Court of Protection:
What happens without a Lasting Power of Attorney?

So, we tell you all the time how important WE think it is to have an LPA in place and it is never too early (once you’ve hit 18 of course!) to get one in place, BUT WHY?

Well, put simply if you don’t have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place and you lose capacity or are unable to make decisions for yourself (whether temporarily or on a more permanent basis) then you will need to have a Deputy appointed by the Court…as you can imagine, this is not a quick process nor is it cheap!

So, let’s take a look at exactly what is involved in obtaining a Deputyship Order, what it means and how you can ensure you are covered.

Just in case you have missed our other articles on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs); there are two types of LPA, one to cover your property and financial affairs and another that will cover your health and welfare decisions. An LPA can only be put in place by you when you have capacity to do so to allow someone to act for you, step into your shoes if you like, when you are unable to do so. The property and financial LPA can be used by your Attorney (if you want them to) at any time after it has been registered, not just when you lose capacity!

However, what happens when you haven’t yet got around to putting an LPA in place and you lose capacity?

Well let’s take a look at what happens to your property and financial affairs first…

An application will need to be made to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to look after and manage your finances and property, once you have lost capacity and are unable to do so, BUT…

Once you have lost capacity, you also lose the THE CHOICE of who you want to handle your property and financial affairs.

Once you have lost capacity, it is for the Court of Protection to decide who is best to handle your affairs for you…this may not be the person that you would have appointed.

The Court of Protection will choose a Deputy that they think is suitable to manage your affairs and although your past and present feelings may be taken into consideration this is difficult once capacity is lost.

It will be down to your loved ones to apply to the Court of Protection for the Deputyship Order and this can be a huge burden that you wouldn’t want anyone to endure, let alone those closest to you.

The list of those eligible to apply for a Deputyship Order is quite extensive and includes one of your relatives, a close friend, a professional or anyone that has an interest in you and your affairs. However…this doesn’t change the fact that you have no control over this and that you are leaving it up to one of your loved ones to make the application and for the Court to decide whether they are deemed suitable to act as your Deputy.

The power that the Court appointed Deputy has will be limited to what is stated within the Deputyship Order. This may not be as far reaching as an LPA would allow and so it may well be necessary to return to Court to have this extended.

An LPA allows you to set out any restrictions, preferences and guidance that you want to leave for your appointed Attorneys, you will be unable to do so in a Deputyship Order.

To make the application to the Court of Protection, a fee of £385 (current rate in 2019) is also payable to the Court.

This does not include any legal fees and so if you seek legal advice or assistance in completing and submitting application, this will be an additional cost.

There may also be fees that are payable to the professional that has to verify that you no longer have capacity and thus require a Deputy to be appointed.

In addition to this, there are annual fees payable to the Court of Protection for Deputyship Orders.

As you can imagine, some of the decisions in relation to your financial affairs are pretty time sensitive. However, an application for a Deputyship Order usually takes 3-4 months to be made, from the date that the application is submitted. This is where there are no objections to the application, this can be much longer, and very different, if any objections are raised.

Where objections are raised and the matter has to be heard before a Judge, the process can take nine months or longer to conclude

For Health and Welfare matters, things are a bit more complex.

If you have not made an LPA in relation to your Health and Welfare prior to losing capacity then it is quite rare for the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy for you in relation to these matters.

An application can be made, again to the Court of Protection, in much the same way as it is made for a Deputyship Order in relation to your property and financial affairs but are usually only appointed in complex circumstances.

Again, meaning that you lose the control and choice to appoint who you want to be able to make those decisions on your behalf and also lose the ability to put preferences and guidance in place for your Attorneys to take the decisions that you would have made had you been able, and had the capacity, to do so.

THE PROCESS…

Let’s take a brief look at the process for applying for a Deputyship Order for those situations where an LPA hasn’t been registered prior to losing capacity.

We briefly mentioned (above) that the list of those that are eligible to make the application for a Deputyship Order is quite extensive, but in order to be successful, the applicant will need to show that they have a good knowledge of your finances and property affairs and will also have to demonstrate, with verification from a professional, that you no longer have capacity to make decisions in relation to your own financial and property matters.

Upon making the application to the Court of Protection a Court Fee of £385 Present 2019 rate) is also payable, whether successful or not. An additional fee may be charged by the professional that verifies your capacity. If the applicant seeks legal advice and assistance in completing and submitting the application to the Court of Protection, this will incur additional fees.

There are also ongoing fees, paid annually, to the Court of Protection in relation to Deputyship Orders that are made.

The application will then be accepted and issued by the Court of Protection and the applicant will need to serve a copy of the application on all those that they believe have an interest in the application being made and those directed by the Court and within the Court Guidance (known as the Respondents).

The Respondents are then given an opportunity to respond to the application.

If no objections are received to the application from any of the Respondents then the Court of Protection will make a Deputyship Order and this is usually done within four months of the application being submitted.

However, if any objections are received then a Hearing will be listed in front of a Judge to consider the matter and the objections. This will not only delay the Deputyship Order being made but will also increase costs as it is likely that legal representation and advice will be required. The time and expense will differ depending on the number of parties involved and the number, nature and complexity of the objections.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch for a FREE consultation.

If you would like a FREE chat to discuss your options, get in touch on info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk or 01727 865 121

Leah Waller

Click here to find out more...

Have a Question or
want to book a
FREE Consultation?

21st August 201923rd April 2020

LPA Certificate Provider

LPAs: Who can be my Certificate Provider and what is their role?

Getting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place for your Health & Welfare and your Property & Financial affairs is SO important and can be a relatively stress-free and quick process but you will need a Certificate Provider…

So, what is a Certificate Provider, what do they do and why are they needed?

