What is a Deputy?

A deputy is a person the Court of Protection appoints to make decisions for someone who has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions. This differs from an attorney, as an attorney is appointed by the person while they still have capacity. There are two types of deputies:

• A property and financial affairs deputy, for example, pays the person’s bills or manages finances
• A Personal welfare deputy, for example, makes decisions about how someone is looked after and medical decisions

The Court of Protection will usually appoint a Deputy if there is a series of decisions to be made and there is no appointed attorney.

Who can become a Deputy?

Deputies are usually friends or family members of someone who needs help to make decisions. To become a Deputy, the person must not have a lasting power of attorney, lack mental capacity and you must be over 18 years old.

The court can also appoint more than one deputy, but the court must be told how the decisions will be made, either jointly or jointly and severally.

Free Initial Discussion

For a no-obligation discussion, call our specialist Mental Health and Court of Protection solicitors on 01642 247656 or use our contact form, and we will call you back.

How do I apply for Deputyship?

To become a deputy, you will need to submit an application to The Court of Protection which will require a detailed description of the circumstances of the person with a lack of capacity.

If you require legal advice or want assistance in submitting your application, Watson Woodhouse can help.

Court of Protection Legal Advice

If you or your family are looking to make decisions on behalf of an individual who lacks capacity, then we can look at making a deputyship application for you.

At Watson Woodhouse, we understand dealing with mental health can be a distressing experience. Therefore, we ensure that we provide an excellent level of service by being approachable and giving information in an easy way to understand. We have an experienced, knowledgeable team.

Our team can guide and help you with:

• Advice about the laws relating to mental capacity
• Court of Protection Applications
• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) appeals
• Deputyship Applications
• Disputes, including Medical Treatment Disputes
• Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) & Relevant Person’s Representative (RPR) legal advice

How Watson Woodhouse Can Help

We are here to help.

Call us for a FREE and confidential consultation with a specialist solicitor on 01642 247656.

Alternatively, complete our online contact form and one of our solicitors will be in touch.

Watson Woodhouse Solicitors provides support to clients throughout England and Wales.