Becoming someone's deputy or being granted power of attorney
Since 2007, it has been possible to make an application to the Court of Protection to ask them to make a decision or decisions on behalf of someone who is unable to make their own decisions due to their mental health.
In addition, the Court of Protection can appoint someone, called a Deputy, who can also make decisions on behalf of that person. The Court and the Deputy can make decisions about the person’s;
- property
- finances
- health
- personal welfare.
The Court could appoint two or more Deputies to act.
Before 2007 this process used to be called appointing a ‘receiver’ to deal with someone else’s affairs.
You have to be at least 18 years old to be a Deputy. There are fees to pay, however if you are receiving certain benefits or are on a low income you may be exempt from paying the fee or you may only have to pay part of the fee.
It is also possible to ask the court to waive the fee even if you are not exempt if paying it would cause you hardship. It currently costs £400 to start court proceedings and a further £100 to become a deputy.
There may be further fees to pay if the Court requires you to be supervised. These supervision fees are payable from the funds of your relative.
In order to apply you have to fill in an application form and send it to the Court. There is also a form that a medical professional has to fill in having assessed your relative’s capacity in relation to the specific decision.
There are a number of forms that you may have to fill in depending on whether you are applying to make decisions relating to property and finances or health and personal welfare and whether you need permission from the court or not.
These forms can be found on the Government Court Services website: www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk
You can also contact the Court of Protection’s enquiry line on 0300 456 4600 . There is a useful guide to making an application to the Court of Protection called COP42. This can be found on the Government Court Services website www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk under the ‘forms and guidance’ section.
Once the court has received your application, they should respond to you within 25 days.
If there is no formal hearing needed, they should make their decision within 21 weeks from receiving your application. If there does need to be a hearing it should be set within 15 weeks of receiving the application.
It is possible to make an urgent application or get a decision fast-tracked for example if a house sale is going through and there is a risk your relative might lose the buyer, or funds need to be released to pay for critical care or maintenance.
To make your urgent application or to get an application fast-tracked, you should contact the court on 0207 664 7178 and ask to speak to the ‘Urgent Business Officer’ or the ‘Fast-track Business Officer’.
Being appointed as a Deputy means taking on an important role, as the Deputy stands in the shoes of the person who cannot make certain decision(s) him or herself.
If the Court makes an order, it will state exactly which decisions you as the Deputy can make.
For example, you could be authorised to withdraw money from your relative’s bank account in order to pay for essential goods and services, or you could be authorised to make decisions regarding the sale of your relative’s home.
You must always act in the best interests of your relative when making the decisions. You must also follow the guidance within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice.
This can be accessed online at: http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/mca/code-of-practice.htm
If, once you are appointed as Deputy, you need to have dealings with your relative’s bank or building society, the bank will need to see proof of your position and are also likely to ask for proof of I.D, such as a passport or driver’s licence and also proof of address. 
If at any point you believe your relative is in a position to deal with their own affairs again, you must inform the Court of Protection. If the Court is happy that your relative has regained capacity then your appointment as Deputy will end.
How to be granted Lasting Power of Attorney
Your relative may be able to make decisions for themselves at present, but may be concerned that, due to the nature of their mental illness, they may lack the ability in the future.
For example if they suffer from bipolar disorder they may be concerned that when they are in a manic phase of the illness they might go on a spending spree and spend more than they can afford.
In this situation, your relative could grant you ‘Lasting Power of Attorney’ or LPA. This would mean, in the event of them losing ability to make a decision you would have the authority to make decisions on their behalf.
You could be asked to make decisions about their financial affairs or their personal welfare. This page just deals with an LPA for financial affairs. The relative that is giving you this authority is called a ‘donor’ and you would be an ‘attorney’
LPAs have replaced the ‘Enduring Power of Attorney’ (EPA). If you already had EPA, this will still be valid; however it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian when you think your relative is beginning to or already lacks the ability to manage their own affairs.
To register an EPA you need to fill in form EP2PG which you can download from the Office of the Public Guardian’s website: www.publicguardian.gov.uk or you can call them on 0300 456 0300 and ask them to post you a copy.
If your relative still has the capacity to make decisions they could cancel the old EPA and register a new LPA.
You must be at least 18 years old to be considered as an attorney and you cannot have Lasting Power Attorny for your relative’s financial affairs if you are bankrupt.
If your relative wants to make you an LPA, they have to fill in forms. These forms can be found on the Office of the Public Guardian website: http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/forms/Making-an-LPA.htm
Your relative could make an Lasting Power of Attorny to give you the right to deal with their financial affairs either when they lose capacity, or while they have capacity for when they lose it.
They can specify which decisions they want you to make and also give guidance which you could follow when trying to work out what would be in their best interests. 
Once completed the LPA has to be registered.
This is also done through the Office of the Public Guardian. There is a fee of £120 to pay in order to register an LPA.
Your relative could register the LPA when they still have capacity or you could apply to register the LPA at any time.
However if the person who is registering the LPA is claiming certain benefits, is on a low income or paying the fee would cause hardship then they may be exempt or only have to pay part of the fee.
If you are made an attorney, you would be able to make decisions about your relative’s financial affairs, for example:
- buying or selling property
- opening, closing or operating any bank, building society or other account
- claiming, receiving and using welfare benefits on your relative’s behalf
- dealing with your relative’s tax affairs
- complying with a contract on your relative’s behalf
- paying your relative’s essential bills and debts
- conducting legal proceedings on your relative’s behalf
- applying for any entitlement to funding for NHS care and community care services
- give gifts (only in certain circumstances i.e. birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, any other occasion where families/friends would usually give presents)
Once the LPA has been registered and you are acting as your relative’s attorney, you should follow the guidelines in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice.
This can be found on the following website:
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/mca/code-of-practice.htm
You can also read guidance on what it means to take on the role of attorney in the leaflet ‘Lasting Powers of Attorney- A guide for people taking on the role of Property and Affairs Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney’ which can be found at:
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/forms/guidance_booklets.htm