Well, in order to register your LPA you will need a Certificate Provider to sign the LPA application to certify that you have the capacity to make the application and that you understand the extent of the power that you are giving to your appointed Attorney, or Attorneys.

In order to do this, the Certificate must have knowledge of the TWO-STAGE TEST FOR MENTAL CAPACITY and make a judgement as to whether you (the person applying for the LPA) can understand the information that is relevant to making the decisions within the LPA, whether they are able to retain that information and weigh up the information in order to make a decision and communicate that decision.The Certificate Provider must also be aware of the FIVE PRINCIPLES OF CAPACITY:

You are assumed to have capacity UNLESS it can be established that you do not.

You are to be treated as though you can make decisions UNLESS all practicable steps have been taken to help you make a decision and all have been unsuccessful.

Just because you make an unwise decision it does NOT mean that you lack capacity.

Any decision taken MUST be done or made in your BEST INTERESTS.

PRIOR TO ANY DECISION, consideration must be given to whether it is effectively achieves the purpose in the least restrictive way to your rights and freedoms.

So, who can be a Certificate Provider?

A Certificate Provider must be either:

A PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE PROVIDER can be someone over the age of 18 that has the necessary knowledge and experience, because of the skill and profession, to make a judgment as to your capacity.

Frequently used Professional Certificate Providers include, US here at TLC, Solicitors, Estate Planners, Legal Professionals, GPs, Medical Professionals and Social Workers.

A PERSONAL CERTIFICATE PROVIDER can be someone that is over the age of 18 and has known you for at least two years prior to the date on which you apply to register your LPA.

This person will need to be someone that can have a full and frank discussion with you about your capacity and your understanding of the LPA and the consequences of registering such a document.

Who CANNOT be your Certificate Provider?

Your Certificate Provider cannot be under the age of 18.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be one of the people that you have appointed as your Attorney in the LPA you are applying for.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be one of the people that you have appointed as a replacement Attorney in the LPA you are applying for.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be one of your family members (this includes your boyfriend/girlfriend, partner, in-laws and step-relatives).

Your Certificate Provider cannot be a family member of the appointed Attorneys (this includes their boyfriend/girlfriend, partner, in-laws and step-relatives).

Your Certificate Provider cannot be your Business Partner.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be your appointed Attorneys’ Business Partner.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be your employee.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be an employee of your appointed Attorneys.

Your Certificate Provider cannot be someone that works for a Trust Corporation that is appointed as your Attorney.

Your Certificate Provider cannot work for the Care Home where you live (if you reside in a Care Home), or a family member of someone working for the Care Home. This includes the owner, manager, directors, staff and employees.

What next?

Once the above has been satisfied, the Certificate provider will sign and date the LPA application and confirm that you understand the LPA, its purpose and consequences, that you are under no undue pressure or influence to sign the LPA, that no act of fraud is being committed and that there is nothing that would prevent that LPA from being registered by the Office of the Public Guardian.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch for a FREE consultation.

If you would like a FREE chat to discuss your options, get in touch on info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk or 01727 865 121

Leah Waller

Click here to find out more...

Have a Question or
want to book a
FREE Consultation?

10th July 201923rd April 2020

Why Do YOU need an LPA? 5 reasons YOU should put your LPA in place

5 reasons
YOU should put your
LPA in place

You will know by now that here at TLC we are passionate about EVERYONE having Lasting Powers of Attorney in place! Contrary to popular belief they are not just something that should be considered as we get older.

So, we have set out below our FIVE top reasons for getting your LPAs in place. This is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg and there are many many more reasons but these should be enough to prompt you…

Having PEACE OF MIND is paramount.

Knowing that all of your property & financial affairs and your health & welfare decisions are in order and can be dealt with by your Attorneys, should you be unable to do so – whether that be because you are physically unable to or because you lack the capacity to do so – will not only put your own mind at ease but will also remove the emotional and financial burden from your loved ones should the situation arise that your LPA is needed.

Taking the decision to put your Lasting Powers of Attorney in place means that you have the control.

YOU DECIDE who you want to appoint as your Attorneys (and can also appoint replacement Attorneys).

If you do not put LPAs in place and your loved ones/caregivers are put in a situation where an application has to be made to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to make decisions on your behalf, then the Court will decide who to appoint and this may not be the person/people that you would have chosen.

Putting your LPAs in place means that you are able to GIVE SPECIFICS not only as to who you want to appoint as Attorneys but also in relation to how they will act; whether they can take decision on their own or whether decisions must be made unanimously by all Attorneys, or perhaps some decisions are to be taken by a specific Attorney or unanimously – this can all be provided for.

Your LPAs will also state when they can be used, whether this will be immediately or only when you lose capacity to make decisions.

You can also state your preferences and put in any restrictions that you want your Attorneys to abide by, giving you the ultimate control and peace of mind.

Putting your Lasting Powers of Attorney in place and getting them registered whilst you still have capacity is so important – TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

You are unable to register your LPAs once you have lost capacity and so your loved ones/caregivers will have to make an application to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to make decisions on your behalf, then the Court will decide who to appoint and this may not be the person/people that you would have chosen. This process will take a minimum of four months – all whilst important (and urgent!) decisions cannot be made.

The COSTS of putting Lasting Powers of Attorney in place pale into insignificance compared to the costs involved in making an application to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to make decisions on your behalf. The application fee for the Court of Protection is currently £385 and this does not include any legal costs involved in drafting, finalising and lodging the application nor dealing with any questions or possible objections.

The office of the Public Guardian charges a fee of £82 to register each LPA and each individual should register two LPAs – Health & Welfare and Property & Financial Affairs.