The Court of Protection is a government body that makes decisions on behalf of individuals that don’t have the capacity to make the decisions themselves.

The Court can appoint deputies such as a relative to make decisions on behalf of the person who lacks capacity. 

A deputyship order grants legal authority to an individual (deputy) to make decisions and act on behalf of a person who lacks the mental capacity to make those decisions themselves. 

There are two types of deputyship orders: Health and Welfare, and Property and Finance.

A deputy must act in the best interests of the vulnerable person.

They must:

• Consider what the person would have done in the past when making a decision
• Keep their own property and money separate from the other persons. 
• Keep records of the finances they manage on the persons behalf in an annual deputy report. 

It is less common for the Court of Protection to appoint an deputy for Health and Welfare. This may be in a situation where family members have opposing opinions over the care required and care home arrangements. An order can also be requested if the decision is complex or difficult. 

1. The person to whom the application relates to must be notified by their deputy that they intend to apply for the order. The relevant forms must be completed.
2. The intended deputy must notify three other relatives or close contacts to the person who the application relates to and complete the relevant forms.

The forms must be completed within 14 days. 

    3. The remaining forms regarding the vulnerable persons finances etc must be completed 

    4. The forms must be submitted to the Court of Protection within three months. 

    5. The Court will decide whether the deputy is appointed or not and whether a hearing is required. 

    6. Once the deputy is appointed they must submit annual accounts to the Court together with the supervision fee. 

The timescales vary dependant on the Court. Typically the application takes between 10-12 months. 

Urgent applications are considered on a case by case basis. 

A Lasting Powers of Attorney is similar to a deputyship order. They appoint someone to make decisions on behalf of an individual. 

Making a Lasting Power of Attorney is much simpler in that the person has capacity to appoint their own attorneys rather than the Court making this decision on their behalf. 

A person applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney can appoint attorneys they trust and give instructions on how they wish their affairs to be dealt with. 

If someone already lacks the capacity they cannot make an LPA and would require a deputyship.