Court of Protection Services
in Harrow, London
At Ash Hill Solicitors, we are proud of our reputation for excellent client care. Complementing our quality Court of Protection legal expertise, our commitment to client care is second to none. Our solicitors can help you through these processes to make sure everything is completed to a high standard.
Court of Protection
The Court of Protection exists to help people who are no longer capable of making some or all of their own decisions, usually by authorising the appointment of a deputy. The role of the Court of Protection is to help people who do not have the mental capacity to manage their own affairs. It has the power to make decisions for people about their money, property, health or welfare.
You can find more information about the Court of Protection here:
https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection
The Court can also give these powers to someone else like a relative or close friend who can manage loved one’s affairs on their behalf. This usually happens if there is a need to make decisions on a long-term basis due to incapacity. If the Court gives these powers to someone else, they are called a Deputy. Our specialist and highly experienced Court of Protection solicitors are here to help and support you at an often difficult and stressful time in your life.
As Court of Protection solicitors, we support families dealing with such circumstances and are sensitive to the dynamics that this may create within the family. Where there is dispute within the family, we can also handle litigation in the Court of Protection. Whatever the situation, we will do our best to help you.
Our expert team of Court of Protection and deputyship lawyers can help you overcome the challenges these situations bring and provide advice in situations where a person may lack capacity to make their own decisions.
Why make a Deputy Application?
Naturally, we all want to go on making our own decisions for as long as we can. However, this is not always possible, and many people may lose capacity at some point in their lives. There can be many reasons for loss of capacity such as old age, illness or injury may require someone else to make decisions on our behalf.
If your loved one is in such circumstances, you will need to make a deputy application. A deputy application is made to the Court of Protection. The person(s) named as a deputy/deputies is/are chosen by the Court of Protection and not by the donor and, accordingly, could be someone the donor would not ordinarily choose to make such decisions.
At Ash Hill Solicitors we understand the responsibility that this situation involves; therefore, our Court of Protection solicitors are here to guide you every step of the way.
Deputy applications are generally more complex, more time consuming and therefore more expensive than putting in place a valid Lasting Power of Attorney.
If you are considering applying to be appointed as a deputy or know someone who needs to do this, our Court of Protection solicitors can advise you on the application and support you in that role. We help and guide you through the process whilst keeping your costs to a minimum. We also regularly act as a professional deputy in situations where there is no-one else suitable or where no family members wish to take on this demanding role.
What is a Powers of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to specify in advance of any loss of capacity, who you would wish to make decisions for you (your attorney or attorneys) if an accident or illness means that you lose the capacity to make those important decisions yourself. An LPA lets you choose attorneys (often members of your family or close friends) that you trust to make those decisions for you.
Our expert Power of Attorney solicitors can guide you through the process, using our vast experience on creating an LPA that best suits your needs.
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a document which one person (the donor) uses to authorise a person they trust (their attorney) to act on their behalf. It must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used and can include detailed guidance as to how the donor wishes their affairs to be administered.
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney available:
1. Property and Financial affairs Lasting Power of Attorney
An LPA for property and financial affairs allows your attorney to make decisions about your finances and property and this power covers, for example, selling your home on your behalf or paying bills for you.
2. Health and Welfare Power of Attorney
An LPA for health and welfare allows your attorney to make day to day decisions about your welfare (where you should live, what you should eat etc.). Where appropriate, this can also cover medical decisions, including a power to consent to or refuse life sustaining treatment on your behalf.
You can simply choose one or both types of LPA depending on your circumstances. You can also choose to have different attorneys for each LPA depending on your choice and the types of decisions that need to be made. For example, the person or people you wish to manage your financial affairs may not be the same person or people you would like to take decisions in relation to your health and welfare.
Attorneys are under a legal duty to act in your best interests and must involve you in any decision-making process where this is possible. If you wish, you can include restrictions or give guidance to your attorney or attorneys in your LPA’s so as to limit their decision making to certain assets or situations.
You can find more information about the duties of an attorney here:
https://www.gov.uk/lasting-power-attorney-duties
Our Power of Attorney solicitors can help and guide you through this process to make sure your forms are correctly and accurately completed.
Incapacity
If you do not make a lasting power of attorney and you lose mental capacity, then your family or friends can apply to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to make decisions for you.
This involves an application to the Court of Protection for someone to be appointed as a deputy to administer your affairs and/or make healthcare decisions on your behalf.
Our team of Court of Protection solicitors are experienced in dealing with families in these difficult circumstances and aim to find a way of resolving issues sensitively.
Ash Hill Harrow Solicitors in London – Supporting you every step of the way
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Address
Harrow Business Centre
429-433 Pinner Road
North Harrow
Harrow
HA1 4HN
Ash Hill Solicitors is the trading name of Ash Hill Solicitors Ltd, which is a company limited by shares and registered in England and Wales with number 13281665.