A deputy can be a family member, a friend or a professional body who has been appointed by the court of protection to act on behalf of someone who may lack mental capacity and are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. This may be caused by dementia, stroke or a brain injury. Where someone, who now lacks mental capacity did not put Power of Attorney in place, a Deputyship application is where you can obtain the Court of Protections permission to make decisions on behalf of them instead.
It is best to check if someone has an attorney, deputy or guardian already on their behalf by applying to search the register of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) by applying for free using this form
Becoming a Deputy
The Court of Protection can appoint two or more deputies to act for one person at a time. When there is more than one deputy you will need to inform the court of how you will be making decisions. This can be either:
- Joint deputyship, where all the deputies agree on one decision
- Jointly and severally, where decisions can be made separately or together.
Deputies can help make decisions with:
- Property and financial affairs
- Personal welfare or even both
The application process will depend on which deputy you will be, and the Office of the Public Guardian will help you carry out your responsibilities.
A deputy is expected to send an annual deputy report to the Office of the Public Guardian explaining the decisions made within that year. A deputyship order will continue until the order is cancelled or expiration.
Managing affairs as a Deputy
Once appointed as a deputy, you will be responsible to help the family member or friend to make decisions or you will be making decisions on their behalf with their best interest at heart. Most decisions will involve medical treatment and where the person will live e.g. funding for housing and elder care but other decisions such as managing savings, pensions, all sources of income and valuables can also be considered as part of this role.
Your own property and money should be kept separate to avoid confusion of accounts. It is important that you do not do anything which causes harm to the person or takes advantage of their vulnerable state as you could be removed and fined or sent to prison for up to 5 years (or both) if you mistreat or neglect a person on purpose.
The order granted by the Court of Protection will explain what a deputy should consider when making these decisions. General rules and examples of this are mentioned in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice. More information on this can be found here Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice - GOV.UK
Previously in Ireland, a person lacking capacity was made a ‘Ward of Court’ however, the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 sets out a new system for helping people who are having difficulty because they have reduced or no capacity. There are now different types of Decision Support Arrangements in place which can be found here Ward of court (citizensinformation.ie)
Application and Fees
There is an application fee of £408 that you will need to pay to become a Deputy and further yearly supervision fee once you are appointed.
To become a deputy, you can apply via post by obtaining the application forms on at this link or you can apply online here at this link.
