A deputyship is a legal appointment made by the Court of Protection, allowing an individual to make decisions on behalf of another person who does not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves.

A person lacks mental capacity if they have severe learning disabilities, serious brain injury or illness, or dementia.

There are two types of deputyships. The first is a deputyship for property and financial affairs, which allows the deputy to do various things, such as pay the person’s bills or organise their pension. The second is a deputyship for personal welfare, whereby the deputy can make decisions regarding the person’s medical treatment and their care.

With a personal welfare deputyship, the court will only appoint a deputy if someone needs to be appointed to make decisions about a specific issue over time such as where a person will live or if there’s doubt as to whether decisions will be made in that person’s best interests.

Any named deputy is appointed by the Court of Protection, not the donor themselves, but deputies are usually close relatives or friends of the person who needs help making decisions.

Applications to the Court of Protection may also need to be made by an attorney appointed under a Lasting Power of Attorney to seek permission for certain actions or decisions.

Deputyship and Court of Protection applications are both complex and expensive and so our experienced Private Client team is available to advise and assist you in this regard.