialist support nationwide. Contact us for more information and expert advice.
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