What is the Court of Protection?
The Court of Protection was created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and has jurisdiction over the property, finances and personal welfare for people who lack mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. It is a specialist Court which manages a considerably wide range of cases that relate to mental capacity and making decisions for another person.
The most common applications before this Court relate to Deputyship. A Deputy is needed when a person has lost mental capacity and has not already created a Lasting Power of Attorney. A Deputy is similar to an Attorney although their monitoring and authority over a person’s estate varies.
Outside of Deputyship, the Court of Protection is commonly used for making one-off decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person where they cannot make the decision themselves. This may relate to a Deprivation of Liberty (DOLS), a Deputy requesting out of the ordinary authority or settling disputes relating to local decision making.
If you need advice relating to the Court of Protection and a potential application, call our specialist lawyers using the form below.